Chris Squire - d. June 27th 2015

Yes, you were a visionary;
those fervent souls who listen
through every album,
every track, every solo,
already know
the meaning of eternity.

Read about Chris Squire here

Patrick Macnee - d. June 25th 2015

Though the gent/agent 

is long into a pension

his image still falls

from unfurled umbrellas,

upturned bowlers,

suave as a bottle 

of Penhaligon's.

Read about Patrick Macnee here

James Horner - d. June 22nd 2015

We knew the news was bad

when the orchestra

accompanying your life

fell away

to a dark rumble of cellos,

the sustained bass notes of loss.

Read about James Horner here

Ornette Coleman - d. June 11th 2015

A trumpet cries,
not for the bird 
that is caged
but for the soul
finally released,
free as jazz.

Read about Ornette Coleman here

Ron Moody - d. June 11th 2015

A man's got an art, hasn't he?
I saw too little of yours,
but a hand, a voice, a song
absorbed in childhood
picks the pocket of memory.

Read about Ron Moody here

Christopher Lee - d. June 7th 2015

On the skyline

his body is burning;

not a sacrifice

but a gift to the soil.

Scared? 

You'd better be.

Read about Christopher Lee

James Last - d. June 9th 2015

No more the crushed-velour strings,

the silken-underwear rustle of brass,

the low-mixed drums, the classical gas;

he now arranges higher things.

Read about James Last here

Charles Kennedy - d. June 1st 2015

Some politicians
are damned 
by the flaws
in their politics,

others redeemed 

by the flaws

in their hearts.

read about Charles Kennedy here

Terry Sue-Patt - d. May 22nd 2015

Somewhere a bell chimes

for lesson's end,

for day's end,

for term's end,

for school's end,

for life's end.

Read about Terry Sue-Patt here

B.B.King - d. May 14th 2015

That sound; cotton motes, 

smoke and bourbon,

glistening strings

bent double with the blues,

the creak of an opening door

even sweet little angels

could not close.

Read about B.B.King here

Errol Brown - d. May 6th 2015

If you can't believe
in miracles
believe in these;
Tight rhythms. 
Tight clothing.
Sex. Funk.
The dance floor.
The dance.

Read about Errol Brown here

Grace Lee Whitney - d. May 1st 2015

She was a tiny moon,

dark in the umbra

of a gaseous giant,

but once a week

the sun would call her

from the shadows,

paint her surface gold.

Read about Grace Lee Whitney here

Ben E. King - d. April 30th 2015

Once you asked
what is soul?
Listen;
it is your voice
poured into a glass, 
on a night
that never turned
to morning.

Read about Ben E. King here

Keith Harris - d. April 28th 2015

What was left

when the act was over?

A voice offstage,

like yours but not yours,
a green feather 
in the beam of the follow spot,
falling.

Read about Keith Harris here

Percy Sledge - d. April 14th 2015

So many lay claim

to the crown of soul,

yet so few 

spent their last dime,

gave up all their comforts, 

slept out in the rain.

Read about Percy Sledge here

Günter Grass - d. April 13th 2015

From the shamed pen
of a nation that lost its head, its tongue,
came a voice needing to be heard again,
singing Vergangenheitsbewältigung.

Read about Günter Grass here 

Viv Nicholson - d. April 12th 2015

Millions are cold-pressed
from sweat of the potless,
but the only life harmed 
in the making and unmaking
of your fortune
was your own.

Read about Viv Nicholson here

Richie Benaud - d. April 10th 2015

Benaud c&b De'Ath 84
Rarely caught, stumped or leg-before,
though Wisden prefers to note that
numbers don't show 
the straightness of the bat.

Read about Richie Benaud here 

Jackie Trent - d. March 21st 2015

I know a place,
a cellar full of noise,
with a perfect jukebox
where the only songs playing
are all ones I know.

Read about Jackie Trent here

Shaw Taylor - d. March 17th 2015

Did you see a man 
sometime in the 70's, 80's?
five foot ten, grey hair,
glasses, a twinkle?
We would like to speak 
to him. Keep 'em peeled.

Read about Shaw Taylor here