William Orbit, the Grammy-winning musician and producer best known for his work with Madonna, All Saints and Blur, died on July 23. He was 69.
Orbit’s family confirmed his death in a statement posted to his Instagram account on Friday. “It is with profound sadness that the family and friends of William Orbit announce that William passed away at home on 23rd July 2026,” the statement reads. “We are deeply saddened by his passing. He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music, friendship and kindness. We kindly ask that the privacy of William’s family and close friends is respected during this difficult time.” A cause of death was not given.
Throughout his career, Orbit built a sizable discography as both a solo musician and producer/remixer for other artists. On his own, he found chart success in his native U.K. with “Barber’s Adagio for Strings” as remixed by Ferry Corsten, as well as 2003’s “Feel Good Time,” a collaboration with Pink for the “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” soundtrack.
But to pop fans, he was best known as a central force on career-defining albums including Madonna’s “Ray of Light,” Blur’s “13” and Beth Orton’s debut “Superpinkymandy.” With Madonna, he won three Grammys including best pop album for “Ray of Light,” dance recording for “Ray of Light” and song written for visual media with “Beautiful Stranger.”
Orbit, whose real name was William Mark Wainwright, was born in London’s East End in 1956 to schoolteacher parents. He first cultivated his love of music at the age of 14 when he discovered his uncle’s tape recorder, and left school at the age of 16 to live across the U.K. and Europe, developing his skills as a guitarist and busking around London and Paris.
In 1980, he teamed with musicians Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert to form Torch Song, self-releasing songs on cassettes before signing to IRS Records to record two albums and four singles. He concurrently began training himself as a producer for other artists at his 24-track Guerilla Studios, where artists spanning the Cocteau Twins and Gary Numan to Sting and Ricky Gervais recorded, and launched Guerilla Records in 1990.
Orbit released a string of albums through the 1980s and ’90s before becoming a force in mainstream pop music. He produced the bulk of Orton’s “Superpinkymandy” and Caroline Lavelle’s “Spirit” before hitting his mainstream stride with Madonna for 1998’s “Ray of Light,” an album that reinvented the singer through spiritual yet propulsive dance music. The two would reunite several more times over the decades for film soundtrack singles including “Beautiful Stranger” and “American Pie,” as well as for her albums “Music” and “MDNA.”
Throughout his career, Orbit worked with a range of musicians including No Doubt, U2, All Saints, Melanie C and Britney Spears. He continued releasing music as a solo musician over the years, most recently with the albums “The Painter” (2022) and “WFO” (2024).
