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Grammy-award winning singer Roberta Flack has died at the age of 88, her publicist has announced.

The American singer was best known for her hit songs Killing Me Softly With His Song and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.

Pic: Photoreporters/Shutterstock

VARIOUS - 1972
ROBERTA FLACK

1972
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Flack pictured in 1972. Pic: Photoreporters/Shutterstock

One of the top recording artists of the 1970s, she died on Monday surrounded by her family, her publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement.

In 2022, Flack announced she was suffering from motor neurone disease (MND), and could no longer sing.

Rising to fame in her early 30s, Flack became an overnight success after Clint Eastwood chose her song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, as the soundtrack for the explicit love scenes of his 1971 movie Play Misty For Me.

The track topped the US charts in 1972, and Flack was rewarded with a Grammy.

The following year she took the coveted Record of the Year prize at the Grammys for a second time with Killing Me Softly, becoming the first artist ever to do so.

Discovered in the late 1960s by jazz musician Les McCann, Flack was a classically trained pianist, receiving a full scholarship to study at Howard University at just 15.

McCann later wrote of Flack: “Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known.”

Roberta Flack holds the Grammy award for her record,  "Killing Me Softly With His Song" on Monday, March 4, 1974 at the 16th annual Grammy Awards, held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. She also was named best female pop peformar of the year. Singer Isaac Hayes smiles in the background on the right. (AP Photo/Harold Filan)
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Flack with her Grammy for Killing Me Softly in 1974. Pic: AP

A shining light in the social and civil rights movement of the time, Flack was friends with both Reverend Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis whom Flack visited in prison when Davis faced charges – for which she was acquitted – for murder and kidnapping.

Flack also sang at the funeral of Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first black player.

Living on the same floor of the famous Dakota apartment building as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Flack also became friends with the Beatle, later releasing an album of Beatles covers.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Robert Legon/Shutterstock 

(61077e).Roberta Flack.VARIOUS - 1976
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Flack in 1976. Pic: Robert Legon/Shutterstock

Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack, to musician parents in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in 1937, she was raised in Arlington, Virginia.

She was married to jazz musician Stephen Novosel between 1966 and 1972.

Flack’s other hits from the 1970s included Feel Like Makin’ Love and two duets with her close friend and former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway, Where Is the Love and The Closer I Get to You.

Sadly, their partnership ended in tragedy, after he fell to his death from his hotel room in Manhattan in 1979, after suffering a breakdown while they were recording an album of duets together.

Singers Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack, top, perform a duet Monday, May 13, 1985, during a performance at the United Nations. Wonder, who also turned 35-years-old on Monday, was honored by a U.N. Special Committee against Apartheid. The woman at left is unidentified. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhander)
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Stevie Wonder and Flack perform a duet in 1985. Pic: AP

While Flack never matched her first run of success, she had a follow-up hit in the 1980s with the Peabo Bryson duet Tonight, I Celebrate My Love and in the 1990s with the Maxi Priest duet Set The Night To Music.

In the mid-90s, she received a wave of new attention after the Fugees covered Killing Me Softly. She would go on to perform with the hip-hop band on stage.

A five-time Grammy winner, Flack received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020.

Contemporary stars to praise her include Beyoncé, John Legend and Ariana Grande.

Singer Roberta Flack sings before the start of the Major League Baseball's Civil Rights game between the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 15, 2010.        REUTERS/John Sommers II   (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL ENTERTAINMENT)
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Flack in 2010. Pic: Reuters/John Sommers

Working as a high-school teacher in her 20s, while gigging in clubs during the evenings, Flack proved a canny educator, telling the Tampa Bay Times in 2012: “I was teaching at Banneker Junior High in Washington, DC It was part of the city where kids weren’t that privileged, but they were privileged enough to have music education.

“I really wanted them to read music. First, I’d get their attention. [I’d sing]: ‘Stop, in the name of love.’ Then I could teach them!”

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Oasis ‘shocked and saddened’ after man dies at Wembley Stadium concert

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Oasis 'shocked and saddened' after man dies at Wembley Stadium concert

Oasis have said they are “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley Stadium concert on Saturday.

Together with their bandmates, Liam and Noel Gallagher have offered their “sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved”.

Metropolitan Police said officers on duty at the stadium responded, alongside venue medics and the London Ambulance Service, to reports a person had been injured at around 10.20pm.

The statement continued: “A man – aged in his 40s – was found with injuries consistent with a fall. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.”

According to media reports, the man fell from the stadium’s upper tier.

A concertgoer on social media said they saw the incident and described it as “horrific”.

Oasis on stage. Pic: AP
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Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage at their first reunion gig. Pic: AP

Metropolitan Police said: “The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage.

“If you have any information that could help us to confirm what happened, please call 101.”

Oasis performed at the venue as planned on Sunday night, delivering the final concert of a five-night run at Wembley.

Addressing fans at the stadium, singer Liam said: “This one’s for all the people who can’t be here tonight, but who are here if you know what I mean, and aren’t they looking lovely. Live Forever.”

The band then played the track of the same name.

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Oasis support act Richard Ashcroft paid tribute on Instagram, writing: “I was shocked to hear of the death of one of the audience last night sending my love to the family and friends.”

A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium said: “Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers.”

They will then head to Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the United States, before returning to Wembley for two more dates in September.

The reunion tour began at the start of July and marks the Gallagher brothers’ first performances together since Oasis split acrimoniously in 2009.

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Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

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Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.

The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.

“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.

Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.

The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.

Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.

Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.

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Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.

The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.

In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.

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Strictly Come Dancing: BBC responds as two TV stars accused of taking cocaine

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Strictly Come Dancing: BBC responds as two TV stars accused of taking cocaine

The BBC has responded after it was reported that two Strictly Come Dancing stars have been accused of taking cocaine.

The broadcaster is said to have hired an external law firm to probe the drug-taking allegations, which a source said were “well-known” on the show, The Sun on Sunday reports.

The claims were reportedly made on behalf of celebrity contestant Wynne Evans in a legal submission to the BBC in March.

In response, a BBC spokesperson told Sky News: “We have clear protocols and policies in place for dealing with any serious complaint raised with us. We would always encourage people to speak to us if they have concerns.

“It would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”

Sky News understands that it is not unusual for the BBC to engage an external individual to provide additional expert resource to help deliver a BBC-led investigation. In these cases, they would report to an established BBC team.

File photo of BBC Broadcasting House in London.  Pic: PA
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PA file pic

The allegations published in The Sun on Sunday include a source saying that one Strictly star had told another about a third celebrity on the show: “Have you seen their pupils… they’re off their face.”

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“The BBC have known about these allegations for some time, and acknowledged receiving them. Now they are taking firm action,” the source reportedly said.

The two individuals accused of drug taking have not been named.

It is the latest crisis to hit the BBC and Strictly.

In July last year, Amanda Abbington accused Strictly dancer Giovanni Pernice of “abusive or threatening behaviour”. The actress, who was paired with Pernice, withdrew from the show in 2023.

The BBC upheld “some, but not all” of the allegations, with Abbington describing an apology from the corporation as a “vindication”, while Pernice denied displaying “abusive or threatening behaviour”.

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Also in July 2024, Strictly professional dancer, Graziano Di Prima confirmed he was leaving the show amid reports of alleged misconduct.

Separately, Laura Whitmore alleged “inappropriate behaviour” during her time on the show.

In January this year, Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans made “inappropriate and unacceptable” comments at the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch, for which he later apologised.

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