Bill Kenwright & Richard Roundtree RIP

The Vinyl Word says farewell to two people who have died who have musical links but who are better known in other fields. Bill Kenwright, who was 78, came to fame when he played Gordon Clegg in Coronation Street in 1968. He became a very successful theatre producer, best known for 'Blood Brothers', 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and 'Whistle Down the Wind' among other West End shows. A lifelong Everton fan he became a director of the club in 1989 and later the largest shareholder and was club Chairman for 19 years. But before any of this Bill pursued a musical career. His first record, in 1967, with a group called the Runaways, was 'I Want To Go Back There Again', a Berry Gordy song first recorded by Chris Clark. Other 45s, for MGM and Fontana, included 'Giving Up', a Van McCoy song, 'Tiggy', 'Baby I Could Be So Good At Loving You' and 'Sugar Man'. He also tried his hand at record production, including a couple of singles by a band called Money.

Another significant death is that of actor Richard Roundtree at the age of 81. He was the first black action hero, playing the role of John Shaft in the movie 'Shaft' as well as the sequels 'Shaft's Big Score' and 'Shaft In Africa'. Many other acting roles followed over the following 50 years. The fame he achieved in his original role of 'Shaft', one of the first blaxploitation movies, was greatly helped by the highly successful soundtrack album by Isaac Hayes and 'Shaft In Africa' featured a track by the Four Tops, 'Are You Man Enough'.