Another one Bites The Dust
Heard via text message from my son an hour ago that Jon English has died. No details yet, I'll update if I get an answer from J. He's busy working and can't always leave the machine.
Update: aged 66, Jon English died last night from complications following surgery.
Only 66!
I met him once, after a performance of The Mikado, I went to the backstage door and waited, then asked him to please sign my program. He did and was very nice, although clearly tired. I had no idea he was so tall! Really towered over my five foot smallness.
He was one of my favourite performers, I'm quite sad that he is gone. Sad for his family too.
Sadly, the treasured program was lost when I tossed suitcases full of stuff into a Vinnies donation bin shortly before moving house :(
Update: aged 66, Jon English died last night from complications following surgery.
Only 66!
I met him once, after a performance of The Mikado, I went to the backstage door and waited, then asked him to please sign my program. He did and was very nice, although clearly tired. I had no idea he was so tall! Really towered over my five foot smallness.
He was one of my favourite performers, I'm quite sad that he is gone. Sad for his family too.
Sadly, the treasured program was lost when I tossed suitcases full of stuff into a Vinnies donation bin shortly before moving house :(
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Always sad when you lose a singer from your past, but the music always lives on.
ReplyDeleteMerle...........
Yes...very sad. He was interviewed on one of the daily shows only last week. I know he did some great performances during his career, both stage performances and musicals, starting off with his role as "Judas" in "Jesus Christ Superstar"; and of course...he and Simon Gallaher restored the public's interest in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Not to mention his TV work and songwriting, as well...he covered a lot of territory in the entertainment industry.
ReplyDeleteJon English will be remembered kindly by thousands.
I was never much of a fan, but that means nothing. However, I do recognise he was very talented.
It mainly stemmed out a concert Randall and I went to - again at Festival Hall, Brisbane, in 1976 or thereabouts. Jon English was the lead-in act For Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music fame.
I don't know if he was having a bad night or the audio system was stuffed (perhaps both), but we weren't at all impressed. We couldn't hear him or understand his words when we could. We had good seats not far away from the stage.
And then when English finished his set, out came the main act, Bryan Ferry; and Ferry was just as bad. After his second song, we got up and left.
It was a very disappointing, lacklustre concert...for us, anyway. And I can only speak for myself and Randall, my ex.
We'd been fans of Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music and had a couple of LPs, but live - the concert was a disaster.
66 is too young, and Jon English still had much to give.
I am v sad. I think he was the first performer I 'lusted' after. The lust died, but the fond memories remained. Complications after surgery to clear a blocked aorta I believe...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not a person who grabs the newest gadget on the market so I have his albums, put on tape and still have the old walkman to play them. My mother wore out the video of 'Against the Wind' and he was great in that series.
ReplyDeleteMusicians are in short supply in Heaven by the way they're dropping off the twig and now Bill Wyman has cancer.
Like EC, I found him quite appealing. He wasn't conventionally good looking, but there was something about him that excited me. Of course he was a great performer, both singing and on stage and I was very sad to hear the news that he has died.
ReplyDeleteMerle; the music certainly will love on. I have only three of his albums, bought way back when I couldn't really afford them. Hopefully, now, his albums will be re-released on CD and I can buy one or two.
ReplyDeleteLee; I remember going to see The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance with Jon English, Simon Gallagher and the rest of the crew, Loved both performances and have them here now on DVD.
It's a shame the live concert wasn't good, since both singers sounded bad, I'd say the sound equipment wasn't up to scratch. I like Bryan Ferry too. one of his songs is scheduled for a Musical Monday soon.
Elephant's Child; my first 'lust' too, I had posters on my walls, and followed magazine articles written about him for a few years. I didn't know what type of surgery he'd been having; a blocked aorta sounds like a heart attack. Tricky stuff, surgery, some make it, some don't. :( :(
JahTeh; I have a dvd copy of Against The Wind also the soundtrack album from it, I loved the way he loved Mary in that; the whole series was fabulous. I only have two other albums:English History (a double album)and Modern English. I wish I had more. But I don't have a record player, so can't listen to them.
Andrew; rough and rugged, but with a charming smile and a twinkle in his eyes; and he was friendly to anyone he met, even people on the street. I really wish I'd been more careful when I was throwing out stuff and lost the autographed program from The Mikado.
Oh, it was definitely an audio/sound problem that night, but it was too annoying to sit there for longer than we already had done. It was very frustrating...and everything sounded so flat. And it was doing neither artists any good.
DeleteSimon Gallaher lived here on Mount Tamborine for a number of years. He had a beautiful large home on acreage around the corner a bit from where I live here in my little cabin. Whether he still owns the house or not, I don't know. As far as I'm aware he and his family now live back in Brisbane, the city of his birth and childhood.
How very sad. He was a great performer.
ReplyDeleteTracy; yes he was, one of my most favourite people.
ReplyDeleteI was never a fan of his music but enjoyed him as an actor and always felt he had a great sense of humour. There was always laughter in his eyes. RIP Jon English.
ReplyDeleteI saw Simon Gallaher being interviewed and didn't recognise him.
Mimsie....re Simon Gallaher...he certainly has changed from that fresh-faced fellow he once was, hasn't he? He is unrecognisable these days...he's not aged well at all!!
DeleteMimsie; the laughter in his eyes was part of his appeal, the sense of humor and overall friendliness too.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any interviews, so haven't seen Simon Gallagher.
Lee; pretty boys don't always age well, it depends on lifestyle a bit and how well he took care of himself.