Vinegar Tits

I was thinking purely on a technical level, in terms of pitch, breathing, etc as well as having an amazing voice.

Sad news but I think it's fair to say in this case she'd had a good innings.

Really sad news. Like most non-Frenchies, I mostly know him from Le Demoiselles De Rochefort and Cinema Paradiso. Not been a good few weeks for French actors, has it?

I hope Boris Johnson comes down with a *very* severe case of Delhi Belly whilst in India.

From a purely technical point of view she's probably the greatest pop singer there's been. An *incredible* voice and she can - and has in her varied career - sing anything, and her pitch and in particular her breathing is always spot on. But yeah, "songwriter" really shouldn't be on her Deathlist description. She's written, what? two songs that were on Hasten Down The Wind and that's about it. She was always an interpreter of songs, not a writer.

I wonder what the new book will say that the first one didn't? She wasn't particularly candid about her private life (she never has been, and she's not like Carly Simon who can write about eroticism in a classy manner without it being tawdry) but said just enough - it was mainly about her childhood and musical inspirations, which this new book also seems to be.

The magnificent and incomparable Chrissy Amphlett left us on this day in 2013

I'm *really* reluctant to add his name here for obvious reasons, but Chris Stein is missing the upcoming Blondie tour due to a heart murmur (atrial fibrillation) which is "tiring as hell". He sat down for most of the last tour a couple of years back so it's obviously not getting better and is becoming an issue. It'll be pretty much the first time (bar the odd PA type appearance) that Debbie Harry won't have Chris by her side since before The Stilettos days!

Damn, that's sad news.

RIP to the One Armed, well, everything. Gosh he milked those roles but they're all bloody great films.

Really sad news. A true trailblazer and icon. Another of my childhood icons gone. RIP.

You might not know the name (and to be honest I'm not actually sure it is her name) but if you're a certain age you'll definitely remember the story... Sheila Rossall was "the girl who [was] allergic to the 20th century" and swapped headlines every week in the News Of The World with Lena Zavaroni as newsworthy ill girls. Formerly the singer of New Pickettywitch - not to be confused with Pickettywitch, though to this day Polly Browne gets asked about her health due to this story - she was last heard of living in an oxygen tank in Texas, with not long to live because the money for her treatment was running out. Whatever happened to her? Did she get better? Did she die? There were rumours that she was a fake but nothing was ever proven. The net has scant information about her, and most of that is people wondering whatever happened to her (including a fair amount of posts from me, because I'm sad like that ). Opening up the gauntlet here - anyone?

Liza does look frail, was shaking a bit and is in a wheelchair, but she's always been a bit nuts so fumbling her words is no big deal. Wonderful to hear her glorious throaty laugh is still intact. She's not looked in great health for a number of years now but didn't seem any worse last night. Definitely one to consider but I'm not sure she's at death's door just yet. Lady Gaga is class.

Has more than a hint of 'going home to die' about it.

It's a Sukkot thing. More about it here --> Etrog inspecting for Sukkot. There's an Israeli film based around a precious Etrog called 'Ushpizin'.

Bloody hell!

January: I suppose Sidney Poitier, but for most of us it's going to be Meat Loaf or Barry Cryer. Hat tip to Ronnie Spector. February: Mark Lanegan, Monica Vitti, PJ O'Rourke. As I am 'of a certain age' and British I'd argue Anna Karen, Bamber Gascoigne and Jack Smethurst too. March: if we all get nuked then The Queen, Madonna, Putin, David Attenborough, all of Abba, Debbie Harry, Cher, Dolly Parton, Tom Cruise, the list is endless. We can argue the toss in Hell as, let's face it, are any of us who frequent such a form *really* going to heaven?

Out of that lot I'd like The Curse to strike Kelvin MacKenzie the most. Being a Leeds fan I was pleased with the namecheck of Norman Hunter. Have we got a specific dedicated thread for The Curse of Half Man Half Biscuit? We probably should.

Nicholas Witchell is mentioned on the new Half Man Half Biscuit album so probably worth considering due to 'The Curse Of HMHB'...

I was about to post the same screenshot!

Jack Smethurst dead. Confirmed on Twitter by his son

Crikey. I didn't even know he was ill (surprised that passed me by). Read loads of his work when I was at university. I didn't always agree with him but he was always worth reading. RIP.

I'm now wondering if there'll be a spread after the funeral as, yes, "you'll have had your tea..."

I never met or worked with him sadly but I do have an anecdote, and it's simply *thrilling* I saw him walking through Kings Cross Station on the day Kevin Keegan resigned as England boss. I was genuinely quite excited about seeing him. Cryer was a good friend of a friend (he's popped up on the Beeb and will probably end up writing the definitive biography of him) so have heard many stories of boozy nights in his local. Utterly splendid chap, exactly as you'd want him to be, sharp as a tack, hilarious and wonderful company by all accounts. Barry Cryer was the last one standing of that generation of truly great comedy writers. We've lost a big man today. RIP.

Gosh! Bit of a surprise. I pong of Angel right at the moment too. RIP.