Jet Black, drummer of new-wave rock band The Stranglers, has died at the age of 84.
Bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel described him as a “force of nature”, the “most erudite of men” and a “rebel with many causes”.
He had suffered “years of ill health”, Burnel added, and passed away “peacefully” on Tuesday, his representative confirmed.
Formed in Guildford in 1974, The Stranglers emerged through the punk rock scene, becoming known for songs including No More Heroes, Golden Brown, Always The Sun and Peaches, achieving 23 top 40 singles and 19 top 40 albums.
Before joining the band, Black, whose real name was Brian John Duffy, was in business, owning a fleet of ice cream vans which were later used to tour the UK.
He also owned an off licence, the upstairs flat doubling as Stranglers HQ in their early days.
In 1980, in Nice in the south of France, the Stranglers were arrested after allegedly inciting a riot, and Black wrote two books documenting what happened.
He also crafted bespoke furniture and designed a patented bass drum pedal.
Black retired from performing live with The Stranglers in 2015 after suffering respiratory health issues since he was a child.
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Baz Warne, The Stranglers’ guitarist, said: “I loved Jet. He took me under his wing over two decades ago and I never really came out from under it. I’m so very sad he’s gone.”
Sil Willcox, the band’s manager, said: “He was the Jet force that launched The Stranglers. He was the Jet force that powered the band’s determination to get heard and get noticed. Jet Black was the real deal.”
Dave Greenfield, The Stranglers’ keyboard player, died in May 2020 after testing positive for coronavirus.
“The welcoming committee has doubled,” Burnel said.
Black leaves wife Ava and children Charlotte and Anthony.
Police are investigating a shooting at the Toronto mansion of Canadian rapper Drake.
A security guard, who had been standing outside the gates of the property, was taken to hospital after being seriously injured in the attack.
The shooting happened early on Tuesday morning, soon after 2am local time (7am UK time) near Bayview Avenue and Lawrence Avenue in the affluent Bridle Path neighbourhood.
A suspect fled the scene in a vehicle, police said in a post on X.
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The creators of Friends have revealed that parts of the script for the final episode were leaked by an insider ahead of the show airing.
Simply titled The Last One, millions tuned in as the episode brought the hit comedy to a close 20 years ago, on 6 May 2004, finally resolving the decade-long “will they, won’t they?” romance between Ross and Rachel.
Looking back at the final shows in an interview with NBC’s Today show in the US, Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane revealed details of the leak.
“Oh my god, we tried so hard to keep it a secret!” Kauffman said. “We were desperate to keep it a secret and it got out. And it was an inside job.”
Scripts sent out ahead of the premiere of the final episode were numbered, Crane explained.
“We knew how many people knew what it was going to be,” he said. “So it did, through an element of… it became a behind-the-scenes detective show.
“It was frustrating, but at the end of the day, what are you gonna do?”
Part of the script that leaked included the details of Ross and Rachel finally getting back together, Kauffman said.
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But when asked if the mystery of who released the information was solved, she replied with a smile: “Ish.”
“Ish,” Crane repeated.
After 10 series and 236 episodes, as well as Ross and Rachel’s reunion, the final instalment saw Monica and Chandler leaving their famous Manhattan apartment and moving to the suburbs as new parents to adopted twins.
Perry, who died last year, aged 54, wrote about the finale in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing.
“Before that final episode, I’d taken Marta Kauffman to one side,” he wrote. “‘Nobody else will care about this except me’, I said. ‘So may I please have the last line?'”
His character Chandler did indeed have the last line. As the Friends decide to go for one last coffee before the move, he simply asks, “Where?”, in a trademark sarcastic but poignant joke about the fact that so much of their time on screen has been spent in the Central Perk coffee shop.
“It’s incredibly poignant. It’s a legacy for him, one of his many legacies,” Kauffman said.
Friends has found a new generation of fans in recent years after being picked up by streaming sites.
Earlier this year, two scripts for The One With Ross’s Wedding, season four’s famous two-part finale filmed in London, sold at auction for £22,000 after being found in a bin.
The new music venue – which is set to become the largest in the UK when it does open, seating 23,500 people – has said it will now open on 14 May, when British rock band Elbow are scheduled to perform.
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Last week, the venue said it would be taking “a short pause to events… to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue”.
American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie had been cancelled at the last minute the previous day, due to a “technical issue” during a soundcheck.
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What is happening with Co-op Live Arena?
Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive of US-based venue operator Oak View Group, apologised for the delays and to “all those that have been affected” and said staff were working “incredibly hard” to get the building ready for 14 May.
“As many of you will know, it’s not been the smooth start we had planned for, and I know that has caused a huge amount of disruption and frustration to thousands of people,” he said.
The issues began following a test event in April which led to Co-op Live announcing it would have to reschedule Kay’s stand-up shows. These were first moved to later dates in April before a second rescheduling to 23 and 24 May.
A gig by The Black Keys has also been moved to 15 May. Rodrigo’s 3 and 4 May dates were postponed, while A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s 1 May performance took place three days later, having moved to the city’s AO Arena.
The Eagles, Nicki Minaj, Pet Shop Boys, Liam Gallagher, Pearl Jam, The Killers and Eric Clapton are among the big-name acts scheduled to perform at the venue in the coming months, but so far only a test event by Rick Astley has gone ahead.
The arena’s general manager Gary Roden announced his resignation last month.
A Co-op Group spokesperson previously said: “Co-op is a sponsor and does not own or run the venue, and we have made it clear to Oak View Group, who are responsible for the building, that the impact on ticketholders must be addressed as a priority.
“We are pleased that they will shortly be putting plans in place to do so.”
They added that safety checks would be independently verified so Co-op members and other ticket holders “can be reassured that the venue has the very highest levels of security and safety measures”.