Imelda

Errol Christie is a good shout, won't turn up in most people's lists and will get an obit.

Some of you may appreciate the Popbitch 2016 RIP sepcial below; >> 2016: RIP << Grim reapings we bring Congratulations! If you're reading this, then you made it through 2016: an absolute banner year for death and destruction. We aren't in the business of being overly sentimental here at Popbitch, but – given all that's happened – we thought we'd see the year out with a few tributes to those we have lost. We'll be back in 2017. Hopefully. pb x ----------------------------------- RIP David Gest. Someone who worked with David told us that his head "smelled of dry-cleaning fluid". ----------------------------------- >> Alan Rickman: RIP << The cold hand(job) of Death Back in the day, Mick Jagger was having a fling with a society beauty. One night they were out at a dinner party but she felt Jagger was not paying her the attention she deserved. Deciding she'd try to provoke his interest, she deliberately turned away and only talked to the person on her other side. Still she got no response. There was, she felt, only one thing for it. So she reached behind her back and started to give him a surreptitious handjob. This time, his interest definitely swelled. Feeling pleased with herself, the socialite turned back round. Sitting in that seat was another man. Bored with being ignored, Jagger had changed places. She discovered she'd actually been wanking off Alan Rickman. ----------------------------------- RIP: Colonel Abrams. Whose real name was... Colonel Abrams. ----------------------------------- >> Jimmy Young: RIP << The DJ's hearing aides Late into his career at Radio 2, Jimmy Young had become quite deaf from years of working in the music industry. Most people knew, but not everyone. One junior member of the show's team got a little frustrated with the old DJ one day and, in the safety of the soundproofed control room, told his colleagues what he thought of Young. Suddenly the studio talkback burst into life with the words "I am not a fucking cunt". Jimmy Young was an expert lip reader. The junior left his job the same day. >> David Bowie: RIP << It's all greek to us He had a dozen different and distinctive looks, but David Bowie knew how to avoid being recognised if he ever fancied a bit of privacy. When he wanted to walk around a big city without detection, he would simply tuck a Greek language newspaper under his arm as he went about – so that anyone who stopped to say hello would see it and second guess themselves, thinking they'd maybe just seen a Greek man who looked a lot like Bowie. ------------------------------------ RIP Pete Burns, writer of the single greatest sign-off we ever received on a legal threat: "Worst wishes, you cunts. Pete Burns" ------------------------------------ >> Howard Marks: RIP << Celebrity toilet tales At an old Stereophonics party, Stuart Cable was stopped by a bouncer from using one of the cubicles because the toilet's flush was bust. Stuart shouted out that he used to be a plumber, so rolled up his sleeves, got down on the floor and fiddled about in the cistern until it was fixed. His only problem was a wooden part that he couldn't fit back on. Enter drug legend (and former carpenter) Howard Marks – who promptly sorted the wood out, leaving the toilet in perfect working order. >> Paul Daniels: RIP << The King of Hearts Paul Daniels was surprisingly popular in the entertainment industry. One producer recalls a time when Daniels was booked for a 240-seat theatre show at short notice, without much promotion. Only 11 people turned up. Rather than flounce off in a huff, he and Debbie delivered a full two-hour show for the tiny audience – and then he donated the entire fee to a local charity, plus a little bit extra to cover the cost of holding the event. ------------------------------------ If you fancy a slightly racier Paul Daniels story, we've got one of those for you too. Read it here: http://bit.ly/1Vfh0zo ------------------------------------ >> Terry Wogan: RIP << Hair today, gone tomorrow King of Sweden writes: "A friend's mother used to work with Terry Wogan at a bank before he became famous. His hair was thinning in those days and she was surprised to see him later on TV with a full head of hair. Turns out he had several hair- pieces of varying length to give the impression that it was his own hair at different stages of natural growth." FYI: The only piece of gossip we got on Wogan that was even slightly contentious is that the ladies in his village didn't care for how he cut the queue at the local butcher at Xmas when picking up his turkey. ------------------------------------ RIP: Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. Now Jim Davidson's favourite band is just "Palmer". ------------------------------------ >> Prince: RIP << Little man, big appetite One of the things to emerge in among the many heartfelt tributes proffered to Prince this year was that the Purple One had a voracious appetite for popcorn. One reader told us about the time they attended a daytime screening of a movie in LA, where Prince and Prince's bodyguard were the only other people in the theatre. About fifteen minutes into the film, they heard a noise that sounded like "a pack of wolverines tearing into a binbag". But it wasn't. It was Prince, absolutely going to town on an extra large bucket of buttered popcorn. An ex-manager of the Chanhassen Cinema in Prince's hometown backed the story up, fondly remembering how Prince would often buy three buckets of popcorn for every movie that he went to see there; and Ingrid Chavez (a frequent collaborator with Prince) also reminisced about how he had taught her to mix bags of peanut M&Ms in with her buckets of popcorn. ------------------------------------ RIP: Prince's protege, Vanity (aka Denise Matthews). Her stage name was originally going to be Vagina; her band was going to be The Hookers. ------------------------------------ >> Victoria Wood: RIP << A Vicky situation For all her woman-of-the-people, salt-of-the-earth appeal, Victoria Wood was not without her diva-ish side. She was once booked to perform for a big event run by the Evening Standard at a hotel in Harrogate, but she walked into the ballroom, took one look at the grand piano and said "No, I'm not playing that" before turning on her heel and walking out. One helper, armed with the Yellow Pages, managed to find a replacement piano which matched Vic's specifications – and it was owned by a couple who lived out in the Moors. After much hairpulling and pleading, they managed to convince this couple to loan the hotel their piano for the evening, had it loaded into a van and brought into the venue for Ms Wood's approval. She re-entered the ballroom, took one look at the new piano, said "Now the stool doesn't match!" and walked out again. >> Alexis Arquette: RIP << Parental guidance Alexis Arquette remembers the time, before her transition, when she broke the news to her father that she was gay. His words of encouragement? "If it helps, son, I had to suck a lot of cock to get my first break too." ------------------------------------ RIP Maurice White. John Le Mesurier off of Dad's Army was a massive fan of Earth, Wind and Fire. ------------------------------------ >> Mustafa Koc: RIP << Memories of Koc Holdings It wasn't just celebrities who died in 2016. A longstanding Popbitch favourite – Turkish businessman, Mustafa Koc – also passed on. We followed the developments of his business (Koc Holdings) keenly. Especially when Koc partnered with a software company in Azerbaijan by the name of Giz – creating the company Giz Koc Holdings. Koc Holdings also had a fabulously titled subsidiary company: Arcelik. ------------------------------------ RIP Kenny Baker: C3PO actor Anthony Daniels refused to dress completely until Kenny was inside R2D2. Or, in his words: "The face doesn't go on until the dwarf is in the can." ------------------------------------ >> Zsa Zsa Gabor: RIP << The Prince and the poppers Of the nine husbands Zsa Zsa Gabor had, the most fun was her last one: "Prince" Frederic von Anhalt. Fred was actually called Hans, but he persuaded the dotty old Princess Marie- August of Anhalt to adopt him in his 30s, before changing his name to the more royal-sounding Frederic, and his surname to Prinz von Anhalt (which could more easily be mistaken for "Prince" von Anhalt...) In 2007 he claimed to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby, but as he was also suing the makers of SPAM at the same time, people didn't take his claim too seriously. That, and the fact that most days he could be found outside Starbucks, West Hollywood, in his Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, waving at the buff boys coming out of the Boystown gyms. ------------------------------------ RIP Prince Buster. The ska pioneer converted to Islam after meeting Muhammad Ali in New York in 1964. He claimed this derailed his career. ------------------------------------ >> Craig Gill: RIP << Keeping up the Smiths We reported earlier this year that Craig Gill, the drummer from The Inspiral Carpets, gave musical bus tours of Manchester. His Morrissey and the Smiths tour in particular was extremely well-attended – probably due in no small part to this joke that Craig would tell on the trail: "What does Morrissey have in his sandwiches? "I don't know, but Marr might!" ------------------------------------ RIP Ronnie Corbett – Old Jokes Home: Kings Cross Station Announcer "Would the gentleman who has lost a case of whisky come to the Lost Property office, where the gentleman who found it has been handed in." ------------------------------------ Old Jokes Home: Knock, knock! Who's there? Lemmy. Lemmy who? Ah, how soon we forget...

It may be worse with more deaths. Liz 2, Philip, Jimmy Carter, Bush, maybe some Clintons, Yoko, Aretha Franklin, my bet that he's next - Stevie Wonder, maybe some younger pop star, major film actors like Kirk, Sean Connery, maybe even Madonna, Boy George, Cher, remaining Beatles....the list goes on Pop culture and the TV age started in the 60's, so I say this is the new normal from hereon in due to the large gross of 'celebs' who exist now who've been piling up since then. 2016 will be seen as the watershed year, I suspect. And I imagine a lot of the coke-snorting, crack-smoking, bareback-shagging types from the 70's and 80's are very much on borrowed time unless they have the constituon of an ox.

George Michael... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38432862 Really is Last Christmas.

That's 3 of my 2017 list gone in December. Might be a fallow year in 2017 for me.

Gah, dropped her for this year but was ready and waiting for 2017. That's a hit for 90% of the other Nags deadlisters.

You're breaking my balls! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPSvIz9NDs Ah, still a great film even now.

Updated for ZZG and GM. Only two left from 2012 and 2015. 2011 - unfortunately lost in the mists of time! 2012 - 2/10 1. Margaret Thatcher 2. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi 3. Zsa Zsa Gabor 4. Hosni Mubarak 5. Dora Bryan 6. Fidel Castro 7. Robin Gibb 8. Prince Phillip 9. Nelson Mandela 10. George Michael 2013 - 3/10 1. Hugo Chavez 2. Joao Havelange 3. Nelson Mandela 4. George H.W. Bush 5. Bashar al-Assad 6. Liz Dawn 7. Reg Presley 8. Michael Winner 9. General Wojciech Jaruzelski 10. Margaret Thatcher 2014 - 5/10 1. General Wojciech Jaruzelski 2. Wilko Johnson 3. Sam Simon 4. Billy Graham 5. Rev. Ian Paisley 6. Denis Norden 7. Chris Woodhead 8. Mohamed Morsi 9. Peter O'Sullevan 10. Valerie Harper 2015 - 2/10 1. Sam Simon 2. Zsa Zsa Gabor 3. Billy Graham 4. Clive James 5. Chris Woodhead 6. Peter O'Sullevan 7. Joao Havelange 8. Fidel Castro 9. King Abdullah 10. King Bhumibol Adulyadej 2016 - 4/10 1. Helmut Kohl 2. Jenny Diski 3. Howard Marks 4. Clive James 5. Martin Crowe 6. Peter Esterhazy 7. Stephen Hawking 8. Ian St John 9. Louise Plowright 10. King Bhumibol Adulyadej

He had a similar turn last year IIRC, which led to me adding him to my list at the Nags and wasting a pick. Won't get fooled again, the guy is a medical miracle...

The question is answered - Dead not Alive http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37755445?SThisFB

Been enjoying the new series of Still Game, back after a few years absence due to the two main writers having a spectacular falling-out. A sitcom about old Scottish people. Shouldn't work, but does...

For names, it's a year-round longlist that gets updated ad hoc. Research tends to centre around the medical side of things, where applicable. Knowing your stage 3s from your stage 4s when it comes to the final 10. Seems to work as far as the Nags Head DP goes. Looks like I'm almost home and dry this year unless Zsa Zsa, Phil the Greek and Kirk all decide to exit satge left before NYE. And I'm pretty confident the latter two will be around a while yet.

Much like The Goodies, I suspect the BBC will once again refuse to re-air any of It Ain't Alf Hot Mum. We'll just get Dad's fuckin Army a-fuckinggain.

One to add - Joseph Horovitz, a classical composer who wrote the marvellously pompous theme music to Rumpole of the Bailey amongst a number of other large and small screen works. Would make one or more the Telegraph, Graun and Last Word. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Horovitz

That's code for 'non-recovery' if I ever heard it. Poor old Brucie looks like a shoo-in for most 2017 teams. FACT - I accidentally gatecrashed a wedding a few years ago when I was pub crawling in Windsor outside the Guildhall en route to the Two Brewers where Brucie, larger than life, was posing for pictures with the bride. I may well have ended up in a wedding album somewhere.

Should keep the Daily Express front page going for another few weeks.

Ken Clarke - pissed or failing? Either way, that's a Wethertramp's face if I ever saw one. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36717447

Just watched it. George Cohen barely looks a day over 65, reckon he'll be going for a good while yet. Roger Hunt looks pretty good too. Good to see Greavsie looking a lot better. Bobby's got the head shakes though. Let's hope they're all with us for a good while yet. As for Sue Johnson, I'd be happy to never see her mug gurning out from a footy-related TV programme ever again.

Like to think I've broadened a few horizons down the Nags by having her on me list.

Spurs' title challenge BOING BOING BOING

Cockney rhyming slang??

Just listened to the latest More or Less on Radio 4 (a staple programme in my house) and the first topic is; A number of people have asked the team if more famous people have died this year compared to other years. It's a hard one to measure - but we have had a go at some back of the envelope calculations with data from Who's Who and BBC obituaries. Is the intuitive feeling that more people have died this year misplaced? A good listen and pleasingly the obit writer for the Beeb agreed with my witterings down the Nags over the past few weeks that 2016 is the start of a long-term trend - the first slate of modern pop culture celebs who were 18-35 in the 60's-70's are just more likely to start dying around now en masse. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b076prgl

Well, flu can kill the healthy - it's rare but happens more often than you'd think (just been Googling stats). However a weak immune system will obviously ratchet up the chances and he was known as being a busy boy back in the 80's. There'll be a post-mortem so I guess we'll find out then (if the results are publicly released, dunno if this is standard practice over in the US?)

It's up there. Better than anything Sarah Millican will come up with, that's for sure. No obit up, so the BBC didn't have an inkling. Usually you know they knew that a 'sudden' death was coming as the obit file is pre-written and ready to make live within five minutes of the report.

For those of us with our eye on the ball, he was a cracking pic. Back in the lead on the Nags Head list, a ding-dong battle this year.