Crazy Town singer Seth Binzer died of accidental overdose, says band manager | Music

US singer Seth Binzer, whose rap-rock band Crazy Town had a number one hit with Butterfly in 2001, died as a result of an accidental drug overdose, his group’s manager told the Guardian on Friday.

Crazy Town manager Howie Hubberman said the musician known as Shifty Shellshock died Monday after taking an inadvertently fatal combination of pharmaceutical and street drugs. The medical examiner in the singer’s hometown of Los Angeles has not yet released details about the official cause or manner of death.

“We failed Shifty – the people, like me, who made it possible for him to do things,” Hubberman said in a brief interview Friday. “If we had been successful, he would still be here.”

Binzer, 49, was found dead in his LA home. He had spoken about his battle with drug addiction for a documentary by actress and film director Soleil Moon Frye, with whom he is said to have been in a relationship since around 2021.

“It’s about his daily life and his daily struggle with addiction,” Hubberman said of the film, which had not yet been released at the time of Binzer’s death. “It exists, and now we want to spread his message more than ever.”

In the United States alone, nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2022 – the last year for which complete data was available as of Friday. The figure includes both illegal and prescription drugs, according to the federal government.

Butterfly was the third single from Crazy Town’s 1999 debut album The Gift of Game. Released as a single in 2000, Butterfly climbed to number 1 in the US charts the following year and reached number 3 in the UK.

Binzer knew the song would be a hit because it was “very radio-friendly (and) the female audience loved it.” He and his bandmates feared that Butterfly would leave its mark on the band, which proved true when a second album, Darkhorse (2002), did not perform as well as their first effort and the group soon took a four-year hiatus.

As a solo artist, Binzer contributed vocals to Paul Oakenfold’s single “Starry Eyed Surprise”, which peaked at number 6 in the UK and made it within one spot of the top 40 in the US in 2002.

Crazy Town later performed together again, but had to accept the death of former members Rust Epique in 2004 and DJ AM in 2009. Binzer eventually renamed the group Crazy Town X.

In addition to his music, Binzer became known through his participation in the VH1 reality show Celebrity Rehab. He also participated in the spin-off show Sober House, during which he suffered a relapse.

Binzer’s publicly documented legal troubles included an arrest for alleged driving under the influence in 2022.

Hubberman described Binzer on Friday as a friend who wanted to overcome his addiction problems. He said Binzer leaves behind three children.

“We failed to help him and he is no longer here,” Hubberman said.