Derry Brownson, the longtime keyboardist and founding member of British dance-rock band EMF, has died aged 55. The band announced his death on Instagram, while the BBC reported that he had recently received treatment for a brain tumour; his death marks the loss of a key figure behind one of the UK’s most internationally successful early-1990s bands.

Brownson grew up in Cinderford and helped form EMF in 1989 after previously playing with Flowerdrum. He was present when guitarist Ian Dench developed the melody for EMF’s breakthrough single “Unbelievable”, which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1991; the group’s debut album, Schubert Dip, went platinum in the US. EMF later reunited several times, released two albums this decade and toured the US in 2024, with Brownson returning for a Bristol show last year despite health problems.