Lynden David Hall

As anyone who knows me well will testify, I seldom, if ever, rave about British soul singers - least of all contemporary ones. I made an exception, however, a few years ago about Lynden David Hall whose excellent album Medicine for my pain, and the singles from the album Sexy Cinderella and Do I qualify were some of the best examples of Marvin Gaye styled soul I have heard in a long time. It came as a shock, therefore, to hear that he died last week of a rare form of cancer at just 31. I remember seeing him at a hot sweaty Borderline in 1998. His voice was pure and soulful and just for a moment I thought we had found a true successor to the greats of the 60s and 70s. I bought the CD and played it to death , before being persuaded to give it to a girlfriend who was equally hooked on this young man's vocal talents. Hall appeared in the hit film Love Actually in 2003, where he sang at the wedding of the characters played by Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Two years later, he released his third studio album In Between Jobs on the independent label Random Records. In 2004, Hall was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He passed away on St. Valentine's Day, 2006, after having lost his battle with the disease at the age of 31.