Leaderboard

Someone clearly hasn't seen the new "Simeon II of Bulgaria" thread.

Dead. https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/breaking-linda-nolan-dies-famous-34477806

Don't flatter yourself. Even the flu couldn't stomach you for a fortnight.

Both hits being on the previous list backs up the expectation this year will see a backlog clean out after last year's massive logjam.

Thread of Simeon II of Bulgaria (Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha), or also known as Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski. Not 100% sure if he already has a thread, but couldn't find one. During WW2, as a child, Simeon was the leader (Tsar) of Bulgaria, making him one out of 2 "leaders" from WW2 who are still alive, the other being the Dalai Llama. He is, of course, also Bulgaria's final Tsar. When monarchy was abolished after WW2, he fled the country. eventually returning and becoming prime minister from 2001 till 2005. He will turn 88 this June Picture from april 2024

We still have a bit of James Whale attention seeking.

1987: Ozzy Osbourne (1/31) 1989: Frank Bruno, Mike Ditka, Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson, David Jenkins (5/32) 1990: Mike Ditka, Rex Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Terry Waite (4/42) 1991: Leo Beenhakker (1/40)  1992: Shaun Ryder (1/37) 1993: George Lineker (1/56) 1994: Edmund White, Holly Johnson, Peter Shilton (3/50) 1995: Holly Johnson (1/50) 1996: Mr T (1/50) 1997: (0/50) 1998: (0/50) 1999: Nick Leeson, Carly Simon (2/50) 2000: Louis Farrakhan (1/50) 2001: Liza Minnelli (1/50) 2002: (0/50)  2003: (0/50) 2004: (0/50) 2005: Hamed Karzai (1/50) 2006: (0/50)  2007: Louis Farrakhan (1/50) 2008: Russell Watson, Hamed Karzai, Charles Taylor (3/50) 2009: (0/50) 2010: (0/50) 2011: Ali Khamenei, Dick Cheney, Michael Douglas (3/50) 2012: Dick Van Dyke, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (2/50) 2013: (0/50) 2014: Dick Van Dyke (1/50)  2015: Jake Roberts (1/50) 2016: Prunella Scales, Tommy Chong, Sandy Gall, Paul Gascoigne (4/50) 2017: Sandy Gall, Emperor Akihito (2/50) 2018: Linda Nolan, Prunella Scales, Dick Van Dyke, Stanley Baxter, Mel Brooks, Louis Farrakhan, Ronnie Wood, Joni Mitchell, Paul Gascoigne (8/50) 2019: Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Dick Van Dyke, Vanessa Redgrave, Cleo Laine, Prunella Scales (6/50)  2020: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Prunella Scales, Willie Nelson, Dick Cheney, Imelda Marcos, Joanne Woodward, David Attenborough (9/50) 2021: Dick Van Dyke, Emperor Akihito, Alan Greenspan, Ali Khamenei, Prunella Scales, Dick Cheney, Imelda Marcos, Yoko Ono, Linda Nolan, Joanne Woodward, Mel Brooks, Willie Nelson, Raul Castro, Stanley Baxter, Vanessa Redgrave (14/50) 2022: Dick Van Dyke, Alan Greenspan, Nigel Starmer-Smith, Dick Cheney, Mel Brooks, David Attenborough, Emperor Akihito, Sandy Gall, Desmond Morris, James Whale, Cleo Laine, Denis Law, Prunella Scales, Stanley Baxter, Noam Chomsky, Norman Tebbit, Douglas Hurd, Marianne Faithfull, Linda Ronstadt (19/50) 2023: Dick Van Dyke, Alan Greenspan, Nigel Starmer-Smith, Dick Cheney, Mel Brooks, Robert Wagner, Norman Tebbit, Sandy Gall, Joanne Woodward, Desmond Morris, Stanley Baxter, Cleo Laine, Alan Alda, Prunella Scales, Yoko Ono, Marianne Faithfull, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Imelda Marcos, Ali Khamenei, Pete Murray, Willie Nelson, Dennis Skinner, Sonny Rollins, Hal Linden, Linda Nolan, Andy Taylor (26/50) 2024: Dick Van Dyke, Pete Murray, Alan Greenspan, Pope Francis, Cleo Laine, Sandy Gall, Noam Chomsky, Robert Wagner, Mel Brooks, Dennis Skinner, Nigel Starmer-Smith, James Whale, Stanley Baxter, Joanne Woodward, Patricia Routledge, Clint Eastwood, Vanessa Redgrave, Desmond Morris, Gene Hackman, Denis Law, Hans Blix, Julie Walters, Tom Brokaw, Linda Nolan, Louis Farrakhan, Norman Tebbit, Willie Nelson, Daniel Barenboim, Esther Rantzen, Roberta Flack, Dick Cheney, Prunella Scales, Robert Duvall, Josef Fritzl, Brigitte Bardot, Raul Castro, Imelda Marcos, Ted Turner, Buzz Aldrin, Sonny Rollins, Sly Stone, Tom Baker, Joe Bugner (42/50) Updated for Linda Nolan.

Surat Singh Khalsa (1933-2025) "He has been fasding for dwendy years now" (Sikh supporters in 2035) "I'm having the Big Mac. What harm can it do?" (Surat's last words) "Fasting? The hospital food is terrible!" (the real motivations behind Surat's struggle) Age at death: 91 Known health issues: Shot during a protest in the 80s. Started a hunger strike in 2015, tube-fed in hospital and looking like a skeleton for the next eight years. STOP THE STRIKE (Donald Trump's order) in January 2023, hospitalised in critical condition some months later after attempting to go on hunger strike again. Hospitalised in critical condition in 2024. Cause of death: Choked either on a Big Mac or a succulent Chinese meal. Alignment: Sikh activist for all his life, he demanded the release of Sikh political prisoners, and was regarded as a sometime powerful enemy of Narendra Modi. His campaign was never that successful, and only managed to have his son in law murdered in order to make him stop.

Maybe not today. I'll get a coffee and update my signature. I for one admire her spirit and spitting in the face of death and deadpoolers for years. RIP.

I’m late, I’m late, I’m very, very late. We are almost halfway through January, and I’ve only just finished getting everything together to officially start this pool. Damn this working-for-a-living business taking up all of my time. I need to retire and take up professional dead-pool hosting – do you think there is any money in it? Anyhow, we are ready to go – The List of Players and the List of Picks are up on page 1. Jimmy Carter and Johnnie Walker have been substituted out of all the teams. I have finished bashing my head against the wall. Let’s start dead-pooling. Thanks as always to everyone who entered, and especial thanks to anyone who submitted early and in an easy-to-process format. The number of players has disappointingly dipped a little this year from last year’s high of 65 teams to a mere 61 players this year. Still an excellent turnout, and should make for a very competitive pool. A very warm welcome to the 5 new players who have joined us this year: @livingbygrace, @ZeldaYT 2003, @Bobytomi, @Tromeand @LWCZ@Funeralopolis @Young One Unfortunately, that was offset by the loss of 9 players from last year’s line-up. Some were just fleeting visitors to dead-pooling, others more seasoned players who have just lost the hunger. This is who I am missing from last year - if I have overlooked your entry, please let me know. @BabyBlue @chel @drol @Ghostofchristmaspast - only one post ever - last years entry in this pool. Deathers? @Grim Up North - sadly retired from dead-pooling @Salmon Mousse - hopefully just taking a break from dead-pooling rather than fully retiring. @Shamalka Amarasekera @TQR @Young One Two players are starting with a shortened team.: @Hell who only submitted 19 names and two subs, and @Funeralopolis who didn't submit any subs and lost Johnnie Walker on December 31st. And if you think that was bad luck, just wait until you see the first update of the year! While the number of teams has dropped, the number of picks has actually gone up, with 797 separate picks in total, of which 572 were unique. The wider spread of picks was reflected in the list of most popular selections, with Noam Chomsky, Roberta Flack, and Steve McMichael the joint most popular with 20 picks. That would only have been in 9th position last year, when Jimmy Carter was selected by 30 teams. Jimmy almost made the list this year, and would have been the most popular selection being picked by 21 players before his untimely demise 3 days before the start. The team of most popular picks is made up as follows: BUZZ ALDRIN (16 picks) DICK VAN DYKE (10 picks) ESTHER RANTZEN (17 picks) EVE MARIE SAINT (11 picks) GENE HACKMAN (9 picks) GEORG KOCH (9 picks) HARVEY WEINSTEIN (10 picks) IAN SMITH (17 Picks) JAMES WHALE (14 picks) JEAN-MARIE LE PEN (15 picks) JOANNE WOODWARD (19 picks) JOSE MUJICA (9 picks) LINDA NOLAN (12 picks) MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (12 picks) NIGEL MCCRERY (9 picks) NIGEL STARMER-SMITH (15 picks) NOAM CHOMSKY (20 picks) PETER YARROW (11 picks) PRUNELLA SCALES (10 picks) ROBERTA FLACK (20 picks) (JOKER) STANLEY BAXTER (9 picks) STEVE McMICHAEL (20 picks) THEO BURRELL (9 picks) TIPPI HEDREN (11 picks) VANESSA REDGRAVE (11 picks) The big losers this year were Bruce Willis who went from 14 selections in 2024 to 7 selections this year, Edward Duke of Kent who dropped from 12 to 4, and Yoko Ono whose support fell from 12 picks to 5. Rhod Gilbert continued his decline in popularity among dead-poolers and was not selected at all this year, while some players just couldn’t let go of Andy Taylor (1 pick), Kate Keltie (2 picks) and Kat Bjelland (1 pick). The whims of the Deadpooling Gods became evident again, when after a relatively benign year, they wiped out 7 picks before the game started. The biggest pain-in-the-arse for hosts was of course the demise of Jimmy Carter a few days before the game commenced. So, the late entries all decided to pick Johnnie Walker instead, who inconveniently (for him as well, I’m sure) croaked it on the 31st. From what I can see, the following selections are the non-starters: Arnolt Rüütel Charles Dolan George Eastham Jimmy Carter Jocelyn Wildenstein Jody Gormley Johnnie Walker Please do let me know if I have missed anyone. Sadly (?) Chel is not back this year to attempt a hat-trick of “Who the fuck are they” awards, although I will admit that I do not miss googling various obscure Siberian Chemists and Kazakh geologists. Instead, somewhat controversially perhaps, THE WTFAT? (CHEL) AWARD, is given to @gcreptile pick, journalist Robert Fisk. Wait a second, I hear you say, haven’t we all heard of journalist Robert Fisk? Yes, you have. But didn’t he die a few years ago? Yes, indeed he did. Apparently, there is another one. A Robert Fisk who writes for the Daily Express. You’ve never read his stuff? Of course you haven’t – because it is in the Daily Express. So now if you google Robert Fisk Journalist, you will get hundreds of articles about the renowned former Independent journalist, interspersed with the very occasional article which are usually headlined “Top Daily Express journalist battles cancer”, all of which of course are written in the Daily Express. The list of rejected picks (The “Without Exceptional Prominence” WEP-file) shrunk a little this year from 13 to 10. Before any on you pat yourself on the back, remember that we are without the aforementioned Chel who accounted for 4 of last year’s rejects. The rest of you wretches managed to go from 9 rejected picks to 10 this year. Seriously guys . The rejected picks were as following: Berkin Arslanogullari (WEP) – U-19 player for Union Berlin. I don’t care if someone is signed to a big club. No first team appearances and no international career equals not famous enough, even for this pool. Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves (The Killing Time). Family of the Famous. The “Roosevelt” bit seems to be the only thing of note about her. Edited a book, also about the Roosevelts? Nah - I’m not having it. Isabel Veloso (MalePoster). As I said when the team was posted, “Blah blah blah INFLUENCER, blah blah blah CANCER.” I don’t think any respectable pool allowed her this year, and while this pool is far from respectable, I’m not having her either Ivan Liubysh-Kirdei (WEP) – Ukrainian Photo-journalist who works for Reuters. Journalists are often a tricky one. Are they famous, or just doing their job? In this case, I doubt we would ever have heard of him had he not been injured by a Russian missile, so he is out. Which is actually doing WEP a huge favour, because he is apparently recovering nicely from his injuries. Perhaps I should have allowed him, just to teach WEP a lesson in why barrel-scraping is not always a great strategy. James Butts (LivingbyGrace) – “Tech-executive” or “Entrepreneur” apparently. Also “Senior vice president of product and design at Postmates” according to Google. Not nearly prominent enough for my liking – if he didn’t have cancer, he would be just another businessman Luigi Mangione (The Killing Time). Christ on a fucking bike. I make it very clear that “famous for being a criminal” types are not allowed, and this is what I get. Mehmet Ali Agca (RadGuy). Pope-shooter. This is the only one of these that I really had to think about. Obviously famous for being a criminal, and my wife has never heard of him. However, the shooting of Pope John Paul II was such a historic event, that perhaps it should have been enough to let him in. Anyway, decision is made, but I can understand why RadGuy might be a bit salty about it. Robert Mailman (GcReptile). Canadian victim of miscarriage of justice. Not so much “Famous for being a criminal” as “Famous for not being a criminal”. Miscarriage of Justice cases might certainly be famous enough for selection (the Birmingham 6 for example would be probably be allowed), but they will still go through the “Wife Test”. She says no. Sean Wallace (GcReptile). Assistant coach Southern University football team. He was not allowed last year, due to a lack of fame. It’s fair to say that he has not gotten any more famous since. Sidney Cooke (Imelda). Disqualified under the “Famous for being a criminal” rule. Some day you will all learn – my wife has not heard of many criminals. There were quite a few others who scraped through after some thought, and on a different day they might have been rejected. These include: Felix Wittmann – German U-23 800-metres champion. Had Olympic ambitions, so probably reasonably well known in Germany. And he is not going to die this year, so maybe this will be WEP’s lesson. Gregor Formanek. Former Nazi guard facing trial in Germany. On the one hand, “Famous for being a criminal”. On the other hand, I allow Holocaust-survivors and Allied Veterans, just on that basis alone. So, from a historic perspective, being a Nazi guard is probably enough to allow him in. And yes, I do see the inconsistencies. Iain Liam Ward (“Internet Personality”). Yes, definitely “Famous for being ill”. However, his fundraising seems to have gotten a lot of publicity, including on CNN and in the New York Post, so I think that just about scrapes him over the line. And I wanted to steal him for my Irish theme team in the DDP, so I’d feel bad about excluding him here. Kitty Dukakis – Wife of former Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. “Family of the famous.” And there is precedent for disqualifying wives of Governors, with Gloria Deukmejian not allowed last year. However, Kitty seems to have achieved a certain level of fame of her own in the US, largely for her alcoholism, but also for her work promoting ECT for treating mental illness. Paul Sawyer – “Warlord Games author” and “White dwarf” editor. I started to read a bit about the gaming world to try to ascertain his level of fame. I very rapidly lost the will to live, and just thought “fuck it, I don't care - he can go in”. So, that’s it. On with the game, and best of luck to everyone, not least the poor buggers who are among the 797 names picked!

Those, and the death of Jimmy Carter were most certainly the Horcruxes of 2024. Perhaps normal Grim Reaper service shall now proceed?

Hang on, this actually happened?

Heinz Kluetmeier, who took the iconic "Miracle on Ice" photograph of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team beating the Soviet Union, has died. He was 82. https://thespun.com/hockey/heinz-kluetmeier-photographer-who-took-iconic-miracle-on-ice-picture-has-died

I tend not to drop names here, even if I get bored with them. So she's still a hit for me here, but not anywhere else.

The fool rageth, and is confident. (Proverbs 14:16)

Genuinely never thought this day would come

This second hit puts the list of where it needs to be for a record breaking year but it is still behind the blistering start that last year delivered which ultimately ended in disappointment. I think the key will be the date that the third death comes in. If you discount 2024 the earliest dates for third deaths comes in the first week of February with the average date for the third hit being 19th March. Linda Nolan was was probably in the second tier of names this year which I think bodes well for a reasonable score but to break the record we perhaps need some of those punt names to go

Another unnecessary post: Linda Nolan QO: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1ezlgzj4vvo

Glad the Committee would pay Attention To Me! Linda Nolan a shared hit. YW - 3; DL - 2

No more Le Pen death hoaxes, no more Linda Nolan attention seeking in the media. End of yet another era.

Only death by chocolate and GrimThought were in the mood for picking Linda Nolan. Well done. Thread closed.

15/1/2025 86 The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again  60 David Bowie - Starman 56 Derek & The Dominos - Layla 49 Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You 45 Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar 38 Carole King - It's Too Late  38 Queen - Seven Seas of Rhye 33 Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side  29 Elton John - Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting 18 Golden Earring - Radar Love +4 00 Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough to keep her from exiting... And, assuming I can count up to ten successfully, that's all folks...

Quite a lot of these songs are older than me, and I’m not far off 30. The oldest of these songs is 46 years old. I don’t think Hip Hop is geared towards the younger generations anymore (apart from Cardi B and that Rae Smemmurmmrme whoever the fuck that was). It’s just one of those genres that you either get or you don’t.

I was talking to my mother this evening who had heard about DVD being evacuated on the news and reminded me how much he looked andacted like my father's late Uncle by marriage.She is right to he was basically a Welsh DVD.We reminded each other of the time he rang us up whilst on hospice.He had lung cancer and was given 2 weeks to live and this was week 6 of hospice then .He could barely breathe and was struggling audibly for every breath and word but was so optimistic about us himself and the wider family. He lived over 3 months longer.He really was like DVD personality wise always singing and dancing.Im glad DVD was Immortalised whilst still alive.I would pay anything to see my dear Uncle dancing and laughing with all his family on tape.

Onwards to Round 2 - again 10 songs make it through to the final. 21 Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town +1 21 Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train to Georgia +1 21 Joan Armatrading - Love And Affection +1 21 Gary Moore - Parisienne Walkways +1 20 ABBA - SOS 20 Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces 20 David Bowie - Golden Years 20 Pete Wingfield - Eighteen With A Bullet 20 Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Delilah 20 Beatles - Yesterday 20 Electric Light Orchestra - Evil Woman 20 Elton John - Pinball Wizard 20 Manfred Manns Earth Band - Blinded By The Light 20 Pluto Shervington - Dat 20 Carole Bayer Sager - You're Moving Out Today 20 Eagles - Hotel California 20 Eddie & The Hotrods - Do Anything You Wanna Do 20 Ram Jam - Black Betty 20 Sex Pistols - Holidays In The Sun 20 Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant 20 Stranglers - No More Heroes 20 Stranglers - Peaches 20 Bill Withers - Lovely Day 20 Blondie - (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear 20 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Is This Love 20 Electric Light Orchestra - Mr Blue Sky 20 Electric Light Orchestra - Wild West Hero 20 Kate Bush - The Man With the Child in his Eyes 20 Plastic Bertrand - Ça Plane Pour Moi 20 Renaissance - Northern Lights 20 Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden 20 Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing 20 Madness - One Step Beyond 20 Queen - Don't Stop Me Now 20 Sham 69 - Hersham Boys 20 Skids - Into The Valley 20 Supertramp - Breakfast In America 20 The Selecter - On My Radio 20 The Specials - Gangsters 18 Rubettes - I Can Do It -2 18 10cc - I'm Mandy Fly Me -2 18 Ian Dury & The Blockheads - What A Waste -2 Don't forget for this game we have a new rule in operation - Until the first song is eliminated in each round you cannot give more than 50% of your score (+2/-3) to a single song.