Tina Turner RIP

Desperately sorry to hear that the 'Queen of Rock and Roll', Tina Turner, has died aged 83. She joined Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1957 and, together with ike, produced some of the most exciting R and B records of the sixties and brought a completely new level of excitement to their live performances. Fantastic recordings such as 'A Fool In Love', 'It's Gonna Work Out Fine', 'I Can't Believe What You Say', 'Nutbush City Limits' and 'Finger Poppin' set the standard for classy, no holds barred performances. The Phil Spector produced 'River Deep Mountain High', despite its inexplicable failure to be a hit in the US, reached new heights, yet many other recordings for a variety of labels, including 'So Fine', 'Come Together' and 'Proud Mary' showed what a compelling combination Ike and Tina were, and their live shows were something to behold. Born Anna Mae Bullock in Brownsville, Tennessee, Tina met Ike in St Louis and quickly joined his revue, becoming his common law wife. But eventually the alleged abuse of Tina by Ike led to a split in 1976 which has been widely reported over the years. After a period of relative obscurity Tina developed an image of a sex goddess and became, comparatively late in life, a super star, with albums such as 'Private Dancer', 'Break Every Rule' and 'Foreign Affair'. Her tours became major events and her hits included 'Let's Stay Together', 'What's Love Got To Do With It' and 'Simply The Best'. Film appearances included 'Tommy' in 1975 and 'Mad Max Thunderdome' in 1985. Tina retired in 2009 after completing her 50th anniversary tour. RIP Tina.

I can't ignore the death of another artist who had considerable chart success over many years, as well as being one of the UK's top TV entertainers, the Australian born Rolf Harris at the age of 93. He had major hits with 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport', 'Two Little Boys' and 'Sun Arise' and starred in countless TV shows. But eventually, in 2014, a history of indecent assault of young girls caught up with him and he was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison. Another death is that of Floyd Newman, aged 91 who was a sax player at Stax, including with the Mar-Keys and the Memphis Horns.