Rest in Peace

Yes, I read about that. I think my granny had one of his albums* A good age. RIP

*I mean this as a compliment!

Lynsey de Paul, Singer, composer and the first female musician to win an Ivor Novello award, has died suddenly at the age of 64

As well as co-writing hits such as Barry Blue's Dancin' on a Saturday Night, De Paul had a successful performing career, recording several top 10 hits, including Sugar Me and Won't Somebody Dance With Me. She also wrote theme music for television shows, and later branched out into cartooning and acting.

Paul Revere of Raiders rock band dies at 76

Paul Revere, the organist and leader of the Raiders rock band, has died. He was 76.

Manager Roger Hart says Revere died Saturday at his home in Idaho. No other details were provided.

Revere, born Paul Revere Dick, became known as "the madman of rock and roll" for his theatrical colonial wardrobe and infectious stage persona with the band.

The group launched its career in 1963 with a popular rendition of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie" before releasing its own hits like "Kicks," ''Hungry" and "Good Thing." The band's biggest hit arrived in 1971 with "Indian Reservation."

Revere and the Raiders served as the house band for the Dick Clark TV show "Where the Action Is."

Revere remained a constant presence with the group for almost five decades.

Rave legend & top producer Mark Bell has passed away following "complications after an operation", aged 43.

His death has been confirmed by his label, Warp, who released a statement saying: "It's with great sadness that we announce the untimely passing of Mark Bell of LFO who died last week from complications after an operation. Mark's family and friends request privacy at this difficult time."

LFO was originally comprised of Mark Bell and collaborator Gez Varley (who quit in 1996). The duo helped put Sheffield on the dance music map and were early signings to Warp Records. The act and label went on to pioneer bleep 'n' bass, putting a unique twist on techno that emanated from the depths of Yorkshire.

LFO hit number 12 in the UK singles chart in 1990 with rave anthem 'LFO' and created three albums between 1989 and 2003.

Bell is also famous for his production work on Björk's 'Homogenic' and Depeche Mode's 'Exciter'.

He was still playing live as LFO and was very much a part of Warp's 25th anniversary celebrations.

Beloved of fans and DJs, his name was written in dance music history long before his death.

Isaiah "Ikey" Owens has died aged 38. A member of Jack White's touring band, he also worked with The Mars Volta, and played keyboards on the Long Beach music scene.

RIP both

Raphael Ravenscroft dead: 'Baker Street' musician, who played the most famous saxophone solo for just £27, dies aged 60 RIP~

Adric wrote:Raphael Ravenscroft dead: 'Baker Street' musician, who played the most famous saxophone solo for just £27, dies aged 60   RIP~

Sad story that he got so ripped off. Not only that, he had to put up with a popular urban myth that the sax on the record was played by game show host Bob Holness I concede it was a funny enough idea, though. RIP anyway

John Holt, writer and singer of "The Tide Is High", dead at 67. He was the lead singer in the Paragons, creating The Tide Is High in 1967. I didn't realise it was a cover version! Oops. Anyway, RIP

UK glam rock legend Alvin Stardust has died, aged 72. He had been suffering with a form of prostate cancer He was due to release his 1st new album in 30 years on November 3. He topped the UK singles charts just once, with Jealous Mind, though is more remembered for My Coo-Ca-Choo.

RIP

Singer-songwriter Jack Bruce, the bassist in Cream, has died at the age of 71

Bruce played bass, sang and was the principal songwriter in Cream, but even leaving aside that group, in which he played with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, his CV reads like a comprehensive guide to the British blues boom, with spells in Alexis Korner’s Blues Inc, the Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Manfred Mann

RIP

Jazz legend, clarinettist Acker Bilk has died at the age of 85

His greatest tune was "Stranger on the Shore" which only reached #2 in the charts, but remained in the top 75 for over a year, at a time when such a thing was almost unthinkable. He wrote it for his daughter, Jenny.

RIP

Some rapper I've never heard of, Big Paybacc, has nevertheless finally achieved publicity by being shot dead at McDonald's

The rapper, whose 2011 track Gangsta Luv has been viewed more than 250,000 times on YouTube, was gunned down by an attacker who walked in and opened fire.

Police said about 15 people were in the restaurant in Palmdale, a community about 35 miles (56km) north of Los Angeles, when the shooting happened.

The killer was said to have fired at the rapper several times using a handgun and officers found Paybacc with multiple wounds.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Deputy Guillermina Saldana said: "It appears to detectives that the victim was the intended target of the suspect and that this was not a random shooting."

Everyone's a critic.

Adric wrote:Big Bank Hank Dead at 57; Sugarhill Gang Rapper Provided Voice to Hit Single "Rapper's Delight"

Sad, not that high an age. I do think S-Gang have been rather over-rated, though, Rapper's Delight seems less than earth-shattering in hindsight.

Jeffrey Fletcher, of Northern Uproar, died in a horrific incident on Monday

The 36-year-old was just 11 when he started making music with his friends, and his band found minor success in the 1990s with one of their albums charting in the top 40.

Northern Uproar even toured with the Prodigy and The Charlatans, however after a brief split and reformation in 2004, Mr Fletcher left the band last year.

Also no longer with us is Motown legend Jimmy Ruffin who has died at the ripe old age of 78. He was most famous for "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" and his brother David had been a member of The Temptations.

RIP to them both

Bobby Keys, who played saxophone with the Rolling Stones, amongst others, has died at the age of 70

Like Buddy Holly, Keys was born in the Texas town of Lubbock and had toured with him and his band The Crickets in the 1950s.

Also, Ian McLagan, keyboardist with both The Small Faces and the subsequent The Faces, has died at the age of 69

McLagan, known as Mac, played on such memorable Small Faces tracks as Lazy Sunday and Itchycoo Park in the 1960s.

The band became the Faces when Rod Stewart and Ron Wood joined in 1969.

McLagan went on to record and perform with the Rolling Stones and also worked with Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

RIP to them both

Another of the many giants to come from Sheffield, gravelly-voiced legend Joe Cocker has died at the age of 70, after a battle with lung cancer. RIP Many great songs associated with him, here's my favourite:

Unchain My Heart

misery guts wrote:Another of the many giants to come from Sheffield, gravelly-voiced legend Joe Cocker has died at the age of 70, after a battle with lung cancer. RIP Many great songs associated with him, here's my favourite:

Unchain My Heart

Terribly sad news to read! RIP Joe. 'Up Where We Belong' was #1 in the era that I first started listening to music and remember all of your hits like yesterday. You'll be sorely missed.

Buddy DeFranco, the innovative clarinetist who rose from the remains of the swing era to forge new and lasting prominence as the instrument’s pre-eminent interpreter of bebop, died on Wednesday in Panama City, Fla. He was 91.

RIP

Little Jimmy Dickens, Country icon and Grand Ole Opry member, dies at 94

Country music icon Little Jimmy Dickens, who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry as recently as Dec. 20, died on Friday. He was 94 years old.
In a statement, the Opry confirmed that Dickens died of cardiac arrest after he had a stroke on Christmas Day. He gave his final Opry performance just five days earlier to mark his 94th birthday on Dec. 19.

Dickens, who stood just 4-foot-11, was the longest tenured member of the Opry, having been a member since 1948. He was widely known for his sense of humor and often called himself a “Mickey Mouse in pajamas” and “Willie Nelson after taxes,” notes USA Today.

His first hit came in 1948 with “Take an Old Cold ‘Tater (And Wait).” Other hits include “Country Boy,” “A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed,” “I’m Little But I’m Loud,” “Out Behind the Barn” and his only No. 1 single, “May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.”

“The Grand Ole Opry did not have a better friend than Little Jimmy Dickens,” Pete Fisher, Opry Vice President & General Manager, said in a statement. “He loved the audience and his Opry family, and all of us loved him back. He was a one-of-kind entertainer and a great soul whose spirit will live on for years to come."

Dickens also became friends with younger Opry members, including Brad Paisley, who penned an emotional tribute to him on Twitter.

“Do not mourn Little Jim. Celebrate him,” Paisley wrote. “Relive and share the memories. Aspire to be like him. And above all, laugh at the punchlines, the craziness, and the way he so gracefully made this planet a funnier, better, richer place while he was alive. And in doing so, will continue to for years to come.”

Dickens is survived by his wife, Mona, and two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King.

Former Cavern Club owner Ray McFall has died at the age of 88.

McFall owned the Liverpool club in the 1960s, changing it from a jazz venue to a rock 'n' roll club and booking Merseybeat bands like The Beatles.

The Fab Four went on to play at the legendary basement venue 292 times.

"It was Ray who opened it up to those early Merseybeat sessions, which led to the whole Merseybeat explosion," said Jon Keats, a director of the Cavern.

"It was completely his vision that moved the club forward, with what turned into the huge Merseybeat explosion and The Beatles' success and Gerry and the Pacemakers and all the main bands.

RIP

Comic actor & sometime singer Lance Percival has died at the age of 81.

Working, like many British comics of the era, with George Martin at Parlophone, Percival had one UK Singles Chart hit, his cover version of a calypso-style song entitled "Shame and Scandal in the Family" which reached number 37 in October 1965,[3] and recorded several other comedy songs, including "The Beetroot Song" ("If You Like Beetroot I'll Be True To You", 1963), written by Mitch Murray, and "The Maharajah of Brum" (1967), written with Martin.[4]

Later he provided the voice of both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for the cartoon series The Beatles (1965), leading to his voicing the central character "Old Fred" in the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine. He also appeared as an "upper class tramp" in the Herman's Hermits film vehicle Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1968).[5]

It was his acting for which he will be better remembered, as straight man for comedians like Kenneth Williams and Frankie Howerd.

RIP

I'm surprised really that there hasn't been more news coverage for the death of Kim Fowley - a maverick in the true & nicest sense of the word, dead at 75 - RIP

Founder of electronic mavericks Tangerine Dream Edgar Froese has died at the age of 70

Froese founded Tangerine Dream in Berlin in 1967 and was the only constant member. Early in their career the group were associated with the scene known in the UK as “krautrock”, and their debut album was comprised of tape collages.

But as they developed they had little in common with the “motorik” sound of Neu! and Harmonia, the challenging experimentalism of Faust or the free-flowing improvisations of Can. Instead they developed a spacey, synth-driven sound that was profoundly influential on electronic and ambient music.

Tangerine Dream released more than 100 albums and wrote music for numerous movies including Tom Cruise’s breakthrough 1983 film Risky Business and Legend.

RIP

Greek legend Demis Roussos has died at the age of 68 after a long illness. He shot to fame in the late 1960s as part of prog rockers Aphrodite's Child, alongside Vangelis. In his solo career, Demis became a huge hit with British holiday-makers and others across Europe, famous for his beardy bulk as for his kaftans. He could speak and sing in several languages. He hit #1 in the UK in the hot summer of 1976 with "Forever And Ever". I was given the middle name of Demis when I was born in 1977, which gives you some idea. RIP

On Ecrit Sur Les Murs

Israeli conductor Israel Yinon has died unexpectedly at the age of 59

The 59-year-old was in the middle of leading 'An Alpine Symphony' by German composer Richard Strauss when he slumped, falling headlong to the ground.The cause of death was not immediately clear.

RIP

Rod McKuen, comic poet and performer, has died at the age of 81

McKuen was an astonishingly successful and prolific force in popular culture in the 1960s and '70s. He turned out hundreds of songs and poems and records, including the Academy Award-nominated song "Jean" for the 1969 film "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie."

The so-called "King of Kitsch" was being treated for pneumonia and had been ill for a while.

RIP

Influential R&B singer-songwriter Don Covay has died at the age of 76

Covay gave Aretha Franklin one of her biggest hits with Chain of Fools in 1968, a song he had written 15 years earlier.

His singing style also influenced Mick Jagger, as seen in the Rolling Stones cover of his song Mercy Mercy.

RIP