Another footballer Chris Mitchell, Ex Bradford & Clyde. Aged 27. RIP. http://stv.tv/news/west-central/1353381-tributes-paid-to-footballer-who-died-suddenly-aged-27/
Reg Grundy, 92. Australian TV producer of shows such as Neighbours and Aussie rhyming slang for underpants.
Gareth Gwenlan OBE has just died. please log in to view this image TV producer, whose numerous credits include The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin and Only Fools and Horses.
These lads are mental, but ironically he didn't actually die mountain biking, he died from brain injury after a motorbike crash.
True. Had a lovely, easy way about his commentary style. I spent years listening to him thinking he was black. RIP
Tony Barrow, Press Officer for The Beatles, from first Parlophone recording to 'Magical Mystery Tour', has died. He coined the name 'The Fab Four'. http://www.merseysidermagazine.com/site/features/tony-barrow-beatles-pr-man/ R.I.P.
Spencer Leigh 1 hr · Just heard that TONY BARROW, the Beatles press officer and the man who called them the Fab Four died last night at 10pm. He was 80 last Wednesday. Tony was a tremendous guy and I had just been writing his entry for a Beatles encyclopedia called Th Beatles Book which Hunter Davies is editing for Ebury. This is what I wrote about him, now with an update: Anthony Frederick James Barrow was born in Crosby, a northern suburb of Liverpool, on 11 May 1936. He was educated at the local private school, Merchant Taylor’s, and studied English, History and French at Durham University, although he dropped out after two years. When only 17, he was writing a weekly record review column for the Saturday edition of Liverpool Echo under the pseudonym of Disker. With the help of his girlfriend, Corinne Griffin, whom he married in 1961, he published the first charts based on sales in Liverpool. He promoted some dances around Crosby. Although he kept writing for the Echo, Tony moved to London to work for the Decca record group, mostly writing LP liner notes or adjusting the original American notes for UK publication. Although only a small cog in Decca’s wheel, his name, nevertheless, was on numerous Decca EPs and LPs. In November 1961 Brian Epstein wrote to Disker in the hope that he could provide valuable local publicity for The Beatles, who, up to that point, had been ignored by the editorial pages of the newspaper. Brian was surprised to receive a reply from London and he visited Tony at the Decca offices. Tony said he would be happy to write about The Beatles in his column once they had a record released and he would see if Decca’s production team would audition them. Appreciating that Epstein was an important north-west retailer, The Beatles were auditioned on New Year’s Day, 1962. Although the audition was unsuccessful, Brian was impressed by Tony Barrow’s professionalism and asked him to write the press release for their first EMI single, ‘Love Me Do’. Tony agreed, but he could not put his own name to it as he worked for Decca. His friend, Tony Calder, who was to establish Immediate Records, had formed his own PR company and so Barrow prepared the press release but under Calder’s name. It was a masterful, five page introduction to the band. When Brian asked Tony Barrow to leave Decca and join him full-time for double his salary, he knew he would be taking a step into the unknown. Soon he was touring with The Beatles worldwide and promoting other NEMS acts including Cilla Black, Billy J Kramer and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Under the name of Frederick James, he wrote a pictorial history of The Cavern. In time, Brian Sommerville and Derek Taylor were brought in to help with The Beatles while Tony concentrated on other artists. However, he was there for the more significant events: the meeting with Elvis Presley in 1965; the mayhem in Manila; and the fallout from John’s remark about The Beatles being bigger than Elvis. In 1966 he attended their final concert at Candlestick Park and at Paul’s request, recorded the performance, albeit on a cheap, hand-held machine. Tony wrote the liner notes for the first three Beatle albums and in 1967 he wrote the strip cartoon for the Magical Mystery Tour booklet. Tony left The Beatles to establish his own PR company, Tony Barrow International, the ‘International’ being a typical Tony Barrow flourish. He managed Lyn Paul of the New Seekers and Helen Shapiro as well as handling publicity for Cilla Black and Wings. He wrote regularly for The Beatles Book and his memoir, John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me (Andre Deutsch, 2005), lived up to his journalistic adage, ‘Rework your catalogue’. Barrow retired to Morecambe in 1980 as he felt that the constant socialising was affecting his health but he still undertook special projects such as working on the MIDEM festivals and writing for The Stage. Barrow never cared for intellectualising The Beatles’ music saying that rock music was never intended to be taken too seriously. RIP, Tony. As it happened BARROW, TONY [b. 1936, d. 2016]
The fallout about the Beatles being bigger than Elvis? Can't remember that one. Great days back then. People suddenly just by chance meetings establishing careers they had never thought about. Hecwascwithnthe Beatles for just six years yet 50 years later people want to read about it. It is difficult for those not about at the time just how big the Beatles were and how they and others changed things in such a short time. Compare the drab music, fashions and indeed general drabness of this country in 1962 and what it was like in 1966.
I was working near London, with a mate, in '63. He was from North Wales. We went up there one weekend and he sprung on me two tickets to see the Beatles at Llandudno Odeon (?); the last night of a week's booking. Ending with 'Twist and Shout'; every night, when John'd been able to do it about every two weeks, cos of the effect on his throat. Two or three weeks later they had 6 singles in the Top 20...
