Charlie Colin, Bassist and Founding Member of Train Dies at 58

Charlie Colin, founding bassist of Train passed away recently in Brussels, Belgium. According to reports, he died as the result of a fall while housesitting. As a result, it is unclear when he died. Colin was 58 years old.

Colin’s mother told TMZ that he slipped and fell in the shower while housesitting for friends in Brussels. They discovered his body after returning from their trip last week. As a result, it is currently unclear when the musician died.

According to his mother, Colin moved to Brussels to teach a music masterclass at a conservatory. He was also working on new music at the time of his death. Colin’s most recent Instagram posts show that he was enjoying his new life in Belgium.

A Brief Look at Charlie Colin’s Music Career

Before starting Train, Colin, Jimmy Stafford, and Rob Hotchkiss moved to San Francisco from Boston where Colin attended Berklee. Once on the West Coast, they formed the band Apostles. They recorded and released their self-titled debut album in 1992. Unfortunately, the label to which they had signed folded shortly thereafter and the band dissolved. Less than a year later, they came back together.

Colin, Hotchkiss, and Stafford enlisted Scott Underwood and Pat Monahan to form Train in San Francisco, California in 1993. Five years later, they released their self-titled debut album. The album featured their breakout hit “Meet Virginia.” Then, in 2001, the band released their sophomore album Drops of Jupiter. The title track earned the band a pair of Grammy nods. Colin’s last album with the band was their 2003 release My Private Nation.

Colin left Train in 2003 due to substance abuse issues per Billboard. Twelve years later, he came back together with Tom Luce and former Train bandmates Hotchkiss and Underwood to form Painbirds. The band never released a full-length album. Their self-titled debut EP came out in June 2015. The six-track collection contained previously-released singles “Cold Chicago,” “First Big Flight,” “Morning View,” and “Rain and Sun.”

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