The original Moody Blues keyboard player Mike Pinder has died at the age of 82... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley As one of its founding members in 1961, along with Denny Laine, Ray Thomas, Clint Warwick, and Graeme Edge, the Moody Blues went on to carve a successful pop...
The talented New Orleans musician and singer, who had several top-ten UK hits in the early 1960s, has died... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Clarence Henry started playing piano and trombone at an early age while at school and played in several local groups. A Chess Records...
Following a battle with cancer which forced Harley had to pull out of his recent UK tour, the former Cockney Rebel frontman has died at the age of 73... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Harley had to pull out of his recent tour to undergo treatment after discovering he had...
One of The Beat's local Wiltshire musical legends, Ian Amey better known as 'Tich' in the 60's chart-toppers Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich has died... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley The Wiltshire music scene in the 1950s was thriving, and many popular bands around...
Famous for her 'Share a cuppa with Jane' monthly Beat column, writer and interviewer Jane Quinn has sadly passed away... For many years, Jane has been interviewing many of music's biggest stars in her monthly page 2 column in the Beat, asking questions that were often...
One of only three female performers at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, Melanie Safka went on to record over 28 studio albums in her long career and was reported working on a new album at the time of her death... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Her three children released the...
Teenage love and tragedy were told through many of the Shangri-Las songs which propelled the two sets of sisters to the very top of the US charts in the 60s... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley The group came together when they met at school in the tough Queens district of New...
One of the original guitarists with the Dakotas, Mike Maxfield has died and now one of his former band members is to release a new single in his memory... By Ian Woolley The original 1961 lineup with Maxfield was drummer Tony Bookbinder, guitarist Robin MacDonald,...
Moody Blues and Wings singer, guitarist and songwriter Denny Laine has died after a short illness that kept him hospitalised after getting COVID-19 last year... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley The 78-year-old guitarist has been in and out of Naples hospital in Florida, most...
After being hospitalized in a Dublin hospital for many months with a blood infection, it was announced today that the Pogues lead singer Shane MacGowan had died... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Hailed by many in the music world including Nick Cave as 'the greatest...
As the leader of the influential 1960s group The Band, 80-year-old Canadian Robertson wrote many of its best-loved songs before carving out a successful solo career... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Born in 1943, Jaime Royal Robertson first found fame after being in Bob...
From the moment she was born, the Irish singer's life has been dominated by controversy and battles with mental health problems that resulted from her failed marriages. Now the loss of her son recently had brought those demons to the fore... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley As...
The multi-million record-selling singer Vince Hill, best known for his No.2 hit Edelweiss has died it was announced over the weekend. To date, Vince has released 25 studio albums, recorded theme songs for 5 motion picture soundtracks and earned a national and...
Songs like 'The Good Life', '(I Left My Heart) In San Francisco' and 'Stranger In Paradise' gave US singer Tony Bennett worldwide fame over an astonishing seven decades... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, the US-born singer became one of...
After a long illness, it was announced that Tina Turner has died at the age of 83... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Born Anna Mae Bullock in the small Tennessee town of Nutbush which she sang about in her 1973 hit with Ike 'Nutbush City Limits'. Tina met Ike Turner at a...
Blessed with a five-octave vocal range, Linda Lewis's career spanned four decades, including backing such pop greats as David Bowie and Rod Stewart... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley The eldest of six children, Essex-born Linda Ann Fredericks learned to play guitar and...
Perhaps the most prolific and greatest Canadian singer-songwriter of all time, Gordon Lightfoot was an indelible part of the Canadian national spirit... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Published in the 2020 September issue of the Beat, we interviewed Gordon from his home in...
The US chart-topping singer Harry Belafonte has died at the age of 96... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Breaking down racial barriers, Belafonte became more involved in the civil rights movement and was an ambassador for equality. Born in 1927 in the tough neighborhood of...
Best known for his energetic stage performances, Wee Willy Harris has died at the age of 90 years of age... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Known as Britain's 'wild man of rock and roll', he was admired by many in the pop business including the Beatles and Ian Dury (who...
Bacharach's songs have been recorded by some of the most influential artists in the World. Songs that would become classics... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley His compositions have earned 94-year-old Burt Bacharach countless awards including Grammys, Oscars, and Emmys. In his...
Few music fans would ever guess who had Motown's first chart success. That person was Barrett Strong... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley When Berry Gordy launched Tamla Records, one of his first songwriting signings was Barrett Strong. Born in West Point, Mississippi, Strong...
Original Yardbirds founding lead guitarist 'Top' Topham has died, just two weeks after one of his successors in the band Jeff Beck had passed away... OBITUARY By Ian Woolley Anthony 'Top' Topham along with Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Keith Relf and Ian Samwell-Smith...
One of the most influential rock singers of his generation, David Crosby has died at the age of 81... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley Founding the Byrds, and later on becoming one of the trio Crosby, Stills & Nash, Crosby wore his heart on his sleeve but gave the world...
The former Yardbirds guitarist was innovative with his instrument of choice and set the bar for others to aspire to... OBITUARY by Ian Woolley When he replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds in 1965, it was a rocky road that would lead him to play with the very best of...