There have been many sad deaths this week. Particularly poignant for our generation was the passing of Rodney Bewes, TV star of the Likely Lads and the later Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads.
Part of that golden age of Sixties iconic TV in Britain his dulcet tones amused millions of viewers every week. Only this week I found out that Rodney was a Yorkshire lad from Bingley. RIP.
Probably more poignant for me and my Missus though was the sad death of David Cassidy. At last he is without the pain he suffered.
Its hard to appreciate now just how much of an impact he had on millions of teeny boppers in the early Seventies the world over. He really was a global superstar and along with fellow teen idol Donny Osmond they ruled the heartstrings of countless screaming fans everywhere and defined a generation.
Like my Missus on the Continent, aged just 11 I was also drawn into David's charming persona and I loved his buttered American voice on hits like Daydreamer, How Can I be Sure and I write the Songs. Somewhere I still have a copy of his LP Rock Me Baby with him sat on a rocking chair in his blue denims.
His role on the wonderful US TV show The Partridge Family was pivotal in his exposure to so many new fans globally and I really did love that show. I thought the Mum was gorgeous!
As yet another star of our generation's firmament fades I wish David's remaining family well as they come to terms with their loss. It couldn't be forever but it should have been longer. RIP David Cassidy 1950-2017.
I remember David Cassidy and 'The Partridge Family' from the early '70s, and though I was never really a fan, it's another sad reminder that part of my youth has been consigned to the history books. I was a big fan of 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads' though, and it's a shame that there'll now never be that 'update' that fans were hoping for on how the lads would've coped with old age. "Oh, what happened to you, whatever happened to me? What became of the people we used to be?" Indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes, our TV generation is disappearing fast. I read that Rodney and James Bolam were great mates but fell out during a phone call never to speak again. Hope they did.
DeleteSee my post 'James Bolam On Rodney Bewes' about that, Woodsy.
DeleteWilco.
DeleteYep, poignant Likely Lads lyrics and Kid. I guess they're very applicable to our generation and where we are in our lives.
ReplyDeleteBack in the seventies, a childhood mate had an older sister called Lynn. She's defined in my memory by the David Cassidy pop posters which were sellotaped to her bedroom walls, Woodsy!
I remember having posters all over my wall too Tone. Mark Bolan, Dave Bowie, Slade, Sweet, Roxy Music, Elton and yes, David Cassidy. I had a Donny osmond flat cap as well, which he must have popularised. Wall posters were a craze back then and nearly every magazine had some for drawing-pinning on the bedroom wall as soon as you got home didn't they! Or sellotape, yes, much to Parents' chagrin across the world!
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