Beastie Boys’ John Berry Dies aged 52

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John Berry, a founding member of rap group Beastie Boys has died at the age of 52.

According to statement from his father, he had been suffering from frontal lobe dementia, a form of dementia that occurs when the frontal lobes of the brain begin to shrink, which had worsened in recent months as it affects behaviour, language and thinking.

The American country artist originally formed the ‘Beastie Boys’ as a hardcore punk band with three friends in 1981 and came up with the name for the group.

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John Berry was behind the strings on their first EP, Polly Wog Stew, but left before they made their commercial success. The group became a huge commercial success, recording a total of eight studio albums over 25 years, which collectively sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

Their best-known hits include (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!), Intergalactic, and Ch-Check It Out.

In 2012, Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billboard declared them the biggest selling rap group since the magazine began recording data in 1991.

Berry attended the Walden School in New York with fellow band member Mike Diamond, known as Mike D.