Patti Smith and Iggy Pop collaborator Ivan Král dead at 71

Guitarist, bassist, producer and songwriter Ivan Král, who worked with artists including Patti Smith, Blondieand Iggy Pop, has died at the age of 71.

The news was confirmed in a statement from his wife Cindy Hudson which was published by Flowers Of Hell’s Greg Jarvis online, saying that he died at his home in Michigan from cancer.

Kral, who moved from Czechoslovakia to the US in 1966, played with Blondie in 1974 before going on to work with the Patti Smith Group on their four albums recorded between 1975 and 1979: Horses, Radio Ethiopia, Easter and Wave.

His next appearance was on Iggy Pop’s 1980 album Soldier and Party the following year, before he hooked up with John Waite on the Ignition, No Brakes and Mask Of Smiles albums.

Kral also worked with other artists including John Cale, Eastern Bloc and Noel Redding, and released a number of solo albums – his last titled Smile will launch on February 28 through Warner Music.

In 2019, Kral published his biography Neuveritelny which he co-wrote with Honza Vedral, with the English-language Bloc, Shock, Rock set to launch later this year.