Tributes paid after Viagra Boys announce death of founding member Benjamin Vallé
“Benjamin, we love you with all of our hearts and Viagra Boys would have been nothing without you”
By Grace Almond
Viagra Boys have announced the death of their guitarist and co-founder Benjamin Vallé.
The news was confirmed in a statement on social media, posted on Wednesday (October 27). Alongside images of Vallé, the Swedish punk band posted a tribute to the late guitarist, describing him as “one of the funniest, goofiest” people they had known.
They said: “It brings me great sadness to say that our beloved friend and founding member of viagra boys, Benjamin, has passed. Benjamin was loving and kind and the sweet memories we have together are countless. i cant stop crying while going through pictures of you but also laughing because you were one of the funniest, goofiest, people i had the pleasure of knowing. benjamin or ‘benis’ as we knew him, spread laughter and happiness wherever he went and i will cherish the memories we have of touring the world together.”
The statement continued: “Benjamin, we love you with all of our hearts and Viagra Boys would have been nothing without you. This planet just lost one the good ones. I hope you’re somewhere up in space telling bad jokes to an alien. Goodnight my sweet boy. I’ll love you forever. Raise your glasses for benis. its what he’d have wanted.”
Fans have shared their support for the band and expressed their condolences online.
Other punk bands and artists have shown their support for Viagra Boys, with Amyl and The Sniffers’ Amy Taylor commenting on the post “Rest In Peace Benis saddened to hear. Love you all of you” and British punk band Shame commenting “So sorry boys. Sending all our love x”.
The post-punk band, made up of Sebastian Murphy, Oskar Carls, Henrik Höckert, Tor Sjödén and Elias Jungqvist, formed in 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden.
In 2019, the band won the Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) Album of the Year Award for their debut album, ‘Street Worms’, which was released in 2018. Viagra Boys released their second album, ‘Welfare Jazz’, in January 2021.
Frontman Sebastian Murphy posted a tribute on his own Instagram account, in Swedish, writing “vila i frid min älskade älskade benjamin. jag kommer älska dig förralltid underbara människa. vi ses i kosmos”. It translates to “Rest in peace my beloved beloved Benjamin. I will love you forever wonderful man. See you in the cosmos.”
The cause of Vallé’s death is unknown.