Echo Lake Drummer Pete Hayes Dies At 25, No Cause Of Death Given But Illness Suggested

Pete Hayes, the drummer for South London-based dream-pop band Echo Lake, died Thursday at age 25, the band announced on its website Sunday.

We are so sad to say that our close friend and brilliant drummer Peter Hayes passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 25, Echo Lake wrote Sunday, although the posting was written in the first person. I can't believe I'm typing these words, we're all devastated and shocked.

At the end of the posting is a photo of Pete Hayes smiling and giving a thumbs-up while seated on his drum set.

Neither the band's statement nor other reports on the death of Pete Hayes gave the Echo Park drummer's cause of death, although the band's message suggested he was battling some sort of illness.

Even in his last few weeks he would be sitting up in his hospital bed smiling and having a laugh with me, the message continued. It was this outlook on life that made me perhaps take advantage of our time spent together. This situation never seemed possible because he never ever stopped being positive and joyful. He never moaned, or acted ill and was an incredibly hard worker. It's a really rare thing to find all of these qualities in someone and he deserved more time to live his life to the full, which he always did.

In addition to the posting on the Echo Lake website, the band used Twitter to notify fans of the death of Pete Hayes.

R.I.P our Friend and drummer Pete Hayes. 25 yrs old, we love you so much, the band wrote. Along with the message was a photo of Hayes playing the drums.

The tweet was retweeted 66 times as Echo Lake fans sent their condolences to the band.

@echolakeband so sorry for your loss - RIP Pete..., wrote Twitter user Jane Kindlen.

@echolakeband RIP, sorry to hear of this, said user @deanbromley.

@echolakeband Thinking of you guys. X, said user Sean Stanley.

Echo Lake is a dream-pop band based in South London whose debut LP, Wild Peace, was released Monday.