Musicians across the world are mourning the death of Paddy Moloney, who, as founder and leader of The Chieftains, brought traditional Irish music to all corners of the globe. The Irish Traditional Music Archive announced Moloney’s death Tuesday (Oct. 12). No cause was given.

Moloney, 83, founded The Chieftains in 1962, and in the subsequent 60 years, the group was the leading purveyor of exporting Irish music, including being the first Western musicians to perform at the Great Wall of China, according to the band’s website, as well as taking part in Roger Waters’ performance of “The Wall” in Berlin in 1990, and performing at a 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero in New York.

“It is with great sadness to hear of the passing of my very good friend and colleague, Paddy Maloney,” renowned flautist James Galway posted on Twitter, alongside a photo of the two artists laughing together. “A man with a vision and passion on bringing traditional Irish music to the masses for which we are forever indebted to. Such wonderful memories for which I shall always cherish.”

Irish musician Imelda May tweeted, “So sad to hear of the passing of our dearest Paddy Moloney. He was ours wasn’t he. He made us all so proud of our heritage and brought such joyous energy. I’m honoured to have known and worked with not just a legend but a thoroughly lovely man.”

Moloney is considered such a national treasure that even Michael Higgins, president of Ireland, released a statement, lauding Moloney for his musicianship, but also for the role he has played in spreading Irish music around the universe.

“Paddy, with his extraordinary skills as an instrumentalist, notably the uileann pipes and bodhrán, was at the forefront of the renaissance of interest in Irish music, bringing a greater appreciation of Irish music and culture internationally,” Higgins wrote in a statement posted to his official website. “Not only as a consummate musician himself, but as a founder member of Claddagh Records together with Garech de Brún, he brought a love of Irish music not just to the diaspora, but to all those across the world who heard his music and appreciated it for its own sake as it transcended all musical boundaries.”

Ireland’s minister of tourism, Catherine Martin, also weighed in. “With the passing of Paddy Moloney, we have lost a giant of the national cultural landscape. Through the Chieftains, he brought the joy of Irish music to a global audience. His music was a source of celebration and pride for all of us. Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam.”

Though rooted in traditional Irish music, Moloney and the Chieftains were never confined by it. Following his death, footage of Moloney and the band performing with Mongolian thread singers, bluesman Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Frank Zappa emerged online, as well as photos of Moloney’s tin whistle, which NASA astronaut Cady Coleman played on the International Space Station in 2010.

Under Moloney’s guidance, the group charted on a multitude of Billboard charts, including Classical Albums, and even topping the Top Latin Albums chart for several weeks in 2010 with San Patricio, a tribute to the San Patricios, the ill-fated battalion of mostly Irish soldiers who abandoned the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48 and crossed the border to fight alongside the Mexicans.

“It’s the first time I did an album almost entirely in another language,” Moloney told Billboard in 2010. “For me, language is one thing, but I go for the music. We’ve mixed Irish music with Chinese music [in the past]. I think this is a much more complete album where the Spanish has taken over. I’m a melody person and I love the structure, and I thought there was no problem whatsoever to blend it and make a fusion of our music with the Mexican music.”

Born in Donnycarney, north of Dublin, in 1938, Moloney picked up the tin whistle when he was 6 after his mother gave him the instrument. His talents were largely self-taught. He told the Irish Traditional Music Archive, “I more or less taught myself to read music. I didn’t go to Trinity and I didn’t go to UCD. [It] was all be ear. You know it was all by ear, mostly. That’s how I sort of learned most of the music, and I did my own interpretations of the tunes.”

The ITMA extolled Moloney’s musicianship on its website: “He had an extraordinary dexterity in his fingers which was evident in the execution of intricate ornamentation on both the tin whistle and the chanter of his pipes. Most traditional musicians focus predominantly on the melody. However, Paddy was exceptional in his ability and talent for improvising harmonies. The uilleann pipes were, and to a large extent, are considered a solo instrument. However, Paddy’s creative energy explored its potential as part of ensemble arrangements.”

Among the Grammy-winning group’s most popular albums in the U.S. was 2002’s Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions, which reached No. 21 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and featured the Irish group with such country artists as Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Martina McBride and Alison Krauss. The 2003 follow-up, Further Down the Old Plank Road, reached No. 28 on the chart and included collaborations with Rosanne Cash, Chet Atkins, Patty Loveless, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others.

The Chieftains’ last studio recording was 2012’s Voice of Ages, which came out on Concord in the U.S. Commemorating the group’s 50th anniversary, the album found them collaborating with a number of contemporary artists, including Bon Iver and The Decemberists.

The Chieftains’ last show, according to NPR, was an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Philadelphia in 2020 before the pandemic led to them canceling the rest of their tour.

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Nicki Minaj made it loud and clear that she stands by Jesy Nelson after she’s faced accusations of Blackfishing.

The accusations of Blackfishing — levied against non-Black influencers and celebrities when they alter their appearances to look Black when they’re not — against Nelson arose following her hip-hop-leaning debut solo single “Boyz,” featuring Minaj, and its accompanying music video, which features her spray tan, multiple wigs, fuller lips and what some have called a “Blaccent” when she sings, “So ‘hood, so good, so damn taboo.” Nelson — a white British woman who left Little Mix, one of the best-selling U.K. girl groups, in December 2020 after nearly a decade, citing mental health reasons — recently revealed she hasn’t spoken to the group’s remaining members since her departure.

U.K. musician and comedian NoHun claimed on his Instagram Story and later on TikTok that Leigh-Anne Pinnock, the only Black member of Little Mix, had allegedly sent him DMs about Nelson blocking her, Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards on the social media app (after reports claimed they had all unfollowed her the day after her “Boyz” single dropped) and suggesting he make a video about her “being a black fish.”

While Nelson found herself under scrutiny, Minaj came to her rescue during an hourlong Instagram Live conversation on Monday (Oct. 11). And in the same vein as the rapper’s “Boyz” verse (“Jesy, we got all the jelly bitches actin’ real messy”), Minaj had some choice words to say to Pinnock and the rest of the group about the alleged DMs.

“Sweetheart, take them text messages and shove it up your f—ing a–,” she said with a fake smile. “Don’t try to come out and ruin anyone. Let her enjoy this time. If you was in this woman’s group and you ain’t taking about this sh– for 10 years, and as soon as you see she got a video come out with Nicki Minaj and Puffy, now you sending the stations text messages and all this shit … print them text messages out, bust your a– open and shove it up your motherf—ing a–. And stop trying to hurt people and kill people’s lives and careers. … If you want a solo career, baby girl, just say that.”

The “Anaconda” MC continued shaming the women for allegedly attacking Nelson after they spent the last decade becoming one of the most successful girl groups in the world with more than 50 million records sold worldwide, saying they only chose to air their grievances after her exit.

“It’s just hard for me because I was in a group with two women of color for nine years and it was never brought up to me up until the last music video,” Nelson told Minaj, referring to their 2020 music video for their U.K. No. 1 single “Sweet Melody,” which was the last video Little Mix shot as a foursome and the first time Nelson claims Pinnock mentioned Blackfishing accusations to her.

After the Instagram Live video wrapped, Minaj tweeted, “Don’t call things out when they benefit your personal vendetta to ppl. Call them out immediately once you see it chile. Don’t wait a decade after you’ve made millions with the person.”

Last week, in an interview with Vulture, Nelson said she had never faced Blackfishing accusations “the whole time I was in Little Mix. … And then I came out of [the band] and people all of a sudden were saying it. I wasn’t on social media around that time, so I let my team [deal with it], because that was when I’d just left. But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on.” (Vulture also stated that Nelson canceled two follow-up interviews to specifically discuss the Blackfishing claims, while the singer’s publicist sent the publication a statement about how Nelson “would never intentionally do anything to make myself look racially ambiguous.”)

Watch Minaj and Nelson’s entire IG Live conversation below.

Deon Estus, the longtime bass player for Wham! and George Michael behind the 1989 hit song “Heaven Help Me,” died Monday (Oct. 11) at age 65, according a post on his official social media accounts.

“It is with real sadness I post that Deon Estus passed away this morning,” reads a post on Estus’ Twitter page. “Deon was mostly known as the third member of Wham! Deon was passionate about music and loved interacting with his loyal fans.”

His partner Brenda Kaye Pearce shared this message to Facebook on Monday: “My dearest, closest partner and significant other of 4 years transitioned and all I can remember is our last conversation the day before. My heart will need time to heal. R.I.P. Deon. Love you forever.”

Estus — born Jeffery Dean Estus in Detroit in 1956 — had a top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Heaven Help Me,” which reached No. 5 in April 1989. The song, which was co-written and featured background vocals from Michael, who also solely produced it, peaked at No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Adult Contemporary charts.

“Heaven Help Me” was released from Estus’ only album, Spell, released in 1989 and which also produced the Dance Club Songs hit “Me or the Rumours” and the top 20 Adult Contemporary title track.

In addition to his work with Wham! and Michael, according to Estus’ bio, he played bass with Tina Turner, Elton John, Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa and Annie Lennox.

In an interview with Billboard following the Christmas Day death of Michael in 2016, Estus said, “I’m still in shock. It hasn’t quite hit me yet, but it helps to talk about it and to think about all those fantastic tours, all those records, all the people he’s helped and all the things he’s done, which is a lot. I was blessed to have known him.”

Watch Estus perform “Heaven Help Me” on the Netherlands’ CountDown in 1989 below: