Chad Gilbert dead aged 45 — tributes pour in for 'Godfather of Pop-Punk' New Found Glory guitarist

Alternative Indie lead guitarist and founding member of ‘Godfathers of Pop-Punk’ New Found Glory is dead at the age of 45.

Gilbert’s wife Lisa Cimorelli announced his passing on social media on Sunday - alongside a message from the Florida-based band, reports Rolling Stone.

The news came six months after Gilbert announced to the world he was battling brain cancer. In 2021 it was revealed the musician – who was highly popular with UK music fans - he had been suffering from a rare adrenal gland tumour.

“On the morning of September 20th, Chad Everett Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep,” the band wrote on a powerful Instagram post.

They described how he had “left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished.”

The New Found Glory members added, “We are devastated and shocked by how quickly he left us, yet so grateful for how peacefully and smoothly he went.”

They said the number of visitors who “crowded the hospital lobby at a moment’s notice is a testament to how beloved and cherished Chad was, and always will be.

“He was a legendary musician, but his favorite accomplishment was being a husband and father. His biggest dreams came true.”

Gilbert founded the band at the age of 17 in 1997, alongside Stephen Klein, Jordan Pundik and Ian Grushka.

He wrote many of the band’s songs, including the much-loved Head on Collision and My Friends Over You.

On their Sunday message, his bandmates wrote, “Chad’s guitar playing, songwriting, humor, and relentless drive helped shape New Found Glory for nearly three decades.

They said how through more than a dozen albums, endless tours around the world, and “more accolades than we ever could have imagined, Chad challenged all of us to grow as musicians, performers, and human beings.”

The band explained that while they are devastated to lose Gilbert, they are grateful for the “incredible life he lived, the memories we shared, and the brotherhood we had.

“His influence will always be part of New Found Glory and his spirit will be felt on every stage we stand on, with every note we play.”

In contrast to the many American punk and alternative rock bands, Gilbert is considered highly influential in the UK.

In particular, New Found Glory successfully broke into mainstream British charts, with their breakthrough album Sticks and Stones reaching number 10 in the Official UK albums Chart.

The band’s biggest single, My Friends Over You reached number 30 in the 2002 UK Singles Chart.

More recently, their Listen Up! Album – the final Gilbert took part in – peaked at number 3 in the UK Rock and Metal Album Chart.

For the past three decades New Found Glory crossed the Atlantic to tour in the UK and parts of Europe. British crowds responded with gusto to their urgent sound, with outlets Kerrang and Rock Sound dubbing them the ‘Godfathers of Pop-Punk’ and featuring the band on their covers.

Gilbert was also known in Britain for his relationship with Hayley Williams, leadwoman for the rock band Paramore. The pair would tour together while in the UK. Their relationship spanned a decade and they were briefly married from 2016 to 2017.

In a tribute post following the news of Gilbert’s death, Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus wrote, “Chad was the best friend to every person he met. The most positive and creative force in any room he walked into.”

In April, Gilbert sat down in an interview with Rolling Stone where he described his fight: “It felt good to know that there’s still a battle to be going on and that I can recover from this and grow stronger from this,” he said at the time. Gilbert and Cimorelli shared that the guitarist’s treatment plan included promising immunotherapies to keep the cancer out of his brain.

Despite the hardships, Gilbert remains positive. “I have my crying moments where, like everyone, I have to let it out,” he said. “But I like that we can turn it around into something positive… It’s always been just to inspire and grow a community of people that want to go to our shows and smile and have a good time.”