(Solar Race)

Co-founder of MDMArchive Alison Surtees writes:

The sad news of Eilidh’s passing came at the end of last week in the usual way it transpires these days, by message on Facebook. I’ll not pretend that we were great friends - although I had known Eilidh for 20 years - but she was very much part of my life for a time when the band was in full swing, along with Andy Holland, my friend who played bass.

Solar Race evolved from the original name Sky Walker (not everyone can claim to have been threatened with legal action if they didn’t change their name by George Lucas) and were signed to Silvertone in those early years. It was Eilidh on lead and vocals, Andy on bass and Carl Rogers on drums. The three worked incredibly hard, though the project was not without its difficulties.

An incredibly talented and passionate musician, Eilidh was single-minded in her pursuit of success. Their defining album was recorded at Abbey Road with Steve Albini; they toured with Bush around Europe; they supported Hole on two of their London dates; they had single of the week twice in Melody Maker; and they played Reading Festival above many bands in the line-up that latterly gained commercial crossover and recording sessions with John Peel. But it never translated into greater success, and the band eventually split.

Many have messaged me since her death, all of whom talk of a talented, intelligent and beautiful lady, who was sadly plagued by fragile mental health. In the last few years she had become increasingly isolated, and that, perhaps, is the saddest thing of all. The last time I heard from Eilidh was some years ago, through social media. She was a little irritated at me for not uploading Solar Race items onto this site, so nothing new there.

As this message goes live, we are all still waiting for more news regarding her funeral from her family, but we would like to remember her as the force of nature she was, powerful on stage and in her determination to get the band where she felt it should be, which she did, for a time. RIP Eilidh, despite what you may have thought, you will be missed by more than you know.