Many moons ago, when the Royal Hotel was THE place to stop in town, one of my younger brothers was a night porter there; Dame Maggie was appearing in 'something' in Hull for a few nights and was staying at the Royal - at burglar o'clock my brother was doing his rounds when DMS approached him and asked if he could possibly get her a cup of tea, he said he would and to his surprise she followed him down to the kitchen, they spent an hour just chatting, she asked about Hull and his family and was just a really lovely lady - this early hours of the morning chat and cuppa with toast went on for the few days duration of her stay in Hull, she told him she struggled to sleep after any stage appearance and would pace about and drink tea until sleep eventually came. Story doesn't end there, after the fire that gutted the Royal in 1990 my brother moved to another of the chains hotel in Grantham - walking through the restaurant he heard someone call his name and to his surprise it was none other than Dame Maggie, she spent the next ten minutes chatting with him and asking after his family etc. Not only a very fine actor but a wonderful, kind human being - RIP
RIP Maggie Smith, never forgotten. First Glenda Jackson, now Maggie Smith. Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench must be looking over their shoulders...
JD Souther RIP Quite a back catalogue Arriving in Los Angeles from Texas in the late 1960s, the singer-songwriter JD Souther became part of the burgeoning California music revolution that would include Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. When he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame half a century later, Souther, who has died aged 78, was declared “a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters”. Many of those artists found a home at David Geffen’s Asylum record label, and Souther was one of its earliest signings. In 1972 Asylum released his debut solo album, John David Souther (subsequently he would bill himself as JD Souther, in homage to JS Bach). This was not a commercial success, though the song How Long would eventually win a Grammy award when it was recorded by the Eagles for their 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden. Souther would enjoy his greatest success with his songwriting work, especially his close collaboration with the Eagles. He was among the songwriting credits on their second album, Desperado (1973), and played a more significant role on On the Border (1974), co-writing the songs James Dean, You Never Cry Like a Lover and their first US No 1 single, Best of My Love. On the band’s finest hour, Hotel California (1976), he co-wrote the chart-topping New Kid in Town as well as Victim of Love. He was part of the Eagles’ final No 1 single when he helped write Heartache Tonight, from The Long Run (1979). In addition, he co-wrote several songs for the solo albums of the Eagles’ Don Henley, including the Top 30 hit The Heart of the Matter from The End of the Innocence (1989). In 1973, Souther joined with Chris Hillman (formerly with the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and Stephen Stills’s Manassas) and ex-Buffalo Springfield and Poco member Richie Furay in the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. Their first eponymous album reached 11 on the US chart, and also produced a Top 30 single with Fallin’ in Love, but the follow-up, Trouble in Paradise, barely scraped into the Top 40. Souther dated Stevie Nicks and the singer-songwriter Judee Sill, but had an especially close romantic and professional relationship with Ronstadt, who recorded many of his songs including Faithless Love, White Rhythm and Blues, and Simple Man, Simple Dream. He duetted with Ronstadt on his song Prisoner in Disguise, the title track of her million-selling 1975 album that reached No 4 on the US album chart. They also duetted on Hearts Against the Wind, which was featured in the film Urban Cowboy (1980). The Eagles’ Glenn Freyonce joked that “one of the reasons JD didn’t have a bigger solo career is because he gave us or Linda Ronstadt most of his best songs”.
Sad to hear of the passing of a West Brom fan at his Club's away fixture at Sheffield Weds today. Rest in peace fellow supporter.
Kris Kristofferson, the award-winning country singer and actor who worked with Johnny Cash and Martin Scorsese, has died aged 88. A representative said he passed away "peacefully" at his home in Hawaii on Saturday, surrounded by family. The statement described Kristofferson as "a peacenik, a revolutionary, an actor, a superstar, a sex symbol, and a family man." The multi-award winner was known for his songwriting, notably credited for Me and Bobby McGee, and Help Me Make It Through the Night, among others. He also acted in the hit movie A Star Is Born. A message from his family said they were all "so blessed" for the time they had with him.
Kris Kristofferson...RIP I recall going to a mate's house, aged about 13, and his mam putting on a Kris Kristofferson LP.... I thought what the hell is this!!!....20 mins later I was hooked. Great song writer and singer...
Kris Kristofferson...RIP Besides the singing did fairly well as an actor too. Rubber duck or just duck in Convoy one of the best known. Much less known is that he was a helicopter pilot in the US airborne rangers.
He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. He was keen on rugby union and got a blue playing for them. He revived a rugby club in the USA when he was young which is still going today. I think all Rhodes Scholars go to Oxford. Bill Clinton was another Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and also played rugby for them.
