RIP 2019

I approached this post thinking, not too bad a year for deaths and then I remembered that it was a bad for classic soaps.

Ken Kercheval played one of my favourite characters in Dallas - Cliff Barnes. He used to always order chinese takeaway and instilled in me a desire to eat chinese food from those cute boxes.

Diahann Carroll was beautiful and played the fabulously named Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty.

Luke Perry was a kick in the stomach. Far too young. If you watched the episode of Riverdale where they dealt with his death and had Shannon Doherty guest star and didn't cry, well, you're a stronger person than me.

Then Judith Krantz died. Any kid coming of age in the 80s read Judith Krantz. Scruples, Princess Daisy, Mistral's Daughter. All classics of their time.

 Doris Day - Hollywood legend.

Valerie Harper was Rhoda. I wanted to be Rhoda.

And finally, Karl. Oh Karl. You batshit crazy lunatic of a genius.

Other people died too of course. As always, I post about the ones that especially saddened me.

RIP 2018

I was devastated to hear about Anthony Bourdain who was funny, fearless and deeply attractive. The world is a poorer place without him.

Burt Reynolds had good innings but it's always sad to lose a Hollywood institution.

Penny Marshall was married to Rob Reiner, directed A League of Their Own and Big and was a sitcom star. What a life. 

Aretha. Never forgotten.

Jim Bowen. No greater quiz show than Bullseye will ever exist.

Emma Chambers for that scene in Notting Hill where she follows Julia Roberts into the toilet.

I hope you all had a good year. I will try and do more posts in 2019! 

RIP 2017

Where has this year gone? While not as devastating as 2016 (nothing can be as bad as George Michael), 2017 has not been good either.

Here I remember the celebrities who left us this year who mean something to me.

Glen Campbell. For Wichita Lineman, thank you Glen.

Bruce Forsyth. Now, I am not a huge fan of Brucie but the original Generation Game is part of my childhood and for that, we remember.

Erin Moran. Too soon for Joanie.

Keith Chegwin. I once saw Keith on a school trip to watch a recording of Cheggars Plays Pop. Seriously. Yes, I know you're all jealous.

Roger Moore. He had good innings but even so, he seemed like such a gent.

Sam Shepard. I rewatched Baby Boom in his honour and then felt very sad at his death. He is very nice in it. In fact, that whole film is nowhere near as bad as you may think.

Harry Dean Stanton. I am meant to reference Alien. Instead I will just say Pretty in Pink.

Tom Petty. Sigh.

RIP Carrie Fisher

I have no words left. I certainly can't add any new words to the zillions the internet has written about Carrie's demise. I promise I am not going to talk about the damn gold bikini.

I am not a Star Wars fanatic. I like the first one (and I mean the first one made, I can't care enough to get into naming conventions) well enough. But anyone with a passing interest in the Star Wars films can see that Princess Leia is what makes it zing. Carrie's performance is punchy and fun and she has proper chemistry with the gorgeous Harrison Ford (and now we know why, eh Carrie?)

The thing about Carrie Fisher is she made everything better. When Harry Met Sally would still have been a great film regardless but Carrie makes it wonderful. When she is on the screen, you don't watch anyone else. She was so funny, she was a feminist, she will be missed deeply by anyone who appreciates honest and hilarious women. My heart is heavy.

Then in news that they couldn't make up, Debbie Reynolds followed her up to showbiz heaven two days later.

At 84, she was going to go sooner rather than later but really? REALLY 2016? I've only seen Debbie in one film but what a film it is. Singin' In The Rain is the blueprint of all Hollywood musicals and never fails to cheer me up. Debbie is a ray of sunshine in it.

Farewell to two dames we'll never see the likes of again. Bye bye 2016, don't let the door hit you on your way out you bastard.

George Michael

Well, I went too early with my RIP post didn't I? Readers, I am ok. I appreciate the tweets, the texts, the emails and the general concern for my welfare regarding George's death. This one hurt more than any others this year and there has been an outpouring of grief at Teen Towers.

George sang like the god he is and wrote effortless pop and soul. I always hoped he could overcome his monumental writers block and stage a massive comeback but alas, it wasn't to be. He leaves us with songs that I will never not listen to. Songs that soundtrack my life and make me happy.

He didn't make many albums but whittling down my top 10 George songs has been quite the task let me tell you. To do this, I have listened to Wham and George non-stop for 24 hours. It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

In reverse order:

I'm Your Man
I didn't love this when it came out but I now appreciate it for the pure pop it is.

Jesus To A Child
This is simply beautiful. You can hear the pain in his voice.

Fast Love
I loved this from the moment I heard it and I still do.

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day. Nobody else wrote pop like this. A video of sheer joy.

Wham Rap
Fantastic. Enjoy what you do.

Club Tropicana
This song and video sums up the 80s.

Father Figure
I still maintain this is a bit breathy but it showcases George's voice. It's the song that made me cry on Boxing Day when it came on the radio.

Last Christmas
Come on. A list without Last Christmas is unthinkable.

Everything She Wants
The finest single ever released was the double A side of Last Christmas/Everything She Wants. George did lovelorn lyrics with such heart.

Young Guns
I want this played at my funeral and I want the entire congregation to join in the rap. Don't bother turning up if you're not prepared to do this. I shall be watching.

Leaving out Freedom 90 (cleverest lyrics he wrote) and Careless Whisper (another video that sums up the 80s) is a wrench. I am not counting the duets because that's all just too difficult and I am feeling fragile.

He may have been quiet lately, his best songs may have been behind him but the world is a much dimmer place for me with no George. I am somewhat comforted by the amount of coverage his death received. It's nice to know others loved him as much as me.  I really do mean it when I say RIP George and thank you for the magic.

RIP 2016

It's with a heavy heart and a strong cup of coffee that I approach this blog post. Firstly, apologies for my leave of absence. I've not been inspired by popular culture much this year and who can blame me? The year kicked off with the devastating news about David Bowie and didn't seem to stop with the blows.

I am not going to list everyone who died this year because I don't have the whole day. I am editing it to the list of people who meant something to me.

Bowie. Obviously.

Glenn Frey. Thanks for the roadtrips soundtrack Glenn.

Prince. Prince was my proper kick in the gut of the year. Too young, too much talent and he has soundtracked much of my life.

Alan Rickman. Forget Snape and those godawful Potter films and go watch Die Hard and Truly, Madly, Deeply.

Terry Wogan. Radio 2, Eurovision, Blankety Blank, Children in Need (umm, actually I never watch that), Wogan chat show of the 80s. Terry Wogan was a complete legend and so utterly British (I know he was Irish). Hard for people outside of the country to understand the sadness that his death brought to me.

While we're in the childhood nostalgia phase, Paul Daniels. I used to absolutely love his show and remember being taken to see him live. Beside myself I was. He was funny and a great magician.

Ronnie Corbett. The Two Ronnies. They simply don't make them like that anymore.

Caroline Aherne. The Royle Family was a work of genius. Again, far too young.

Gene Wilder. What a lovely man and hilariously funny. I'll never forget watching Silver Streak as a kid.

Leonard Cohen. I didn't think he'd ever die somehow. I hope he forgave all those wannabes who ruined his song.

Finally, as of today, Zsa Zsa Gabor. She made it to 99! Great name, proper star, nine marriages. Legend.

RIP Glen (and others)

January was a horrible month. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glen Frey and Terry Wogan. OK, Terry looks a bit out of sorts in this list but he was a legend and I shall miss him.

I don't think I can add much to the millions of words written about Bowie. I don't claim to be a mega fan of his but he was unique and I love many of his songs. Some people you can't imagine dying and he was one of them.

Alan Rickman is like a kick in the teeth. He was a national treasure and I've loved him since Truly, Madly, Deeply, a film for incurable romantics everywhere. Alan was cool, he looked like he'd be top company and he was wonderfully British. Much too soon for him to leave us.

But Glen. Oh Glen. I think we all know how much I love the Eagles. I've watched documentaries, listened to Glen, read Glen talk about the band and finally saw Glen a couple of years ago in New York. I am now so grateful that I did because basically that's the Eagles over forever. It's the end of an era and that's what makes me so sad about Glen.

Famous people that I like need to stop dying now please.

RIP 2015 - I forgot someone

Back in January, Anne Kirkbride died. Otherwise known as Deirdre Barlow in Coronation Street. I forgot about her when doing my round up because to try and remember who died in any given year, I use Google. And it gives me all the Hollywood deaths but tends to overlook the home grown soap stars.

Coronation Street is the program that I have watched the most consistently in my life. I grew up with it, my mum watched and therefore so did I. I stopped watching in the mid 90s for a while but I came back to it about 10 years ago and I am so glad I did. I record it and tend to start my weekend with breakfast and a Corrie catch up. It's got some of the best writing in television, I frequently guffaw with laughter at the lines. The acting is brilliant and it can be very touching. I love that it keeps the old school characters like Rita, Ken, Emily (although she's just gone to Peru for six months - come back soon Emily!) and until she died, Deirdre.

Deirdre was always a favourite. I post this picture to prove she was beautiful. Look at her! Anne was a wonderful actress and I loved all the storylines involving her. When she died, I was quite upset because she'd been in my living room for 40 years.

And then, just when we thought 2015 was all wrapped up Lemmy died. Now, I don't claim to be a Motorhead fan. I know the same song everyone does, Ace of Spades. Lemmy is a legend. He's cool and funny. I live with a massive Motorhead fan. He live streamed the funeral from LA and stayed up to watch it. He declared January to be the month when we only listen to Motorhead (pity me readers). He's in deep mourning. Bye bye Lemmy, thanks for the rock and roll.

As if this wasn't all too traumatic enough, yesterday Bowie died. That's a subject for another post but I think we can safely say we're not just listening to Motorhead in January now.

RIP 2015

Another year passes and we lose some more legends. Let's remember them.

Al from Happy Days. I actually can't believe he was still alive but bless him.

Edward Hermann. He died in December last year. Very upset about this. Everyone's favourite grandpa.

Leonard Nimoy.

Jackie Collins. Outpouring of grief at Teen Towers over Jackie. Look at her. Legend.

Ben E. King.

BB King. 

Christopher Lee.

Omar Sharif.

Life is short. Eat another mince pie.

2014 RIP

Way too many this year, especially of the 'too young' variety.

Mike Nichols. He made The Graduate and Working Girl. Enough said.

Harold Ramis. Who you gonna call?

Shirley Temple. Had a drink named after her. Respect.

Richard Attenborough. Darlings!

Bob Hoskins. Uniquely British.

Casey Kasem. "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."

Joan Rivers. There can be no replacement. "If God had wanted us to bend over, he'd have put diamonds on the floor."

Lauren Bacall. Hollywood legend.

Mickey Rooney. I was actually surprised he was still alive. RIP Mickey.

Phillips Seymour Hoffman. Tragic.

Richard Kiel. A generation grew up afraid of his teeth.

Robin Williams. Another shocking death. Love him or never forgive Mrs Doubtfire. The choice is yours.

Alicia Rhett. She played India in Gone with the Wind. Therefore, noteworthy.

Sid Caesar. Coach Calhoun in Grease.

 James Garner. Another Hollywood legend.

Many of these really had great innings but the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman truly is a tragedy. What a waste of a tremendous talent. RIP.