Dee Palmer obit

Dee Palmer 1937-2026

 

She was not on the list.

We learned today of the sad passing of former JethroTull member Dee Palmer who died at home in Shropshire supported by some family members at the bedside.

Dee had not been well during the last couple of years but, last time we spoke earlier in the year, was still planning to record with an orchestra the music score of the ballet The Water’s Edge which Dee (David, back then) Martin Barre and I had written for performances by the Scottish Ballet in 1979. I had agreed to play flute on the new recording and assumed it was delayed but still on the cards.

As David Palmer, Dee had first had written brass section parts and conducted them on the track Move On Alone written by Mick Abrahams for our first Album This Was back in 1968. A few months later, I asked him to come up with the lovely string quartet arrangement for “A Christmas Song” which was released on the B-side of our our single Love Story in November 1968.

Following on during the next years, David was to continue in the arranger and conductor role notably on the Aqualung, WarChild, Minstrel In The Gallery and Too Old To Rock And Roll…. albums, eventually joining Tull as second keyboard player covering all the string parts on electronic keyboards from 1976 until 1980.

His other solo work mainly involved orchestral versions of various classic rock albums originally by such bands as Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and Queen as well as the Tull album A Classic Case with the London Symphony Orchestra on which some members of Tull contributed instrumental additions.

David transitioned to Dee following psychological and medical consultations with surgery in 2004 following the death of his wife Maggie. He is survived by their four children.

In 2018 Dee released the album Through Darkened Glass which includes the reworking of several lines and song arrangement ideas I recall from our many sessions together working on new ideas in the 70s. In more recent years, Dee toured with The Martin Barre Band in the USA and Latin America.

My own favourite personal memories are mostly of the pipe-smoking, deep-voiced and creative co-conspirator with whom I enjoyed many a hot curry and a good blether under billowing clouds of St Bruno flake.

RIP Dave/Dee – no smoking in heaven apparently…

- Ian Anderson June 13th 2026

Going about her early career as a jobbing arranger and conductor of recording sessions, Palmer recorded her first album project, Nicola, in 1967 with Bert Jansch. She was then referred to Terry Ellis, then manager of the early Jethro Tull, who were recording their first album at Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea, London. At short notice, Palmer came up with arrangements for the horns and strings on the Mick Abrahams composition, "Move on Alone" from the This Was album. This work and professional performance endeared her to the band and she was soon to visit them again, with a string quartet arrangement to "A Christmas Song". Palmer arranged string, brass, and woodwind parts for Jethro Tull songs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was an arranger for the 1969 Stand Up album, before formally joining the group in 1976 and primarily playing electronic keyboard instruments.

In 1980, leader Ian Anderson intended to release the album A with other musicians as a solo project, but was persuaded by his record label to release it instead under the Jethro Tull name. This resulted in every member of the group, including Palmer, leaving except guitarist Martin Barre and Anderson himself. Palmer formed a new group, Tallis, with former Jethro Tull pianist and organist John Evan. The new group was not commercially successful, and Palmer returned to film scoring and sessions.