Sad to hear that the man who really played the signature saxophone solo of the 1970s, Raphael Ravenscroft, has died.

Apparently he wasn’t satisfied with his famous contribution to Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street. “I’m irritated because it’s out of tune,” he said. “Yeah, it’s flat. By enough of a degree that it irritates me at best.”

Judge for yourselves.

Gerry Rafferty: Baker Street

Raphael Ravenscroft, 4/6/1954 – 19/10/2014. So it goes.

So. The man who at least latterly was more famous for something he didn’t do than for anything he actually did is dead.

But he was one of the first actors to play James Bond – in a radio version of Moonraker in 1956.

His most resonant appearances for someone of my generation were as host of the TV game show Blockbusters where he was subject to the recurring request, “Can I have a P please, Bob?” and was also the presenter of Call My Bluff when it was axed.

He played along with the urban myth that he was the saxophonist on Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, apparently adding in for good measure that he also played lead guitar on Derek And The Dominos’ Layla.

Robert Wentworth John Holness 12/11/1928 – 6/1/12. So it goes.