Apparently John Entwistle did well in the last years of his life. He was in a relationship with Lisa Pritchett-Johnson, ex-girlfriend of Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, and when he wasn’t making music he could often be found in the pubs near his Victorian estate Quarwood in Stow. He even paid for a new roof for the Stow Cricket Club pavilion.
But now he was no longer the ox he once was. His hearing was all but destroyed and he suffered from high blood pressure. His poor performance at the Who concert at London’s venerable Royal Albert Hall in February 2002 alarmed friends and associates, who were concerned about Entwistle for a variety of reasons. For insurance reasons, he underwent a medical examination that was necessary for the American tour planned for the summer of 2002. He passed the inspection, but it could not prevent the approaching catastrophe.
John Entwistle is dead
On a Tuesday morning in June 2002, Chris Entwistle drove his father to the airport. The flight to Las Vegas was waiting for the rock star, who was supposed to tour the USA with the surviving members of his band. “I kissed him goodbye like I always did.”Christ Entwistle recalled. “He turned around as he came to the door of the terminal, we waved to each other and that was the last time I saw him.”
John Entwistle spent the evening of June 27, 2002, with friends, including Eileen Rose, a stripper he knew from previous visits to Las Vegas. He took Rose to his room 685 at the Hard Rock Hotel – what followed was coke, sex and a heart attack in his sleep. John Entwistle died at the age of 57.
“It turned out that one of his arteries was one hundred percent blocked and another one was seventy-five percent blocked”revealed Chris Entwistle. “High blood pressure runs in the family”he continued. “His mother had him, as did I, but we had no idea about the problems with his heart, and neither did he. We were told they had them [die Verstopfungen] could only be found with an electrocardiogram, which never happened because it didn’t seem necessary. He was very rarely sick.”
Given the circumstances, Chris Entwistle seemed to be able to come to terms with his father’s death well: “But you know what? It wasn’t the worst way. It could have been a long-term illness. One of the things I appreciated most: The doctor who performed the autopsy told me he didn’t feel anything.”
Burial
John Entwistle’s funeral took place on July 10, 2002 at St. Edward’s Church in Stow, England. In his will, the former bassist of The Who divided his estate equally between his mother, his son and Lisa Pritchett-Johnson. Pritchett-Johnson continued to live in a cottage on the Quarwood property after Entwistle’s death, but was forced to move out when Chris Entwistle was forced to sell his father’s house to pay high inheritance taxes.
“The IRS decided that everything Dad owned had value, including every piece of clothing and his personalized license plate.”he explains. “And they wanted forty percent of it – thank you very much. The problem was that most of Dad’s money was in physical goods. For example, he had invested in a huge collection of guitars over the years that would be worth a lot of money in the future, but this was a bad time to have to sell them.”
John Entwistle in the memories of his fellow human beings
Alison Entwistle, John Entwistle’s ex-wife and mother of his son, looked back positively on her time with her ex-husband. Recalling the birth of Chris, she revealed: “John was so excited. He was there when I was born at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. I loved him for years so you can never get rid of those feelings. He was a stupid boy, but also very generous, warm-hearted and very, very talented.”
“I want Dad to be remembered as the best bass player the world has ever known”said Chris Entwistle, considering his father’s life’s achievements. “I haven’t seen Pete or Roger in God knows how many years because I won’t be going to Who gigs anymore. Not because of them – I’m firmly behind the boys continuing as long as they want. I just can’t deal with the fact that Dad isn’t on the side of the stage where he should be.”.