Crazy Town lead singer Seth Binzer dies aged 49
Crazy Town lead singer Seth Binzer, who rocketed to fame with the song Butterfly, has died at the age of 49, the LA Medical Examiner has said.
He passed away on Monday according to the Examiner's website and no cause of death has been revealed.
Binzer, who went by his stage name Shifty Shellshock, founded the band in LA in 1995 alongside Brett Mazur.
The group is best known for their third single, Butterfly, which reached number one in the US singles chart and number three in the UK singles chart, and became an early 00s anthem.
The band’s debut album, The Gift of the Game, was released in 1999, and reached 15 in the UK albums chart.
Crazy Town released two further albums, Darkhorse and Brimstone Slugger, which received limited success, before Mazur left the band in 2017.
Binzer continued with the group under the name Crazy Town X and last toured in 2023.
Throughout his life, the singer suffered with drug addiction and featured on TV shows such as Celebrity Rehab and Sober House as he attempted to get clean.
During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2001, the Californian admitted to selling drugs over a period of several years and also spending three months in the California Institution for Men following an attempted burglary.
Then in 2012, he was hospitalised after losing consciousness and even slipped into a coma before recovering.
Just two months ago, he posted a heartfelt message about his journey to sobriety, writing: “I'm more of a lover than a fighter... but the one I need to love more instead of fight with is myself... Mr. Shifty true Love #Sober alive and grateful (sic).”
Binzer also featured on British producer Paul Oakenfold's hit single Starry Eyed Surprise, which reached number six in the UK singles chart, from his first album, Bunkka.
In 2004, he released a solo album, Happy Love Sick, and has also fronted the band Shifty and the Big Shots.
Binzer had three sons, Gage, Halo and Phoenix, with three different partners, Melissa Clark, who he married in 2002 and was divorced from in 2011, Tracey Shelor, and British model Jasmine Lennard.
In 2022, he began dating his childhood friend, actress Soleil Moon Frye from Punky Brewster when he was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles.Then in April last year, he was arrested again but in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for driving under the influence of alcohol.
