Talk:Keith Relf

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I added the part where he stepped on the gas pipe, if you don't believe me then click here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcYYcWstwfk&mode=related&search= Later on it talks about it. -TheBird 05:59, 8 October 2006 71.236.225.50

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Death

It's an oft-repeated story that Keith Relf died while playing his electric guitar and simultaneously taking a bath, but this is incorrect, and since the story is so widespread, a real urban legend, it should be explicitly corrected in the article. IIRC he had an electric shock from playing his faultily wired guitar (as stated in the article); it was not highly serious in itself but caused a minor heart attack. He took a bath to try to ease the pain and either fell unconscious/drowned or had some other medical complication which did him in. Also, he was in poor health generally at the time. Playing his inexpertly grounded guitar did not kill him by itself, and nor did it have any direct relation to the bathtub.

By the way, the link to the current lines on his death is - dead, so a more accurate rewrite is needed anyway. Strausszek (talk) 14:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

The "improperly earthed guitar" story is dubious. Guitar amplifiers need to be earthed and may have been the cause. An improperly earthed guitar will definitely not cause electrocution. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jason P Jackson (talk • contribs) 21:25, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

Alright. Having taken all of ten minutes to google it, my take on it is that nobody knows for sure anymore, and at this point we probably never will, exactly what happened and why... faulty guitar, faulty amplifier, some combination (this source says "died while plugging in his guitar. This source says "found dead in his living room." This source says "While practicing guitar in his cellar, he stood on a gas pipe. Because the guitar was ungrounded, the electrical current resulted in a severe shock to his body. Reportedly, his electrocuted body was found by his eight-year-old son". And so forth. (Another source (can't find it) said something like "according to his family" there was a pipe involved.)

None of the sources I found were particularly reliable. Apparently his family was real private and so didn't release many details. Most of the sources I found have him dead in the living room, not the bathtub as an editor above says. All of the sources blame the guitar, not the amplifier -- if that means anything, which it probably doesn't.

I think it's OK to say electrocuted. If we find a good source for "electric shock, took a bath, probably had a heart attack, died from that or drowning", that'll be different. I doubt any good sources are going to be found at this point; as I say, his family has kept the whole thing in shadow.

I'm not an electrician. An editor above says it couldn't have been the guitar. The sources all say guitar tho. Some sources say he died when when he plugged it in; others when he was playing it. Doesn't much matter; plugging in is part of playing, really. I'd like to more about that pipe, but until and unless we do, best to leave it out I'd say. Doesn't much matter in getting a handle on who he was. I changed it to this:

Relf was 33 when he died in the basement of his home, from electrocution while playing an electric guitar. Relf had several health problems throughout his life, including emphysema and asthma, which may have contributed to his inability to survive the electric shock. (A common rumor at the time was that Relf had been playing guitar in the bathtub, but this isn't true.)

Herostratus (talk) 19:39, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

Emphysema and Asthma

There is no proof given in the references about him having emphysema and asthma even if he did, there is no proof he took medication for it. The entire statement is speculative and needs to be removed unless proof can be provided. Although the article says “May” it needs to be proven that these medication contribute to something like a “weak heart” which may make someone unable to withstand electronic shock. It seems logical, but without any evidence its also speculation. Albuterol was available in the UK and he could have taken it, but I can no evidence it weakens the heart. Anabolic Steroids can weaken the heart when taking by athletes to bulk up, but that is not the same thing as using Albuterol. Ty78ejui (talk) 12:53, 23 July 2021 (UTC)