And now Mary Weiss, lead singer of US female vocal group The Shangri-Las, has died.
The group is perhaps best known for the teen gothic tragedy song Leader of the Pack. But this was their first (and only other) UK hit. Unusually for a clip of an early 1960s hit this is in colour.
The Shangri-Las: Remember (Walking in the Sand)
Mary Louise Weiss: 28/12/1948 –19/1/2024. So it goes.
He was one of my favourite SF writers of the 1970s and 1980s.
I have read eleven of his books including two short story collections and the novel he co-wrote with British SF author Ian Watson.
His was always a humane approach to writing SF.
He had a knack for memorable story titles. From my early days reading the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction his story The White Otters of Childhood stood out as demanding to be read.
Then who could not be intrigued by And Strange at Ecbatan the Trees? (This story is also known as Beneath the Shattered Moons. So good he named it twice.)
And there is his novel Philip K Dick is Dead Alas.
Michael Lawson Bishop: 12/11/1945 – 13/11/2023. So it goes.
Annie Nightingale, the pioneer for women DJs on the radio, has died. She was the world record holder as the longest serving female radio presenter.
Female radio DJs were beyond rarity in 1970 when she joined the BBC’s Radio 1, but she carved out a thoroughly respected niche for herself including presenting the Old Grey Whistle Test for eleven years and provided inspiration for all those female presenters who came after her.
Annie Avril Nightingale: 1/4/1940 – 11/1/2024. So it goes.
And on Monday night JPR Williams joined the ranks.
He was one of those sporstpeople whose surname became superfluous. If you said JPR everyone knew who you were talking about.
Flamboyant, distinctive with his trade mark sideburns, like Franz Beckenbauer in football he also redefined his position of full back in his sport, rugby union.
His record is astonishing, both with Wales and the British & Irish Lions.
John Peter Rhys Williams: 2/3/1949 – 8 /1/2024. So it goes.
Hot on the heels of the news of the death of Mario Zagallo, the first man to win the World Cup as both a player and manager, comes the death of the second, Franz Beckenbauer.
Zagallo’s playing career was a bit before my time but he won the World Cup twice as a player, in 1958 and 1962, and was at the helm when Brazil won their third World Cup in 1970. He was assistant manager for their 1994 win. This makes him the most successful footballer in World Cup history.
Mário Jorge Lobo Zagallo: 9/8/1931 – 5/1/2024. So it goes.
Beckenbauer leapt into the British consciousness during the 1966 World Cup in England, where he stood out as a new type of footballer, striding about the midfield like someone playing a different game altogether. Not long after he more or less invented the role of the attacking centre back from the seeper/libero position. His control of games led to his German compatriots giving him the nickname Der Kaiser. Domestically he was the driving force behind making Bayern Munich the abiding success they are today.
In later years his reputation was tainted by allegations of corruption surrounding the securing by Germany of the hosting of the 2006 World Cup but it his achievements on the pitch which will be his legacy.
Franz Anton Beckenbauer: 11/9/1945 – 7/1/2024. So it goes.
I saw in the Guardian last week that Bob Johnson of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span had died.
This track of theirs – the band’s first UK hit – seemed appropriate for the time of year; doubly so since it was Johnson who brought the song to the band. It was the first UK hit to be sung entirely in Latin and one of only a handful of a capella hits.
Steeleye Span: Gaudete
Robert (Bob) Johnson: 18/3/1944 – 15/12/2023. So it goes.
I read today the Guardian obituary of West Indies cricketer Joe Solomon, known for his excellent fielding. He it was who threw the ball (with only one stump to aim at) that ensured the runout that secured the first ever tie in Test cricket in a celebrated match against Australia at Brisbane in 1960.
A sufficient claim to fame you would think, but until I read it I had not realised he is the only cricketer (yet) to score a hundred in each of his first three first-class innings.
Joseph Stanislaus (Joe) Solomon: 24/8/1930 – 8/12/2023. So it goes.
During the week came the news that Denny Laine, first singer with The Moody Blues, the voice of number 1 hit Go Now, has gone.
The Moody Blues: Go Now
Laine later became a founder member of Wings, As co-writer of Mull of Kintyre (with Paul McCartney) he had a bigger selling single than any the Beatles had.
In between The Moody Blues and his stint with Wings he was briefly in various other bands and found time to release two singles under his own name of which the song below was one I liked from first hearing his version. It wasn’t a hit for Denny but in 1972 became one for Colin Blunstone.
Denny Laine: Say You Don’t Mind
Brian Frederick Arthur Hines (Denny Laine) 29/10/ 1944 – 5/12/2023. So it goes.
Poetry isn’t really my thing, dub poetry less so, but Zephaniah was undoubtedly important – for representing those from a generally overlooked background and for saying things that need to be said, though those with vested interests might wish them to remain unsaid.
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah: 15/4/1958 – 7/12/2023. So it goes.
