9 Musicians Who Died While Performing

Alexander Hughes, better known as English reggae artist Judge Dread, had a peculiar list of jobs before he became a musician, most bizarrely as an anonymous wrestler named The Masked Executioner. 

But soon after busting heads in the ring (and later as a bouncer and bodyguard), Hughes went on to hold a number of impressive distinctions, including putting more reggae songs onto the UK charts than anyone before him (yes, that includes Bob "Mr. Reggae" Marley) and also becoming the only white artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica.

As Judge Dread, Hughes was known as a goofy fellow with a brazenly juvenile sense of humor. (Two of his more popular songs are called "Jamaican Jerk (Off)" and "Up With the Cock!", just to provide some context.) But on stage he was a consummate performer. So it's fitting that at the end of his very last show, at the Penny Theatre in Canterbury, he said to the audience "Let's hear it for the band," walked just barely offstage, and promptly succumbed to a heart attack.