The Celebrity Obituary Thread

Jay Black - RIP


 
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Nelson Mandela died ...again, today 85 cancer.

Or am I mandela effected? The 'Objects in rear view may appear closer' gets me every time. It was MAY. Meatloaf knows.

The mirror said 'may' because, the flip lever to dim headlights changes the perceived distance.
 
Graeme Edge drummer with the Moody Blues died today aged 80.

Go now. 1964
Nights in white satin. 1972
 
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Bass player Mike Jackson with UK band Love Affair died today aged 72.

Everlasting Love. 1967
Bringing on back the good times. 1969
 
John Miles died today. Those in the USA may not have heard of him, but he had a few hits in the mid 70's in the UK and elsewhere. So all in the UK will remember him.

Two big radio hits from 75. 'Music' and 'Fly High Touch The Sky'. Then in 76 a track that every live band played in every venue for years. 'Slow Down'.





 
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Two big radio hits from 75. 'Music' and 'Fly High Touch The Sky'. Then in 76 a track that ever live band played in every venue for years. 'Slow Down'.
John Miles' Highfly made me think of Terry Luttrell of Starcastle. Just general similarities in the sound and music.
 
Produced by Rupert Holmes, Escape( The Pina Colada Song) guy?
Looks like it Mick. Apparently John Miles was always working with the others somewhere. If you listen to his 'Music' single you can understand why. Jimmy Page, Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker etc.
 
Yeah, I saw Rupert Holmes name on that 45 rpm, so I looked it up to see if it was the Pina Colada guy....and read some things on John Miles. Looks like he played keys and probably backup vox on Tina Turner's come back tour(s) back in the 80s, and because of his vocal range worked with Page.
 
He was heavily involved with Night of the Proms in Antwerp for nearly 20 years - which had amazingly high production values. Music was the Finale virtually every year. When he wasn't performing in the show, he could often be found playing piano with his glasses on, in the orchestra. A really nice guy and of course he also had a number of great songs with Alan Parsons over the year - Shadow of a Lonely Man being a favourite of mine. I was hoping to do the next Night of the Proms as a punter - watch the shows on YouTube - He got really good acts to take part - and if you google donna summer night of the proms, it was a really great show that year. The orchestra are superb and their brief is to have fun - you see the same faces year after year - a great gig to play apparently. It's also interesting to see a huge orchestra all miked up and sometimes even entire choirs all with headset mics - the technical standard is very high. Well worth a look at. I humped a few cables and boxes for his 1976 tour, and when his 'fhame'waned a bit, he wasn't bothered at all so he joined Tina Turner as singer and guitarist for many years, alternating with Brian Adams.

A really talented hard working musician. I bumped into him a few times over the years and it was hard not to like the guy.
 
So great run, RIP...seems quad bypass in 2018 and died natural causes at home.

the movie of their stumbling into fame an tv and the Kirschner machine and then the
integrity vibes to play their own music.....etc... they pushed for their own playing/writing and then the flop movie HEAD....and it was over.
a great story, great music-head watch. My older brother was in the Fan Club.

Unbelievable amount of records sold...wow! Looked up Billboard...the biz machine was working overtime...TV, 45's, Albums.
They faced a big decision to stay with the Cash Cow....or "be cool musicians and do what they wanted"...they chose the latter.

days of light hearted non serious music ..... pop music and 45's.... I still have 45's Last Train to Clarksville and Valleri....not sure if the albums survived. lol...played on a suitcase fold out speaker system!
 

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John Miles
His single, "Music" was one of my defining moments of '76. I still love that song and I still listen to it. I actually had an album of his back in the mid 90s, a 1976 effort called "Rebel" which had "Music", "High fly" and this great piece called "You'll have it all" on it. He never struck me as a rebel though ! The NME called him an effete hairdresser !! He is one of the few people whose music I actually taped from the radio.
I think he was also one of those artists that began to nudge me in the direction of multi~part tunes, even though I wasn't consciously aware of it.
Michael Nesmith
Well, he was part of the outfit that was my first true artistic love in life, the Monkees. I was 3 or maybe just 4 when the show started here and I was nuts for the Monkees. In my little mind, there was something about his green woolly hat that stuck with me. And when I got into their music, some of the best ones were ones that he wrote or sang on. I loved all the Monkees, but I'd have to say, he was the one I found the most interesting.
His memoir, "Infinite Tuesday" was a tale of 2 cities though. The first half is really good. The second half was like being operated on without anaesthetic. I guess he can be forgiven for MTV !
the flop movie HEAD
To this day, it is still the best rock film I've seen. Nothing comes close. It was their "Magical mystery tour" but though utterly disjointed, it batters MMT into touch because whatever one wants to say about the band and Rafelson and Schneider, they knew how to put together stuff that was watchable ~ the Beatles didn't. It's a better drug movie, the songs are outstanding {to be fair, so are the ones on MMT} and it's so much more daring. Its very pointlessness and debunking nature didn't stop it from being a great film.
They faced a big decision to stay with the Cash Cow....or "be cool musicians and do what they wanted"...they chose the latter.
The interesting thing about the band is that on either side of that great divide, they made outstanding music.
 
I remember watching a documentary about the Monkees. When they were hired, they thought they were going to actually do the songs. They were told to show up at the studio, and when they got there, they were told "just sing these parts". The Wrecking Crew had already put down all the instrumental tracks. The songs were written by folks like Boyce and Hart, Goffen/King, Neil Diamond, etc.

It wasn't until much later that they actually got to play their own instruments on any records.
 
Well just to make you sad a little more. I remember this from a few years ago where he looks so well.

But please watch to the end which is the reason I remembered it so well. So sad.

 
What amazes me is Michael's looks. He looks OK, but nothing like his younger self. To me, he's unrecognizable in later years. Hell, Mickey still looks like Mickey.
 

I looked this video up. It definitely didn't come out in 70. It's great. Beautiful women on camera are more than enough to keep most people's attention.

I own and still listen to the Monkees. Regardless of the fact they didn't write their songs (in the beginning), and were put together for a show. The songs and especially the vocals were great. Only Mickey's left.
 
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