The RIP Thread

RIP - Also never heard of them, but indeed tragic:-

Viola Beach killed in car crash in Sweden

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The four-piece Warrington-based band were officially formed in May last year
The four members of British indie band Viola Beach and their manager have died in a car crash in Sweden.

Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin and manager Craig Tarry were killed when their car plunged more than 25m (82ft) from a highway bridge into a canal.

The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday near Stockholm.

BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens said the Warrington band had toured with bigger bands and were "incredibly promising".

The UK Foreign Office said: "We can confirm that five British nationals died in a car accident in Sweden on February 13.

"We are in contact with local authorities and supporting the families at this very difficult time."

'Swings and Waterslides'
The band were part of the line-up for Swedish music festival Where is the Music? on Friday and were due to play a gig in Guildford in Surrey on Saturday.

The Boiler Room - the Guildford venue they were due to play - said it was "saddened and devastated" to learn of the deaths.

Blossoms, the band which was meant to be headlining the gig, tweeted: "Absolutely devastated for the loss of Viola Beach and Craig Tarry. Our thoughts are with their friends and families."

Viola Beach released their debut single Swings & Waterslides last year and had featured on BBC Introducing, which showcases up-and-coming music artists.

The four piece's last post on Facebook was on 2 February, when they wrote about playing a gig in the US next month.

Tributes have been pouring in for the band.

Music promoter Dave Pichilingi booked the band for the Liverpool Sound City festival last year and they were scheduled to play again this year.

They were a "hungry, energetic, amazing" band who "were on the verge of great things", he said.

BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Dave Monks, who was among the first to play their music on air, said they were "great guys" who had "so much going for them".

At the scene in Warrington

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Viola Beach were becoming successful but were still modest, friends said
BBC video journalist Olivia Richwald

The Lounge is a live music bar in Warrington and it's where friends say Viola Beach was "made".

Three members of the band had worked here, one of them, Tomas Lowe, for 10 years.

It's where the boys rehearsed and tried out new songs on a friendly crowd.

A poster of Viola Beach is still proudly displayed outside - it says the boys will be back in Warrington in March.

Not at the bar, because their fan base had grown too big, but at a bigger venue just over the road.

It was a homecoming gig that had sold out with two months to go, one that won't now take place.

This afternoon friends gathered inside the bar and spoke of how talented the band was and how they were just getting big. Successful but still modest, they said.

The Lounge is known as a live music venue. This afternoon it's silent.

Lee Harman, editor of the Warrington Music website WAM who knew the band, said they were "very dedicated" and had a "real passion for what they were doing".

Travis lead singer Fran Healy tweeted: "So sad. @Viola_Beach "

Ross Jarman, from The Cribs, tweeted: "Heart goes out to the Viola Beach guys and their families."

Indie rock band, The Enemy, tweeted: "RIP Viola Beach and their manager. Such incredibly tragic and sad news. Thought with the friends and families of all involved x"

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Image copyrightTwitter

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Image copyrightTwitter
Viola Beach

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• Four-piece band from Warrington, Cheshire
• Kris Leonard - guitar, lead vocal; River Reeves - guitar; Tomas Lowe - bass; Jack Dakin - drums
• Officially formed in May 2015
• Released debut single Swings & Waterslides last year
• Played several BBC Introducing Sessions
• Performed at Reading and Leeds Festival in 2015

Read more about the band

Swedish police said they received a call about 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT) and were on the scene within five minutes.

They said divers recovered the bodies of the victims - aged between 20 and 35 - after their Nissan Qashqai plunged through a gap in the bridge which had opened to let a boat pass underneath.

The bridge has a middle section that rises directly upwards without tilting, leaving a gap that the car drove into, the police said.

A barrier before the opening has flashing lights and warning signs, the officer handling the case said, and other drivers were waiting behind the barrier.

Inspector Martin Bergholm said: "For some reason, the car drove through the barriers and crashed down into the canal.

"The witnesses just saw a car beside them and kind of disappear."

Eyewitness Jonny Alexandersson told the BBC he was waiting for the bridge to go down when he saw a car coming very fast on the left side.

"It was very tight," he said. "They passed me and in front of me was a taxi and the car smashed the side of this car and then they go in the barrier, then I don't see anything more of the car, the lights were gone."

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The car was towed from the canal under the E4 highway bridge near Stockholm

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The accident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning in Sodertalje

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The bridge has a middle section that rises directly upwards, rather than tilting
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35572838

 

Two more passings to report.

Novelist Harper Lee, aged 89, and B52's keyboard player Paul Gordon, aged just 53.

RIP

 

Drink!
Girls!
Feck!
Arse!

 

Yep a fine actor and a national treasure over here.....

 

I feckin loved Father Ted!!

Only Father Dougal left now.......

 

Been watching Father Ted again recently and it's as brilliant as I remember it, great episode with Father Fintan Stack the most ludicrously evil character, anyway thank you to Frank for your contribution to one of the best comedies (in my opinion) of all time

 

Can we roll this over into March?

RIP Martin Crowe, a truly great cricketer.

 

Yes, let's extend this mawkish mope-fest into another month. That way we can have a monthly thread where people I don't know can tell other people I don't know just how much they loved someone who NOBODY actually knew or ever met who did what comes to us all in the end.

Every body dies, not everybody needs to give a f*ck. This thread is like an ever-open book of rememberence, it is no different from the "national out-pouring of emotion" when Princess Diana karked it. You couldn't move for people falling over themselves to bleat on about how much they loved her and would miss her, filling the park up with flowers, candles and fecking teddy bears.

Please advise when anybody who supported QPR kicks the bucket.

 

Crowe was a brilliant player. Saw him a couple of times live, and he was class. RIP.

 

Grinch....

People we admire pass away. Who are you to say that those people who admired them for their skills/talents/work can't express their sadness at that? If you don't care, just don't look at the thread. it doesn't have to be a QPR fan for us to have some level of compassion and humanity about it.

 

R.I.P. Martin Crowe,in my opinion the greatest Kiwi batsman I've seen. Very stylish and seemed to have so much time,the true hallmark of a great player! It says everything about him that Botham said,he only ranks Viv Richards above him.

 

And...breathe out!

 

Ok then, have you EVER mentioned how much David Bowie, Martin Crowe, Viola Beach, the drummer from Jefferson Airplaine etc meant to you on this board before they died? Did your Mum or Dad die? Did your kids die? Did your brother or sister die? If they did then as a human being I feel nothing but empathy as that sort of thing is coming our way whether we like it or not. How we deal with our own grief is personal and I wouldn't expect to post it on a football forum. maybe that makes me the odd one out.

"Oooh, somebody famous just died so I'd better get on Facebook and indulge in a bit of communal outpouring" THAT is what I am against. Who am I to say? I'll feckin well tell you who I am, I am GroveRanger and you and the other mopey cnuts on threads like this are part of the problem and get your panties in a bunch when you don't like the comments that don't agree with yours. You told me in previous posts to pack in the "did he support QPR?" replies as you didn't find them amusing any more so I'll pose the same question to you. Who are you to tell me what to do?

You have every right to disagree with me, please do, better than everyone having no opinion at all.

 

Not related to anything in this post - but is that Fatty Arbuckle in your Avatar, GR? I always meant to ask

 

Seriously? Did you consider that post before you wrote it?

 

Does anybody know where I can go to get my panties unbunched?

 

Yes, the Barnsley page!

 

RIP George Martin.......producer for The Beatles amongst many others, we must all have been influenced in some way by his work with them........but doubt he was a QPR fan.........grand old age of 90.........RIP

 

Death comes to us all!

 

Here we go again, can't we just Let It Be? (or was that Phil Spector?)

He's at the end of his Long and Winding Road. There will be standing room only at the funeral but We Can Work It Out. I was only thinking about the Beatles, Yesterday. Can't stop, got to Get Back to work.