Former Hamilton rocker Kelly Jay getting help to clean house

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A former Hamilton rock star is getting a reprieve from the city of Calgary, to deal with his hoarding.

Kelly Jay of the band Crowbar has struggled with hoarding for years. But after learning his story, city officials have intervened to help Jay (real name Blake Fordham) clean up his home and deal with his illness.

Jay was featured on the TLC series Hoarders: Buried Alive two years ago. The city of Calgary has told him to clean up his property or be fined. But after learning of his personal tragedies: his daughter suddenly vanished while working in Tokyo in the 1990s, his wife of 15 years died in 2012, and the mother of his three children was killed in a car accident; the city gave the aging rock star a two month reprieve.

Crowbar was a Hamilton based rock and roll band formed in 1970. Most of the members of the group were the back up band for Ronnie Hawkins until he fired them, saying according to legend “you guys are so crazy that you could f— up a crowbar in three seconds!”

The band saw huge success throughout the 1970s and became the first Canadian band to record and release a live concert album. Jay co-wrote the band’s huge it, Oh, What A Feeling.

Kelly Jay and Crowbar were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.

Calgary officials say they will be helping Kelly clean up his property and are offering agency support to help him deal with his hoarding.