Latest music deaths

Another soul man has passed on, this time Bertram Brown. He wasn't a major name but was a member of Memphis group the Newcomers, who had success in the early seventies with 'Pin The Tail On The Donkey' and 'Keep An Eye On Your Close Friends', both on Stax. He was the brother of Randy Brown who made an excellent impression when he appeared at the Blackpool Soul Festival in 2019. Bertram (pictured above) was one of his backing singers that day.

A female soul singer has also died - Angela Bofill, at the age of 70. Born in New York of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage she had a lengthy career as an R and B singer/songwriter, her best known recordings being 'This Time I'll Be Sweeter', 'Angel Of the Night' and 'I Try'.

Another female singer who passed on recently, at the age of 80, is Francoise Hardy, a chanteuse who was one of the few French singers to make a big impression in the UK during the 1960s. Francoise was always the epitome of cool and her light sexy voice always sounded good, particularly on sad songs, whether she was singing in French or English. She found success initially with 'Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles' for Disque Vogue. She made an impact in the UK in 1964 with a version of 'Catch A Falling Star' and 'All Over The World'. The following year she had success in the US as 'The Ye-Ye Girl From Paris'. She went on to have a long singing career and also acted in a number of movies. She also took an interest in astrology and wrote several fiction and non-fiction books.