Stephen Luscombe, co-founder and keyboardist of the 1980s synth-pop duo Blancmange, has died at the age of 70, his bandmate Neil Arthur announced on Instagram Sunday. Arthur posted a black-and-white photograph of Luscombe with the message: "Heartbroken. RIP Stephen. Love you forever."

Blancmange rose to prominence in the early 1980s with a string of songs that included "Living on the Ceiling," "Waves," "Blind Vision" and "Don't Tell Me." The pair, who formed Blancmange in 1979, released three studio albums during the decade — Happy Families, Mange Tout and Believe You Me — and became part of the era's synth-driven pop landscape.

Luscombe and Arthur split professionally in 1986 but reunited in the late 2000s. The duo released a fourth studio album, Blanc Burn, in 2011. Following that release, Luscombe withdrew from live performance and later from the group because of ill health. Arthur continued to record and perform under the Blancmange name with the aid of session musicians.

Luscombe's health problems were public at least as far back as 2012, when he said he had been diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm and would be unable to take part in some tour dates. "It wouldn’t have been too clever to ignore that, and not fair on the boys to have that at the back of their minds," he said at the time, adding that the condition was hereditary and that a later scan had shown no change.

Arthur had spoken of Luscombe's fragile condition in recent years. In 2022 he said the two kept in touch by text and phone and added that "recently Stephen has sadly been very seriously ill. I love him dearly, I’m just hoping he gets better very soon." Fans and fellow musicians posted condolences on social media after Arthur's announcement, recalling Luscombe's melodic contributions to Blancmange and offering sympathy to his family and bandmates.

Luscombe's musical interests and influences extended beyond pop. He had cited Brian Eno, the German experimental group Can, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa among his influences, reflecting an appetite for avant-garde and experimental sounds that helped shape Blancmange's textures.

Blancmange's work, particularly in the early 1980s, is often noted for blending synth-pop hooks with eclectic production choices. The band's debut, Happy Families, and follow-up albums earned them a devoted fan base and enduring recognition within the period's British new-wave and synth-pop movements.

Details about Luscombe's death, including place and cause, were not disclosed in Arthur's Instagram post. Prominent tributes and remembrances are likely to follow as further information becomes available and as peers and fans reflect on Luscombe's role in a defining decade for electronic pop music.