Rock band Train pay tribute after founding member Charlie Colin dies, aged 58
"You're a legend, Charlie. Go charm the pants off those angels."
Charlie Colin, one of the founding members of the band Train, has died aged 58.
His mother confirmed the news to TMZ, telling the outlet he had been found dead after he slipped in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Belgium. The outlet reports that Colin had been living in Brussels, where he was teaching music at a conservatory.
Colin was the bassist for pop rock band Train from 1993, when the band was originally formed, to 2003, when he left reportedly due to substance abuse problems.
The band posted a tribute to the bassist on Instagram alongside a picture from when he was still a band member.
The message read: "When I met Charlie Colin, I fell in love with him. He was THE sweetest guy and what a handsome chap. Let's make a band that's the only reasonable thing to do. His unique bass playing and beautiful guitar work helped get folks to notice us in SF and beyond.
"I’ll always have a warm place for him in my heart. I always tried to pull him closer but he had a vision of his own. You're a legend, Charlie. Go charm the pants off those angels."
Colin first met fellow band members Jimmy Stafford and Rob Hotchkiss, with whom he formed the group Apostles. Their label folded and they went their separate ways before meeting singer Pat Monahan and forming Train in 1993, with Scott Underwood on drums.
Hits like Meet Virginia put the band on the map, but it was 2001's Drops of Jupiter that cemented their success and earned them two Grammys. Colin and Hotchkiss had both left Train by the time the band released Hey, Soul Sister in 2009, while Underwood and Stafford left in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Speaking of Colin's absence in 2017, Monahan told NBC San Diego: "Charlie is one incredible bass player, but he was in a lot of pain, and the way he was dealing with it was very painful for everyone else around him."
After leaving Train, Colin went on to release more music, including the album Elixir alongside Underwood, and as part of Plainbirds, a band he formed alongside Hotchkiss in 2015, and The Side Deal.
