Brian James, founder member of punk rock band The Damned, died on 3/3/2025. Punk rock wasn’t really my thing but it was undeniably a significant part of the late 1970s musically.
This song, written by James, wasn’t a hit in the UK but is very familiar from radio play in the years since.
Brian Robertson (aka Brian James ) 18/2/1955 – 6/3/2025. So it goes.
Singer Roberta Flack died earlier this week. Her signature style was reserve, not flamboyance or over-indulgence, and her records were the better for it.
Not her biggest UK hit (that would be Killing Me Softly With His Song) but her first. An all-but perfect rendering of a song Kirsty’s dad Ewan McColl wrote for Peggy Seeger.
Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Roberta Cleopatra Flack: 10/2/1937 – 24/2/2025. So it goes.
She first came to prominence in 1964 due to her association with The Rolling Stones (Jagger and Richards wrote her first hit.) She had a sweet but almost insubstantial voice suited to soft pop songs but by the mid 60s her singing career had stalled, in part due to a drugs scandal. She took up acting with some success though but mostly fell out of public consciousness.
Here’s Faithfull’s version of a Jackie DeShannon song that gave her her highest UK chart placing (no 4 in 1965 as compared to the no 9 achieved by As Tears Go By the year before.)
Marianne Faithfull: Come and Stay with Me
The song below is from her 1980 “comeback”* album of the same title, which is widely regarded as her best, not least by herself.
*Even if Dreamin’ my Dreams had intervened in 1976
Marianne Faithfull: Broken English
Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull: 29/12/1946 – 30/1/2025. So it goes.
Manchester City legend Tony Book left us on Monday, comedian Tony Slattery the day after, and news of the deaths of Joan Plowright and David Lynch came on Thursday.
Then, yesterday, we lost Kenny Wilson and Denis Law (see previous posts.)
Anthony Keith (Tony) Book: 4/9/1934 – 13/1/2025. So it goes.
Tony Declan James Slattery: 9/11/1959 – 14/1/2025. So it goes.
Joan Ann Plowright: 28/10/1929 – 16/1/2025. So it goes.
David Keith Lynch: 20/1/1946 –15/1/2025. So it goes.
What can you say about the only Scottish footballer ever to win the Ballon d’Or? Simpy magnificent.
He is Scotland’s all time top goalscorer, a record held jointly with Kenny Dalglish.
He played club football for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, Torino, Manchester United and City again.
He once scored six goals in an FA Cup tie for Manchester City against Luton Town. Sadly these goals do not appear on his record as the game was abandoned with twenty minutes left to play. City lost the rearranged game 3-1! Of course Denis got their goal.
It was with Manchester United that he made his greatest mark in club football, in that great triumvirate of Best, Law and Charlton.
The Dumbarton FC website today contained the sad news that Sons’ great striker from the 1970/71 and 1971/72 seasons, and club legend, Kenny Wilson has died.
He scored 67 goals in his short time at the club including 38 in 36 league games in that memorable promotion season of 1971/72 and 4 in the top division the year after before he moved to Carlisle. He and Roy McCormack were the most potent striking partnership I have ever seen. Just sublime.
I noted part of Kenny’s contribution to our promotion in this post. In a later league game against Raith Rovers he scored all 5 in a 5-0 win. One of those he knew little about. He was standing with his back to goal a few yards out and the ball bounced off the back of his foot and over the line. When you’re hot, you’re hot.
My elder brother dubbed him “rubber legs” due to the way he collapsed when tackled illegally. He won more than a few penalties and free-kicks converted by Charlie Gallagher in those two seasons.
In a pre-season friendly against Carlisle United Kenny scored a cracker I always remember as the “£10,000 goal.” Before the game Carlisle were rumoured to be interested in signing him and willing to pay £10,000 as a transfer fee. When Kenny joined them a few months later they paid £20,000.
Sadly his career after he left the Sons was not as successful in terms of goals scored.
He returned to visit Boghead and the Dumbarton Football Stadium (the Rock) often in the years after he retired from football and always had time to spare for the fans.
And so another part of my youth has gone.
Kenneth Malcolm (Kenny) Wilson: 15/9/1946 – 17/01/2025. So it goes.
Perhaps their most is Hold On, I’m Comin’ (a 1966 US no 21 and R&B no 1) but their first UK top thirty hit was Soul Man in 1967. Their highest UK chart placing came at no 15 in 1969 with Soul Sister, Brown Sugar.
Sam and Dave: Hold On, I’m Comin’
Sam and Dave: Soul Man
Sam and Dave: Soul Sister, Brown Sugar
Samuel David (Sam) Moore: 12/10/1935 – 10/1/2025. So it goes
I heard Brenton Wood’s death reported on the radio on 3/1/2025. The piece referred to a song of his I couldn’t remember ever hearing, The Oogum Boogum Song, which apparently became famous after being used in various films and TV shows.
What I remember Woods for is his 1967 hit Gimme Little Sign, a UK no 8. Here’s a Top of the Pops clip from February 1968.
Brenton Wood: Gimme Little Sign
Alfred Jesse Smith (Brenton Wood,) 26/7/1941 – 3/1/2025. So it goes.
