In a blog piece written for NME, Burgess describes Brookes as a ‘brother, a friend, a band member and a huge part of all our lives’, before adding:
“We’ve had messages from all over the world from people sharing memories of Jon – kids who’d borrowed his drumkit, drummers inspired by his style, but most of all people saying he was one of the friendliest, funniest and thoughtful people that they’d ever met.”
Jon Brookes was diagnosed with a brain tumour after collapsing during a Charlatans gig in Philadelphia back in 2010, but was able to rejoin the band at the end of a UK tour soon after.
He had since been receiving treatment for cancer and underwent several operations, but sadly passed away at the age 44 on August 13th.
Burgess’ blog can be read in full here.