Denise Johnson: the singer’s life, career, and best Primal Scream songs remembered as she dies aged 56

Denise Johnson, the singer who supplied her distinctive vocals to some of the biggest hits of Scottish rock band Primal Scream, has died at the age of 56.

Her passing was announced in a statement issued by her family, who said she had "died suddenly" after an illness.

They said the singer had been "ill in the week prior to her death, but told friends she was 'much better' on Friday".

"The cause of death is not yet known, although she was discovered holding her inhaler on Monday morning."

Here’s everything you need to know:

Who was Denise Johnson?

Johnson was born in Manchester on 31 July 1963, and raised in the suburb of Hulme in a household filled with reggae and ska music, thanks to her Jamaican mother.

She began singing professionally in a covers band in the mid-80s, and was introduced to Primal Scream through programmer Tony Martin, who was working on the record that would become Screamadelica.

Martin recommended Johnson to sing on ‘Don’t Fight It, Feel It’ and after watching Johnson perform, Primal Scream asked her to sing with them.

In an interview with Louder Than War, Johnson said recording with Primal Scream was more like “going for a night out and you might do a bit of singing in between.”

What work did Johnson do with Primal Scream?

Johnson’s breakthrough was born of her time working with Primal Scream, providing vocals on Screamadelica, the Glasgow group’s seminal third album, released in 1991.

She provided lead vocals on the tracks ‘Don't Fight It, Feel It’ and ‘Come Together’ - the latter peaked at Number 26 on the singles chart following its release.

Johnson also lent her voice to the tracks ‘Movin’ On Up’, ‘Loaded’ and ‘Damaged’ in a backing vocal capacity.

In an effort to replicate the record’s eclectic sound in a live capacity, the band asked Johnson to tour with them six times, but she rejected their offers every time.

“Then I thought I might be missing out on something here, so the next time they asked me I said yes,” she told Product magazine. “What followed were five or so truly magical, hair-tearing-out, raucous years.”

She performed with the band between 1990 – 1995.

What did she do after Primal Scream?

But it wasn't just with Primal Scream Johnson worked; she was also a guest vocalist on releases by post-punk group, A Certain Ratio, and performed with them live until relatively recently.

She also provided vocals to tracks by a lot of Manchester artists, including Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr and Ian Brown.

Manchester electronic duo, 808 State, said that Johnson’s voice “sews so many memories together in many contexts – but most of all she gave the best hugs”.

On 25 September, Johnson was due to release her debut solo album ‘Where Does It Go’, an acoustic record, which features original compositions alongside covers of Manchester bands like New Order, the Smiths and 10cc.