William Orbit, the producer of Madonna's Ray of Light, has died at 69

William Orbit, the English electronic producer who shaped Madonna's Ray of Light, has died at 69. His family said in a statement that he passed away at home on July 23, 2026; no cause of death was given.

Born William Wainwright in north London in 1956, Orbit left school at 16 and formed the ambient electronic trio Torch Song in 1980 with Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert, whose 1984 album Wish Thing led to him composing the score for the 1986 film Youngblood. He first crossed paths with Madonna in the early 1990s, remixing her singles Erotica and Justify My Love.

Orbit went on to co-produce Madonna's 1998 album Ray of Light, a fusion of pop, trip-hop and electronica that won three Grammys and became one of the defining records of the era; he later contributed to her albums Music and MDNA. He also produced Blur's 1999 album 13, steering the band away from Britpop, and produced two UK number-one singles for All Saints, Pure Shores and Black Coffee. His own 1999 dance reworking of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings reached the UK top five. His most recent solo album, The Painter, came out in 2022.

Tributes came from across the acts he worked with. Fatboy Slim wrote, "Rest in peace, my friend. You were a trailblazer and a gentleman." Blur posted a broken-heart emoji alongside the artwork for 13, and Melanie C, All Saints' Melanie Blatt and DJ Ferry Corsten, who remixed Orbit's Adagio for Strings, also paid tribute. Madonna posted a lengthy tribute of her own, writing about the creative freedom he gave her and calling their partnership her own ray of light.

Elsewhere in the acts he shaped, Madonna confirmed a Love Sensation collaboration with Kylie Minogue this month, and Blur's Dave Rowntree said he expects the band to reunite again at some point.

No cause of death has been made public, and Orbit's family asked for privacy following his death at home in July.

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