By Monk

Frankie Banali has died at the age of 68Frankie Banali, the long-serving drummer in Los Angeles hair metal veterans Quiet Riot, has died at the age of 68, following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

In a statement, Banali’s wife, Regina, said:

“He put up an inspiringly brave and courageous 16-month battle to the end and continued playing live as long as he could. Standard chemotherapy stopped working and a series of strokes made the continuation on a clinical trial impossible. He ultimately lost the fight at 7:18PM on August 20th in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife and daughter.”

Banali joined Quiet Riot prior to the recording of their breakthrough third album, ‘Metal Health’. Despite a stop-start career with the band, he played on every one of their subsequent albums. He also played drums of seven W.A.S.P albums