After all, this is Ike Turner – inventor of rock and roll and wife-beater extraordinaire – we're talking about. Surely Ike Turner's death had to be as spectacular as his life. 

Well it was, provided that 'Massive Cocaine Overdose' is spectacular enough for you. And, unless you were hoping that Ike Turner's death was caused by a giant robot from outer space exploding him with its death rays, hopefully this will do.

When Ike Turner died last month, it was generally thought that his passing would mark a new period of reflection for the man primarily known for being that nasty punchy bloke from What's Love Got To Do With It. After all, in his lifetime Ike Turner had shaped popular music as much as anyone you'd care to think of.

That's not exactly what happened – most obituaries were along the lines of "Nutbush City Limits was alright by, Jesus, Ike Turner was a bastard," while Ike Turner's ex-wife Tina Turner didn't give any form of public statement about Ike's death whatsoever and the only man to vocally sing Ike Turner's praises was Phil Spector, a man not exactly known for his progressive attitudes towards women.

But still, at least Ike Turner died doing the thing he loved best. No, not angrily punching a woman in the face and screaming "eat the cake!" over and over again, we mean Ike Turner died ingesting a large quantity of cocaine. CNN reports on the coroner's enquiry into Ike Turner's death:

"The cause of death for Ike Turner is cocaine toxicity with other significant conditions," Supervising Medical Examiner Investigator Paul Parker told CNN. Contributing conditions included high blood pressure and emphysema, he said. "The manner of death is an accident," he added.

So that's Ike Turner's death dealt with in full, revealing yet another bulletpoint for the footnote of his obituary. Ike Turner – inventor of rock and roll, wife-beater extraordinaire and one of the few men around dumb enough to take loads of cocaine even though he suffered from emphysema.

We're just kidding, ghost of Ike Turner. Please don't come and haunt us, you were terrifying enough alive. And don't try to make us eat any more of that ghost cake, either. That stuff is fattening.

Read more:

Medical examiner says Ike Turner died of cocaine overdose – CNN  

Although no cause of death has been stated, it's thought that Ike Turner was suffering from emphysema. He was 76. Drug addict, jailbird, wife-beater and the man who made Tina Turner a star – therefore ultimately responsible for Steamy Windows – Ike Turner had a hell of a lot to answer for, but the stamp that Ike Turner left on music will be remembered forever.

OK, we're just saying that because we're scared of Ike Turner's ghost beating us up in our sleep. Really, have you seen What's Love Got To Do With It?

There's no denying that Ike Turner shaped music fundamentally. It was Ike Turner who wrote the first rock and roll song, Rocket 88. It was Ike Turner who first used distorted guitar in a recording. It's Ike Turner's songs that were sampled by hop-hop pioneers and changed the direction of that genre. Beyonce has cribbed Ike Turner's creative vision for Tina Turner wholesale. Um, and it was Ike Turner who played piano on that last Gorillaz album that you liked for a couple of weeks and then forgot you owned. 

However, that's not what instantly springs to mind when you think of Ike Turner. No, the first thing that springs to mind is What's Love Got To Do With It, the Tina Turner biopic that's like watching Coyote Ugly interspersed with all the domestic abuse scenes from the Christmas Day 2001 episode of EastEnders. Laurence Fishburne's portrayal of Ike Turner was visceral enough for the world to see Ike Turner as nothing more than a drug-abusing woman-beater for the rest of his life.

So up until yesterday, basically, because that's when Ike Turner died.

It's being reported that Ike Turner died yesterday at his house in San Diego aged 76. A cause of death has yet to be identified and no other plans have been made. But what does Tina Turner make of all this? After all, her feelings towards Ike Turner must be bittersweet – although he was endlessly violent and controlling towards her, Tina was professionally never better than when she was under Ike's wing. Handily Tina Turner has put out a statement regarding Ike Turner's death, through her spokeswoman:

"Tina is aware that Ike passed away earlier today. She has not had any contact with him in 35 years. No further comment will be made."

Maybe in death Ike Turner's music will be reevaluated and appraised for its undeniable influence. Maybe someone will even make a reputation-saving Ray-style biopic about Ike Turner based on his autobiography Takin' Back My Name. But probably not. He really did seem like a bit of a bastard, you know.

So let's remember Ike Turner the way that suits him best – as a booming giant disembodied head floating behind Tina Turner's back…

Read more:

Ike Turner Dies in San Diego at Age 76 – Washington Post