Singer-songwriter Linda Lewis, who was known for her five-octave vocal range and ability to perform a wide array of genres, has died at the age of 72, her family has confirmed.
Lewis, whose career spanned more than four decades, enjoyed solo success in the 1970s and provided backing vocals for artists such as David Bowie and Rod Stewart.
Veteran folk singer Yusuf/Cat Stevens, who worked with Lewis, tweeted: “I’m so sorry to hear of Linda Lewis passing. She was a good soul-friend and fine artist.
“Her flat on Hampstead Way was a regular home for artists and musicians in the 70s.
“Linda became my personal support act during the Bamboozle Tour of 1974, and travelled with our troupe all over the world, up to Japan. What a voice!
“I produced a couple of her records, and she sang the sweetest melody on my ballad, How Can I Tell You as well as the chorus on Angelsea.”
The British singer-songwriter added that Lewis was like “an amazing bird that kindly visited the window sill of our earthly house for a few days, then flew away back to her garden”.
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Multi award-winning singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading said: “I’m so sad to hear of the death of Linda Lewis.
“She had a beautiful voice and was a really lovely person.”
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Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl and radio DJ Gilles Peterson also paid tribute.
Thorn said: “Oh I am very sorry to hear the news that Linda Lewis has died.
“I met her in a backstage dressing room a few years ago and was able to tell her this is one of my favourite records of all time.”
Peterson wrote: “Linda Lewis … RIP.”
Her sister Dee Lewis Clay said on social media: “It is with the greatest sadness and regret we share the news that our beloved beautiful sister Linda Lewis passed away today peacefully at her home.
“The family asks that you respect our privacy and allow us to grieve at this heartbreaking time.”
Image: Linda Lewis at an awards ceremony in 2008
Lewis was born Linda Ann Fredericks in West Ham and attended stage school and taught herself to play guitar and keyboard.
She appeared in a non-speaking role in the British film A Taste Of Honey in 1961 and as a screaming fan in the first Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night three years later.
Lewis appeared at the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970 and had four top 40 hits throughout the next decade.
Her first was Rock-a-Doodle-Doo, which reached number 15 in the UK in 1973.
Her biggest hit was It’s In His Kiss, a cover of Cher’s The Shoop Shoop Song, which reached number six in 1975.
She also toured with Stevens and provided backing vocals for Bowie on his Aladdin Sane album, as well as Stewart, Steve Harley & Cockney Revel, Rick Wakeman, Armatrading and Jamiroquai.
Social media star “Big John” Fisher has said he is being deported from Australia after he was detained over visa issues.
Fisher, known for reviewing fast food online, arrived in Australia on Tuesday for appearances in Perth and Sydney.
In posts on his Instagram, he said he was questioned by border officials for four hours in the city of Perth.
He said he was due to head home on Wednesday, his birthday, at 6.30pm local time.
“My visa was legal coming in but they are not happy with what I am doing here so they are sending me home,” he said. “To be truthful, I just want to go home now.
“When common sense goes out the window you lose a bit of hope with human beings.
“Well even though I am under lock and key it’s my birthday, I’m still smiling and I still love Australia.
“Just can’t wait to get home to my family and good old England.”
It is understood Fisher was travelling on an incorrect visa.
An Australian Border Force spokesperson said it did not comment on individual passengers.
Fisher, who has more than 680,000 followers on Instagram, went viral for his love of Chinese takeaway and is best known for his use of the catchphrase “bosh”.
He makes regular appearances at restaurants, clubs and major events around the world.
His son, British heavyweight boxer Johnny Fisher, wrote on Instagram: “The Aussies have detained Big John and are sending him home- rumour has it they are frightened of his express pace bowling ahead of the Ashes.”
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Image: Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.
He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.
The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.
A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.
“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”
The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.
The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.