Entertainment

Jerry Lee Lewis: Rock n’ roll star and Great Balls of Fire singer dies aged 87

Published

2 years ago

October 28, 2022

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Rock n’ roll star Jerry Lee Lewis, best known for 1957 hit Great Balls of Fire, has died at the age of 87.

Lewis died at home in Memphis, Tennessee, his representative Zach Farnum confirmed.

The rock n’ roll pioneer – who called himself The Killer – was also known for the song Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On and was the last survivor of a generation of groundbreaking performers that included Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

He was once described as “a one-man stampede”. During a 1957 performance of Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On for a TV show, chairs were thrown at him.

“There was rockabilly. There was Elvis. But there was no pure rock ‘n ‘roll before Jerry Lee Lewis kicked in the door,” he famously said about himself after the show.

However, his private life was mired by scandal.

For a brief time, in 1958, he was a contender to replace Presley as rock’s number one, after Elvis was drafted into the Army.

But while Lewis toured in England, the press discovered he was married to 13-year-old (possibly even 12-year-old) Myra Gale Brown. She was his cousin, and he was still married to his previous wife.

His tour was cancelled, he was blacklisted from the radio, and his earnings dropped overnight to virtually nothing.

“I probably would have rearranged my life a little bit different, but I never did hide anything from people,” Lewis told the Wall Street Journal in 2014 when asked about the marriage. “I just went on with my life as usual.”

Mental cruelty

Over the following decades, Lewis struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, legal disputes and physical illness.

Two of his seven marriages ended in his wife’s early death. Brown herself divorced him in the early 1970s, and would later allege physical and mental cruelty that nearly drove her to suicide.

“If I was still married to Jerry, I’d probably be dead by now,” she told People magazine in 1989.

Lewis reinvented himself as a country performer in the 1960s, and the music industry eventually forgave him.

He won three Grammys, and recorded with some of the industry’s greatest stars, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow and Tim McGraw.

Lewis had six children. One son, Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a swimming pool in 1962 aged three, and another, Jerry Lee Jr, died in a traffic accident at 19 in 1973.

Entertainment

MTV EMAs red carpet: Stars arrive in Manchester ahead of ceremony

Published

28 seconds ago

November 10, 2024

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MTV EMAs red carpet: Stars arrive in Manchester ahead of ceremony

Music stars have hit the red carpet in Manchester for the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Taylor Swift leads the nominations this year, with singers including Sabrina Carpenter, Raye, Charli XCX, Beyonce, Coldplay and Eminem also up for prizes.

It is the first time the MTV event, which was cancelled last year amid security concerns, has taken place in the UK since 2017, when it was held in London.

Manchester is well represented, with DJ Paulette, Blossoms, and Happy Mondays stars Shaun Ryder and Bez among the guests.

Here are the pictures as they come in from the red carpet.

Entertainment

Jamie Oliver withdraws book that ‘offended’ First Nation Australians

Published

15 hours ago

November 10, 2024

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Jamie Oliver withdraws book that 'offended' First Nation Australians

Jamie Oliver has withdrawn a children’s book he wrote from sale after criticism that it stereotyped First Nation Australians.

In his book, Billy And The Epic Escape, the TV chef tells the story of a First Nations girl living in foster care in an Indigenous community who gets abducted by the novel’s villain.

But the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (Natsiec) blasted the book for contributing to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences”.

The body’s chief executive, Sharon Davis, said the book “ignores the violent oppression of First Nations people” and that its depictions of First Nations people and cultural practices were “irresponsible and damaging, reflecting a profound lack of understanding and respect”, according to The Guardian

In a statement, Oliver, 49, said: “I am devastated to have caused offence and apologise wholeheartedly.

“It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.”

A spokesman for publisher Penguin Random House said: “It is clear that our publishing standards fell short on this occasion, and we must learn from that and take decisive action.”

The chef published his first children’s book, Billy And The Giant Adventure, last year and said in a social media post that he had “carefully chosen the font to make sure the text is as clear as possible” as people with dyslexia, which Oliver has, can find it hard to read.

He is also well-known for fronting several TV series including Jamie’s Easy Christmas (2022), Jamie Cooks The Mediterranean (2023) and Jamie: Fast And Simple, which began airing on Channel 4 last month.

At the start of his career, he was known as The Naked Chef, after his 1999 book and TV series of the same name.

Entertainment

Dua Lipa cancels tour date over ‘safety and logistical issues’ with stage

Published

2 days ago

November 9, 2024

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Dua Lipa cancels tour date over 'safety and logistical issues' with stage

Dua Lipa has been forced to cancel a tour date in Indonesia after “unforeseen safety and logistical issues” with the stage were found, organisers said.

The New Rules singer said she was “heartbroken” over not being able to perform at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta on Saturday evening.

“I am here in your amazing country and ready to perform, but I am gutted to share that it has been determined that it is not safe for the performance to carry on due to safety issues with the staging,” she wrote on X.

“I was so looking forward to this night, and it truly pains me that we cannot perform for you all, especially after such a long time since my last performance in Jakarta.

“I love you all and truly can’t wait to be back together in the same room with you singing and dancing our hearts out as soon as possible.”

In a joint statement on Lipa’s website, organisers TEM Presents and PK Entertainment said the cancellation was “due to unforeseen safety and logistical issues”.

They said the team had made “diligent efforts to resolve critical production issues related to the stage structure provided by Mata Elang Productions” but it was “not safe for the performance to carry on”.

“This very difficult decision to cancel was made with the utmost care and consideration for the safety of both the audiences and artist,” it said, apologising to the fans affected.

Lipa, 29, won a Brit Award for best pop act earlier this year and has achieved two number one albums with her two latest records Future Nostalgia and Radical Optimism.