Former Queen Bassist Barry Mitchell Dies, the Band’s Official Archivist Confirms: ‘He Will Be Greatly Missed’

Jack IrvinFri, August 21, 2026 at 4:43 PM UTC

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Barry MitchellCredit: Barry Mitchell/Facebook -

Barry Mitchell, a former bass player for the legendary band Queen, has died

He played bass for Queen from 1970 to 1971 before being succeeded by Doug Bogie and later John Deacon

Mitchell later performed with bands like Tiger and Crushed Butler

Barry Mitchell, a former bass player for the legendary band Queen, has died.

The musician’s death was confirmed by Queen’s official archivist Greg Brooks in a Facebook post shared on Thursday, Aug. 20. Mitchell played with the “Bohemian Rhapsody” band from 1970 to 1971.

“Terribly sad news just received that early Queen bass player (circa 1970), Barry Mitchell, has passed away,” wrote Brooks alongside a photo of Mitchell. “He will be greatly missed.”

Barry MitchellCredit: Barry Mitchell/Facebook

Mitchell served as Queen’s second bassist following Mike Grose, who played with the band in 1970. Doug Bogie followed Mitchell as Queen’s bass player in 1971 before John Deacon joined as the group’s longest-running bassist from 1971 to 1997.

Queen’s debut album was released in 1973.

According to The Independentand Daily Mail, Mitchell spoke about his time playing with Queen in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone.

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“We played quite a few concerts in England, notably in Liverpool,” he said at the time. “Since we didn’t have enough original songs to last a whole show and Freddie [Mercury] loved classic rock & roll, we played that too.”

Mitchell reportedly told the outlet he was “fired” from Queen because his bandmates “thought I was useless.”

“In fact, it was me who wasn’t enthusiastic enough about their music,” he admitted. “This didn’t necessarily go in the direction I wanted to go. At the time, they weren’t at all the cult band you all know.”

“I didn’t see the potential,” said Mitchell. “It’s crazy to say this now, but it’s the truth.”

The musician later played in bands including Tiger and Crushed Butler.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”