Arthritis meds had role in Frey's death, says manager

Glenn Frey’s death can be partly blamed on medication he was taking for arthritis, the Eagles’ manager has claimed.

Frey died this week at the age of 67, with his family and bandmates saying in a statement he succumbed to “complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.”

The band’s manager Irving Azoff says the medication Frey was taking to deal with the arthritis played a part.

Azoff tells The Wrap: “The colitis and pneumonia were side effects from all the meds. He died from complications of ulcer and colitis after being treated with drugs for his rheumatoid arthritis which he had for over 15 years.”

Azoff did not name the drug, saying he’d been advised by a lawyer not to do so.

He also revealed that a memorial and party are being planned to honour Frey in Los Angeles. He adds: “I wouldn’t have been the success that I’ve been without Glenn Frey teaching me, leading me and supporting me for over 40 years.

“He was a passionate family man, a great father, a great humanitarian, and he’s gone way too soon.”

Bandmate Don Henley led the tributes to Frey, saying: “We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream – to make our mark in the music industry.

“And with perseverance, a deep love of music, our alliance with other great musicians and our manager, Irving Azoff, we built something that has lasted longer than anyone could have dreamed.”

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.