When the sad news that Crazy Town singer Shifty Shellshock had passed away aged 49 was reported on Monday, everyone assumed it was the result of a drug overdose.
Turns out – they were 100% correct, as confirmed today by Crazy Town manager Howie Hubberman.
Howie told PEOPLE:
‘Seth Binzer, after struggling with addiction and Crazy Town’s rapid success with Butterfly, never was able to reach out on a more successful level to deal with his addictions.
‘We all tried, but ultimately we all failed, or Shifty would still be here.
‘The cause of death was a combination of prescription drugs and street purchased drugs.
‘Shifty was a friend and really wanted to get himself fixed — unfortunately no one had the exact tools to do this, myself included.’
It’s no secret that Shifty Shellshock struggled with drug addiction through his life and career, even appearing in the reality TV shows Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. In fact on the former show, he once snuck out of the celebrity house and onto the roof so he could smoke crack cocaine. He also had a drug counselor drive him around as he smoked crack in the passenger seat.
One of Shifty’s last performances with Crazy Town was a horrible unplugged version of their 2000s hit ‘Butterfly’, which you can watch below. Shifty is 48 in the video, but looks around 70 and half-dead:
Tragic. Still, at least he left behind a banger of a tune that us millennials will continue to embarrass ourselves to at social functions any time it comes on. That’s more of a legacy than most people get to the leave behind.
RIP Shifty Shellshock and thoughts with his friends and family.
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For the Sick Chirpse rundown of 9 of the most Y2K video game covers of the 2000s, click HERE.
