Grim Reaper

Well Mr Stats as you should be aware DeathList work is always top of the pile!

Mr Charles Lane sounds very promising indeed then - I think the only concern is whether he passes the official famousness test - Will his death be well reported in the UK media? A tough call

You most certainly can be famous for being married to somebody famous eg Denis Thatcher, Duke of Edinburgh to name but two

That is of course rubbish - John Diamond was a well respected journalist for the Times who had had a more than adequate level of famousness before his announcement of terminal cancer. And of course he was also famous for being married to whatshername.

Of course the best thing about the DeathList rules is that they are unwritten However extract from the home page: "The only main rules in compiling the Deathlist is that no more than 25 of the candidates must have appeared on the previous year's list and that the candidates must be famous enough to ensure that their deaths are newsworthy (in the UK at least)." One other rule that springs to mind is that nominations are not allowed for people who are only famous for the fact that they are about to die - so for example David Blaine might not be allowed this year

Good point Our Sole - "incurable" and "cancer" are always very good friends of the DeathList. The fact that Monkhouse appears to have recovered from the trauma of having his little book of jokes stolen a few years ago isnt a good sign though. We are inclined to side with Bobsfullhouse's opinion at this stage but will keep a watching eye on Bob.

The headline reference refers to Shawn Ryder - former frontman/singer of those baggy Mancunian band "The Happy Mondays". The headline would of course be..."Happy Monday"

Your comments have been noted Lord of the Dark

Jacko would be an DeathList amazing success - but as you say - a long shot. Perhaps just one more personal crisis will put him in contention for entry on the list.

Well that is a good point, however the 1987 DeathList was the first list and the refinements that came in in later years hadnt yet been implemented. In any case in was many years before George Harrison eventually went. In those days we still had a lot to learn! Cheers DeathList Committee

Margaret Thatcher, Britain's much-loved former Prime Minister, appears to be a popular nomination for the 2004 list. Is she worthy of inclusion?

Plenty of food for thought there. Thanx for your suggestions - they will be considered in December when work on the new list starts. Cheers DeathList Committee

A popular choice indeed - although lets hope its not just wishful thinking Mrs T's health is due for some extensive deathlist research and careful consideration for DeathList 2004. Cheers DeathList Committee

Shane MacGowan does regularly come up for consideration although frankly he has astounded us with his longevity so far. It does seem that he's more on the rails now than a few years ago, however it seems unlikely he's ever going to be getting a 100th birthday telegram from the Queen. On a similar note Shawn Rider really does look rough these days - if only he were to drop dead on a Monday we'd have the perfect headline Cheers DeathList Committee

Thanks for your message. Mrs T does indeed need serious consideration for next year's list. With 14 dead this year, DeathList 2004 will require lots of new blood. The passing earlier this year of Denis is, of course, a good sign that she might now throw in the towel in the not too distant future. Thanks for your support. DeathList Committee

The idea of Deathlist is to predict deaths in the forthcoming calendar year. The list is drawn up on 31 December and nobody is added until the new list is drawn up for the on the next 31 December. Mr Ritter was just too much of a challenge for the DeathList committee . We're not sure many people could have predicted his death back in Dec 2002 although we're open to suggestions for 2004! Thanks for your interest DeathList Committee