From Bowie to Bolan, Mercury to Winehouse, experience the UK’s poignant pilgrimages to its most beloved musical visionaries
//Intro// Britain’s rock music history is unrivalled. Ever since The Beatles’ American Invasion commenced in 1964, it’s arguably been the nation’s most significant cultural export, producing countless bands who influenced the direction of rock music around the globe.
And that legacy continues to shine after the beloved musicians have departed this mortal coil, with Bowie and Bolan, Mercury and Moon and many more icons ensuring the British landscape is rich with gravesites and memorials linked to rock royalty.
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From quiet churchyards to fan-maintained shrines, here are some of the most poignant and peaceful markers you can visit to pay tribute to those who changed guitar music forever.
12 famous rock star graves
Jim Morrison, The Doors
Jim Morrison's grave has long been a site for fans of the critically divisive yet influential rock band to pay their respects in an unusual way, with graffiti sprawling across neighbouring gravestones in the poet’s corner of the famous Père-Lachaise necropolis, which also houses the tombs of French singer Edith Piaf, Irish author Oscar Wilde and many more cultural icons.
Like Morrison himself, his plot has had an eventful life since the singer was found dead in the bath in 1971 at the age of 27 by his girlfriend in the Marais district of Paris (a doctor's report stated the cause of death was heart failure aggravated by heavy drinking). In 2025, a memorial bust of Morrison that was stolen from his grave in 1988 was found by chance by French police in an unrelated anti-corruption investigation. On the 20th anniversary of his death in 1991, fans also rioted at his grave and had to be dispersed by police.
Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones
Cheltenham Cemetery (Gloucestershire)
Founding member and early creative force of The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones died in 1969 at just 27 after drowning in his swimming pool on 3 July (‘Death by misadventure’ was the official ruling).
The Stones’ Hyde Park send-off to their guitarist and multi-instrumentalist just two days later was one of the sixties and the band’s most seminal moments, with frontman Mick Jagger reading Shelley’s Adonais as a tribute to Jones and the band releasing thousands of white butterflies into the London skies.
Jones spent his childhood in England’s west country, with his grave at Cheltenham Cemetery in his hometown on the fringes of the Cotswolds becoming one of Britain’s most popular rock-heritage sites. The white Celtic cross that marks his plot is open to the public and has since become a quiet, reflective space for fans remembering both Jones’ musical legacy and troubled life. The grave is easily visited from the Cotswolds Way National Trail.
Marc Bolan, T. Rex
Marc Bolan Memorial, Barnes (London)
T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan was cremated at Golders Green, but his most famous memorial site is the tree on Queen’s Ride in Barnes, where the glam rock pioneer’s fatal car crash in 1977 took place when he was just 29.
It’s since been transformed into a full memorial shrine that’s maintained by both charities and fans of the Get it On star. Guitars, scarves, glitter and handwritten messages often adorn the area, making it one of Britain’s most unique musical pilgrimage sites.
Keith Moon, The Who
Memorial Plaque, Golders Green (London)
Keith Moon, The Who’s wild and brilliant drummer, was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium after his death in 1978 following an overdose of sleeping pills, aged just 32. Though Moon doesn’t have a grave, he is commemorated with a plaque at the crematorium’s memorial gardens inscribed with the words ‘There is no substitute’, a link to The Who classic Substitute and Moon’s irreplaceable qualities.
John Entwistle, The Who
St. Edward’s Church, Stow-on-the-Wold (Gloucestershire)
Keith Moon’s bandmate and bassist John Entwistle, meanwhile, is buried in the peaceful churchyard of St. Edward’s Church in his hometown of Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds.
Known for its stone arch framed by ancient yew trees, the churchyard has become a quiet pilgrimage spot for fans of the band famed for their explosive live shows. The arch is also said to be the inspiration for the Doors of Durin in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Ian Curtis, Joy Division
The grave of Joy Division’s frontman is one of the UK’s most visited rock memorials. Curtis died in 1980 at the age of 23 yet left a legacy that shaped alternative music for decades. His original headstone bore the inscription “Love Will Tear Us Apart” after the band’s most classic song but was stolen in 2008. The site remains a quiet, reflective destination for fans of the post-punk icon, albeit it can be tricky to locate in the cemetery.
Freddie Mercury, Queen
Memorial garden at Feltham (London)
Following his death in 1991 at the age of 45, Queen frontman and solo star Freddie Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Crematorium, with his ashes later scattered in an undisclosed location.
While not a traditional grave, a memorial plaque was created in Feltham in 2009, where Mercury once lived, before a garden memorial was opened by his sister and Queen guitarist Brian May in September 2025. The area has since become a symbolic location for fans wanting to honour the Queen frontman and Live Aidlegend.
Steve Marriott, Small Faces and Humble Pie
Golders Green Crematorium (London)
Small Faces and Humble Pie frontman Steve Marriott was cremated at Golders Green in 1991 following his death at the age of 44 following a fire at his home in Essex. His memorial there is a frequent stopping point for fans of the beloved British band, who went on to become The Faces (with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood) after Marriott’s departure in 1968 due to creative differences.
Stuart Adamson, Big Country
Dunfermline Cemetery, Fife (Scotland)
Big Country’s frontman Stuart Adamson was a towering influence on Scottish rock. After his tragic death in Hawaii in 2001 at the age of 43, his ashes were interred at the Dunfermline Cemetery. A memorial bench now sits in Pittencrieff Park, where fans frequently visit to leave guitar picks, lyric sheets and tartan ribbons in tribute to the musician whose anthemic songs defined a generation of Celtic-inspired rock.
Joe Strummer, The Clash
St. Mary’s Church, Brompton (Kent)
The Clash’s beloved frontman Joe Strummer, who passed away at the age of 50 in 2002 from a heart defect, is commemorated with a plaque at St. Mary’s Church in Brompton, Kent, close to where the punk icon lived for part of his life.
Although not an official grave, the memorial has become an important site for fans of the genre-spanning group who saw huge success on both sides of the Atlantic, especially during anniversaries when gatherings and musical tributes take place.
Amy Winehouse
Golders Green Crematorium (London)
Another musical icon commemorated at Golders Green in London is Back to Black star Amy Winehouse, whose memorial stone sits within the crematorium’s landscaped gardens. Fans frequently leave flowers, notes and mementos honouring the 21st century icon who died from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27 (the same age as Brian Jones above, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain).
David Bowie
Mural, Tunstall Road, Brixton (London)
The rock icon had a secret funeral following his death from liver cancer in January 2016 at the age of 69 (his ashes were scattered on the island of Bali), but British rock fans can pay tribute to the musical visionary in London, where a vast mural by artist Jimmy C is located on the side of the Morleys department store on Tunstall Road in Brixton.
The mural has become a focal point for floral tributes and messages from fans. There’s also a memorial in Berlin where Bowie made his seminal run of ‘Berlin Trilogy’ albums: Low, Heroes and Lodger in the seventies.
George Michael, Wham! and solo
Highgate West Cemetery (London)
Another of Britain’s most beloved musical stars who died in 2016, George Michael is buried in Highgate West Cemetery, alongside his sister and mother, with the grave bearing his birth name of Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou.
Highgate is normally closed to the public, but you can buy an admission ticket. Fans also leave tributes to the Wham! and solo star, who died at the age of 53 on Christmas day, at the gates.
Elvis Presley
Located in the Meditation Garden at his famous home of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis Presley rests alongside his parents and daughter Lisa Marie.
Originally temporarily buried at Forest Hill Cemetery after his death in 1977 at the age of 42 due to heart failure, the King’s body was moved to Graceland due to security concerns and tampering attempts. The Meditation Garden now exists as a permanent, accessible site for fans of the rock ‘n’ roll trailblazer as part of the famous Graceland tour.
Buddy Holly, Buddy Holly & The Crickets
City of Lubbock Cemetery, Texas
The grave of rock ‘n’ roll superstar Buddy Holly is located at the City of Lubbock Cemetery in Lubbock, Texas, the rock ‘n’ roll superstar’s hometown. The pioneering frontman of Buddy Holly & The Crickets, who died at just 22 on 3 February 1959 (the ‘Day the Music Died’ according to Don McClean’s ‘American Pie’) following a plane crash in Iowa alongside fellow star Richie Valens, is buried with his parents.
Holly’s grave features a distinctive flat headstone with a guitar engraving, music notes and holly leaves, with fans often leaving guitar picks as tributes. The simple marker honours his original surname of Holley, and the site remains a popular pilgrimage for music fans visiting Lubbock.
John Lennon, The Beatles
Strawberry Fields Memorial, Central Park, New York
The former Beatle’s ashes were scattered in New York’s Central Park following his tragic shooting by Mark David Chapman in the archway of The Dakota building in the city on 8 December 1980.
The primary location for fans to pay their respects to the musical icon is the Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central Park, which includes an Imagine mosaic and is named after one of the Beatles’ most enduring songs.
Phil Lynott, Thin Lizzy
The Thin Lizzy legend is buried at St. Fintan's Cemetery in Dublin, where he grew up with his grandparents. The singer and bassist shot to fame in the 1970s with the likes of ‘The Boys are Back in Town’, but his later years were heavily affected by drug and alcohol dependency, leading to his collapse on 25 December 1985 at his home in London. Lynott passed away on 4 January 1986 and was buried at St. Fintan's Cemetery in Dublin after his funeral in London. Lynott’s mother Philomena was buried in the same plot in 2019.
Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
Seattle and Aberdeen, Washington
Following his tragic death at the age of 27 in 1994, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s ashes were largely scattered, leaving fans to gather instead at Viretta Park in Seattle, Washington state.
Benches covered with messages still overlook his former home, forming an informal and continuing memorial to the grunge icon.
The Kurt Cobain Memorial Park in his hometown of Aberdeen, near the Young Street Bridge, also honours his roots with plaques, poetry and artwork.
