Bandmates of a Malaysian rock drummer who died after collapsing onstage last month are speaking out about his final days, revealing he had insisted on an all-black dress code for the show and told the group the performance must go on no matter what happened.
Raja Azreen Raja Talib, 56, was playing drums with his band, Meditasi, at the Teruntum Rock Festival in Kuantan on July 18, when he slumped over his drum kit just two songs into a planned 10-song set, his bandmates told Malaysian newspaper Berita Harian.
Meditasi frontman Bakaruddin Daud, known as Burn, told the newspaper that he rushed to his bandmate after seeing him collapse during the song "Begini Aku Begitu Engkau." Burn said he called out to Raja Azreen and tapped him, but got no response, and noticed his body had already gone cold. Band members carried him backstage, and an ambulance reached the venue within minutes, Burn said.
Raja Azreen was taken to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 11 p.m. local time, his older brother, Raja Azman Raja Taib, confirmed to Berita Harian. The cause of death was reportedly heart complications.
Burn told Berita Harian that Raja Azreen, who had insisted before the show that all members dress in black, had told him he wanted to look sharper in a collared shirt rather than a T-shirt. Burn said he told his bandmate it was fine as long as he was comfortable, noting that Raja Azreen had always been the one who shaped the band's image because he cared deeply about style.
Burn also said that during three days of rehearsals in Raub, Pahang, ahead of the show, Raja Azreen—aware that guitarist Rosli Ahmad was also unwell at the time—told the group the show must go on no matter what happened. Burn said his bandmate had shown no signs of illness during those rehearsals, though he had noticed Raja Azreen had grown very thin after being diagnosed with diabetes the previous month and had since been strict about avoiding sugar.
Separately, Raja Azreen's brother told the newspaper that the drummer had run a bicycle shop and was passionate about cycling as well as music, and had recently resumed competing in cycling events after his health improved.
Meditasi, whose name translates to "meditation" in Malay, formed in the late 1980s, was active through the 1990s, and disbanded before reuniting in 2015. The band has more than 46,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
ZZ Top Drummer Dies
Raja Azreen's death came about a month before another prominent rock drummer, Frank Beard of ZZ Top, died Aug. 18 at his ranch in hospice care, with family members at his side, according to band publicist Bob Merlis.Beard, 77, had anchored the Texas band's sound for more than five decades after joining in 1970, powering hits such as "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs" and "Gimme All Your Lovin'" as the group sold more than 50 million records. Guitarist Billy Gibbons called him "one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas," saying his backbeat was key to "keeping ZZ on top."
The band's tour paused after his death, with a scheduled Colorado Springs show canceled, before resuming Aug. 22 and Aug. 23 with weekend performances at Austin City Limits, a venue Beard was said to have favored.