Former Jethro Tull keyboardist and arranger Dee Palmer passed away at the age of 88 after a period of illness. Formerly known as David Palmer, she was a member of the Progressive Rock band from 1976 to 1980, although she worked as an arranger for the band since 1967. As a full-time member, she was part of the albums “Songs from the Wood” (1977), “Heavy Horses” (1978), “Bursting Out” (1978) and “Stormwatch” (1979).
Jethro Tull laments the death of former keyboardist at 88
“We learned today of the sad passing of former Tull member Dee Palmer who died at home in Shropshire supported by family members at the bedside. Dee had not been well during the last couple of years but, last time we spoke earlier in the year, was still planning to record with an orchestra the music score of the ballet The Water’s Edge which Dee (David, back then) Martin Barre and I had written for the Scottish Ballet in 1979. I had agreed to play flute on the new recording and assumed it was delayed but still on the cards.”
“As David Palmer, Dee had first had written brass section parts and conducted them on the track Move On Alone written by Mick Abrahams for our first album This Was back in 1968. A few months later, I asked him to come up with the string quartet arrangement for “A Christmas Song” which was released on the B-side of Love Story in Nov 1968.”
“During the next years, David was to continue in the arranger and conductor role notably on the Aqualung, WarChild, Minstrel In The Gallery and Too Old To Rock And Roll…. albums, eventually joining Tull as second keyboard player covering all the string parts on keyboards from 1976 until 1980.”
“His other solo work mainly involved orchestral versions of various classic rock albums originally by such bands as Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and Queen as well as the Tull album A Classic Case with the London Symphony Orchestra on which some members of Tull contributed instrumental additions.”
“David transitioned to Dee following psychological and medical consultations with surgery in 2004 following the death of his wife Maggie. He is survived by their four children. In 2018 Dee released the album Through Darkened Glass which includes the reworking of several lines and song arrangement ideas I recall from our many sessions together working on new ideas in the 70s.”
“My own favourite personal memories are mostly of the pipe-smoking, deep-voiced and creative co-conspirator with whom I enjoyed many a hot curry and a good blether under billowing clouds of St Bruno flake. RIP Dave/Dee – no smoking in heaven apparently…,” Ian Anderson said.
She was born in Headon, London, England in 1937 and later studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music, being decades later, in 1994 being appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. After the 1980s, Palmer produced several albums of orchestral arrangements of the music of many rock groups including Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Beatles and Queen. Her first solo album “Through Darkened Glass” was released in 2018 and had the participation of her former Jethro Tull bandmate, the guitarist Martin Barre.
Three years after the death of her wife Maggie, in 1998, Palmer came out as a transgender and intersex, changing her name to Dee. She was born with genital ambiguity, being assigned male at birth and underwent several surgeries until her twenties.