In Memoriam: Naked Eyes' "Peter Byrne" Dies Aged 74

Peter Byrne, the remain part of the new wave British band Naked Eyes has died on 14 September in Los Angeles, he was 74. Jim Merlis, a spokesperson for the group, confirmed Byrne’s death, adding that he died “peacefully … after a brief illness.” A specific cause of death was not immediately available.

Byrne and Rob Fisher, college friends from Bath, England, were first members of the band Neon, which included future Tears for Fears members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Byrne and Fisher went on to become a duo, launching Naked Eyes in 1982, the year they also signed to EMI Records.

Their debut studio album, which was self-titled in the U.S. and Canada and called Burning Bridges elsewhere, arrived in 1983. The album rose up the charts, reaching Number 32 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of two of the album's hits: a cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Always Something There to Remind Me," which peaked at Number Eight on the Billboard 100, and "Promises, Promises," which reached Number 11 and imbued their signature synth-pop sound. The album’s "When the Lights Go Out" also became a Top 40 hi t and had heavy rotation on the early days of MTV.

The New Wave band recorded a sophomore album, Fuel for the Fire, in 1984. That, too, spawned a Top 40 hit with "(What) In The Name Of Love," and the album peaked at Number 83 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. They disbanded after its release.

In 1985, Byrne lent his vocals to back Stevie Wonder’s hit "Part-Time Lover" and went into songwriting for television, film, and for the Olsen Twins.

After Rob Fisher died in 1999 at the age of 42, Byrne continued to make music and toured the U.S. and internationally. In 2001, he release solo album, The Real Illusion. Additional Naked Eyes releases followed, including 2007’s Fumbling With the Covers, 2021’s Disguise the Limit, and a remaster of their self-titled debut arrived last year

In Memoriam: The Broadway Composer And Barely Breathing Composer "Duncan Sheik" Dies Aged 56

The Grammy- and Tony-winning musician and composer Duncan Sheik has passed away at age 56, his mother has confirmed. Sheik, perhaps was best known for his 1996 hit "Barely Breathing," had been hospitalized in critical condition earlier this week, according to a message posted to his official Instagram page on Wednesday. The post did not elaborate on his medical condition, but said Sheik was stable and receiving treatment.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that Sheik's mother Suzanne Sheik had said her son died of organ failure, but the outlet later reported that she identified the cause of death as cardiac arrest. He died on Thursday while hospitalized in New York City, she said.

Another message posted to Sheik's Instagram page on Friday also confirmed his death:

"The world has a lost a singular talent, and deeply influential voice in music and theater,” reads the caption. “From his Grammy-nominated hit ‘Barely Breathing’ to his groundbreaking, Tony and Grammy Award-winning work on Spring Awakening, Duncan’s artistry touched many and leaves an indelible mark on the cultural landscape.

“Duncan was a father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He will be remembered for his sensitivity, wit, inteligence, and depth of spirit he brought to those who knew and loved him."

Growing up between South Carolina and New Jersey, Sheik learned guitar as a child and got his first synthesizer when he was 12. He was heavily influenced by Talk Talk, David Sylvian and Nick Drake. His self-titled debut album was released in 1996 and Rolling Stone gave it a four-star review, calling it "a defiant debut — beautiful and benevolent of spirit."

The single "Barely Breathing," from that album, spent 55 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 16. It was nominated for best pop vocal performance at the Grammy Awards in 1998.

Sometime during the production of his third album, Sheik teamed up with playwright Steven Sater to compose the music for "Spring Awakening," a musical that opened on Broadway in 2006. "Spring Awakening" went on to win eight Tony Awards, including for best musical, as well as the Grammy for best musical show album.

In Memoriam: The Legendary French Singer "Catherine Ringer" Has Died Aged 68

Catherine Ringer has died at 68 after a battle with cancer. A defining figure in French rock and half of the iconic duo Les Rita Mitsouko alongside Fred Chichin, the singer leaves behind more than four decades of music, from Marcia Baïla to C’est comme ça, and a prolific solo career. 

French chanson is in mourning this Tuesday, September 15, 2026: Catherine Ringer has died at the age of 68 after a cancer battle, her children announced to AFP. A singer, songwriter, musician and actress, the artist born in Suresnes in 1957 will remain inseparable from the Rita Mitsouko, the band she founded with Fred Chichin in the early 1980s. Together, they left a lasting imprint on French songs and rock with their quirky world and hits such as Marcia Baïla, C’est comme ça, Andy and Les Histoires d’A.

Born on October 18, 1957, in Suresnes, in the Hauts-de-Seine region, Catherine Ringer grew up in an artistic milieu. Long before she became one of the most recognizable voices in French music, she explored several disciplines and gravitated toward theatre, dance, and music.

The turning point in her career arrives in 1979, when she meets guitarist Fred Chichin at a performance. From their artistic and personal chemistry will emerge the Rita Mitsouko, a name now inseparable from the French rock scene of the 1980s.

After their first single, Don't Forget The Nite, in 1981, the duo released their debut album, Rita Mitsouko, in 1984. The real breakout came a few months later with Marcia Baïla. Released as a single in 1985, Marcia Baïla pays tribute to Argentine dancer and choreographer Marcia Moretto, who died of cancer. With its blend of rock, pop and Latin-influenced rhythms, the track immediately established the duo’s distinctive universe.

The group’s success is substantial, helping to firmly embed the Rita Mitsouko in the French music landscape. Their meticulously crafted video also contributes to shaping the band’s colorful, offbeat aesthetic. But Catherine Ringer and Fred Chichin aren’t stopping at this first hit.

In 1986, The No Comprendo was released, produced by Tony Visconti, famed for his work with David Bowie. The album features several tracks that will stand the test of time: Andy, Les Histoires d'A and above all C'est comme ça.

With a instantly recognizable voice, expressive facial expressions, distinctive gestures and often extravagant outfits, Catherine Ringer has become one of the most idiosyncratic figures on the French music scene.

The albums come in quick succession and confirm the duo’s ability to navigate rock, pop, funk, and electronic music. Marc et Robert, released in 1988, notably features a collaboration with the American group Sparks on Singing in the Shower. It also includes Le Petit Train, a song with a deliberately catchy melody that nonetheless tackles deportation.

In 1993, Système D gave birth to Y'a d'la haine. They would go on to release Cool Frénésie in 2000, La Femme Trombone in 2002, and then Variéty, the duo’s final studio album. Catherine Ringer also pursues other collaborations. She notably duets with Marc Lavoine on Qu'est-ce que t'es belle, another memorable track in her discography.

Rita Mitsouko's story was jolted by a major upheaval in November 2007, with the death of Fred Chichin from cancer. Catherine Ringer nevertheless continues on her artistic path. She builds a solo career and releases in 2011 her first solo album, Ring n' Roll. This new chapter notably earns her the title of Female Artist of the Year at the 2012 Victoires de la Musique.

She subsequently publishes Chroniques et Fantaisies in 2017 and, in the meantime, keeps the Rita Mitsouko repertoire alive on stage.

Her career has spanned more than four decades, and Catherine Ringer has never lost what makes her unique: a theatrical voice that can move from tenderness to a scream, a visibly physical stage presence, and a musical universe that refuses to be confined to a single genre.

With the death of Catherine Ringer at 68 after battling cancer, one of the most distinctive figures in French music has passed away. From the early days of the Parisian alternative scene to the enormous success of the Rita Mitsouko, and then to her solo career, Catherine Ringer helped bring a decidedly different aesthetic into French popular culture.

Decades after their release, Marcia Baïla, C'est comme ça, Andy, Les Histoires d'A, Le Petit Train or Y'a d'la haine continue to keep this heritage alive.

In Memoriam: The Iconic Artist "Yayoi Kusama" Has Died Aged 97

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum installations around the world, has died, she was 97. In a statement issued on Wednesday, her representative David Zwirner said Kusama passed away from multiple organ failure at a Tokyo hospital on August 14. 

“She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul,” the studio’s statement said. “We will carry forward Kusama’s wishes and, through art, continue to bring hope and strength for the future to people around the world.”

Kusama, one of Japan's most respected contemporary artists, was widely exhibited around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and the Museum Ludwig in Germany.

Repetitive motifs were her trademark, in various shapes, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases, or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations, in all their vibrant psychedelic glory.

"I want to create a thousand paintings, maybe two thousand paintings, as many as I can draw," she said in her childlike but matter-of-fact tone. "I will keep painting until I die." Kusama insisted she drew the way she saw the world: covered with spots, part of the hallucinations she said she had from childhood. 

She was in and out of psychiatric institution for decades, although her sickness did not hold her back as she was one of the first Japanese women to go to New York to pursue her art, in 1957. Although soft-spoken and shy in her mannerisms, Kusama was always unabashedly bold in the assertion of her dotty vision, not only in sticking to the style for decades but also in making it accessible to the masses.

In her later years, as the times caught up with her art, she enjoyed fame. She signed on with fashion brands like Louis Vuitton as well as other licensed products like teacups, T-shirts and key chains with her illustrations, including replicas of her likeness that were used in show windows and other marketing. In 2008, Christie's auctioned her work for $5.8 million. In 2016, she won the most prestigious award Japan gives its artists, the Order of Culture.

Kusama was called pop, avant-garde, feminist, just to name some of the categories thrown at her, most of which Kusama brushed off as not quite representative of her art. She was born in a middle-class family but felt misunderstood, as her parents wanted her to simply get married. They wanted to buy her kimono, not paints and brushes. She knew she had to get away. She chose America.

In New York, the fad was "action painting," characterized by dribbles, swooshes and smears, not dots. She suffered years of poverty and obscurity. But she kept painting dots. She put circles of paper on people’s bodies, and once a horse, in "happening" anti-war performances in the late 1960s, which got some people arrested for obscenity but helped get media attention for her art. 

Over the years, Kusama made quirky but stunningly celebratory works like "Macaroni Girl," a female figure plastered with macaroni, which expresses the fear of food; "The Visionary Flowers," giant sculptures of twisting tulips, and"“Mirrored Corridor," a room with mirrors that delivers an illusion of a field of phallic protrusions speckled with dots. Kusama has also made films and published several novels, said she wasn’t sure where she got her ideas. She just picked up her brush and started drawing. 

Rest In Power Kusama.

In Memoriam: The Legendary British Actor "Tim Curry" Has Died Aged 80

The legendary and prolific British stage, screen and voice actor, the beloved Tim Curry has died aged 80. He was best known for his starring roles in the cult "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Clue", "It" and "Muppet Treasure Island".

A cause of death was not immediately available, though Curry had suffered from several health issues since a severe stroke in 2012 left him unable to walk.

Best known for his role as Frank-N-Furter, the "sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania", in the cult musical comedy The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Curry was considered one of the most charismatic performers of his generation.

Born in Cheshire, England, on 19 April 1946, Curry began his professional acting career in a 1968 West End production of the rock musical "Hair" shortly after graduating from the University of Birmingham. He followed that up with roles in stage performances of Shakespeare, Brecht and Stoppard, before the subversive camp classic Rocky Horror launched him to worldwide stardom. It is still considered a classic of musical cinema and continues to run in limited release to this day, making it the longest-running film release of all time.

Other memorable big screen roles include Rooster Hannigan in Annie, Dr. Yevgeniy Petrov in The Hunt for Red October, Hector in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers.

Beyond Rocky Horror, Curry also made quite the lasting impression in the 1990 miniseries It, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. He played the main antagonist Pennywise the Clown, and scared an entire generation of children in the process. Curry continued to act on stage throughout his career, with a Tony-nominated performance as Mozart in 1981's Amadeus. Other memorable roles followed in The Pirates of Penzance, The Rivals, My Favourite Year  which earned him a second Tony nomination and Spamalot, the stage adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in which he played King Arthur. That role earned him his third Tony nomination.

Following his stroke in July 2012, Curry pivoted to voice acting. Among his voice acting projects were FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Peter Pan & the Pirates - with the latter winning him an Emmy Award.

Curry, who never married and had no children, was deeply private about his personal life. However, he wrote in his 2025 memoir, "Vagabond", that he was convinced to tell his story thanks to so many moving encounters with fans.

In Memoriam: The Great "Dolly Parton" Has Died Aged 80

Dolly Parton, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in country music who was also much cherished for her philanthropy, has died aged 80. Her death was announced by nephew Brian Seaver on Instagram. "I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now," he said. "It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness."

Parton's songwriting was characterised by its vivid storytelling, emotional acuity and melodic strength, all sung with strident clarity. From an eventual catalogue of hundreds of songs, she scored a record 25 US country No 1 singles and 47 albums in the country Top 10 . She crossed over into the pop charts with 9 to 5, a US No 1 in 1980; balanced her music career with acclaimed acting, twice earning Golden Globe nominations for her roles; and her Imagination Library literacy scheme donated more than 150m books to children.

This was all done with considerable panache, rhinestoned glamour and towering hairdos, with her immortal assertion regarding her appearance –  "it takes a lot of money to look this cheap" – the most quoted example of Parton's ready wit. Parton was born in poverty in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, the fourth child to a mother who would have 12 children by the age of 35, and a father who was a farmer and construction worker. One of her best-loved songs, Coat of Many Colours, was about her mother creating patchwork clothes; Parton's first guitar was cobbled together from a mandolin with bass guitar strings. Her first proper guitar was given to her aged eight by her uncle, and she went from singing in church, to appearing on local television aged 10, to cutting her first record aged 13. That year she appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, the concert hall in Nashville at the centre of country music, and her performance was introduced by Johnny Cash. 

After graduating high school in 1964 she moved to Nashville and started out as a songwriter rather than performer. The following year she was signed as an artist and initially moulded as a pop singer, without success; after she was allowed to switch to country, she scored back-to-back hits and released her debut album Hello, I’m Dolly. In 1966 she married Carl Dean – who died in 2025, with the couple renewing their vows in 2016 to mark 50 years together.

Beginning in 1967, a duet partnership with country singer and TV personality Porter Wagoner helped her star continue to ascend, and she had her first country No 1 in 1971 with the song Joshua. Then appeard "Jolene," her unforgettably raw and desperate plea to a rival lover, was released in 1973 and became one of her first success, written at the same time, "I Will Always Love You," written to Wagoner as a farewell after their creative partnership, was a country No 1 in 1974 and again via a re-recorded version in 1982, and would go on to be a huge pop success when revived by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard in 1992: it is still the bestselling single of all time by a woman, with an estimated 20m sales.

In the mid 1970s Parton broadened her sound, embracing pop-rock arrangements on songs such as 1977’s Light of a Clear Blue Morning – its accompanying album New Harvest … First Gathering was her first entry in the pop album chart. Later that year its follow-up Here You Come Again reached the Top 20 and was her first million-selling LP, powered in part by its hit title track, which also won Parton the first of her 10 Grammy awards.

1980 was a peak in her success, with three back-to-back country No 1s, including 9 to 5, taken from the film of the same name which Parton starred in alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, earning her an Oscar nomination for best original song. Parton would later write songs for a stage musical version of 9 to 5, in 2008.

Another classic single came in 1983: Islands in the Stream, a duet with Kenny Rogers, which topped the US pop charts, and a Christmas album with Rogers in 1984 went two times platinum. There were more notable film roles in the 1980s, too, opposite Burt Reynolds in the The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Sylvester Stallone in Rhinestone, and an all-star female ensemble in Steel Magnolias.

A landmark Parton album came in 1987 with "Trio," an exquisitely harmonised, springwater-clear collaboration with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, earning Parton her only nomination for album of the year at the Grammys. Another all-star trio recording came in 1993, with Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn on the album Honky-Tonk Angels, followed by a reunion with Harris and Ronstadt for Trio II in 1999, featuring a Grammy-winning cover of Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush.

The turn of the century brought a trilogy of acclaimed bluegrass albums, and Parton would release 10 more LPs, the most recent being Rockstar in 2023. She was courted by a younger generation of stars, appearing with country artists such as Brad Paisley as well as pop singers such as Kesha, and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus. There were fewer acting roles, but she lent her voice to animated film Gnomeo and Juliet in 2011 and the following year appeared alongside Queen Latifah and more in the musical film Joyful Noise.

Alongside her music and acting, Parton was an astute businesswoman and philanthropist. She founded the film and TV production company Sandollar, with former manager Sandy Gallin, which went on to produce hits such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Father of the Bride film series. In 1986, she took a stake in the Silver Dollar City theme park in Tennessee and renamed it Dollywood, doubling its size over the next two decades, and a Dollywood-branded spa, cabin complex, theatre-restaurant concept and waterpark have since been opened.

The Dollywood Foundation, funded through these business ventures and creative projects, was created in 1988, initially awarding college scholarships and running a scheme to help children complete high school in her native Sevier County, Tennessee. In 1995 Parton began her Imagination Library project, which sent an age-appropriate book to every child in the county every month until they were five. “My father could not read and write, and I saw how crippling that could be,” she explained. It expanded nationwide in 2000, internationally in 2006, and nearly 25m books are now distributed each year across the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland.

Parton has also set up a reserve in 2003 to help preserve the bald eagle; contributed $500,000 to the opening of a Sevier county hospital in 2006; coordinated relief efforts for those affected by the Smoky mountain wildfires of 2016; and contributed to an HIV/Aids charity album. She supported Black Lives Matter and transgender rights, opposing a North Carolina “bathroom bill” that restricted transgender people’s access to toilets (Parton was also nominated for an Oscar for her song in trans drama Transamerica, entitled Travelin’ Thru).

She made a number of donations to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where her niece was treated for leukaemia. The most high profile of these was in 2020, when she donated $1m for research into Covid-19, which formed the basis for the eventual Moderna vaccine.

In Memoriam: ZZ Top Longtime Drummer "Frank Beard" Has Died Aged 77

The longtime ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died aged 77, the band said. A statement on the blues-rock band's website said he died on Monday in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side. His cause of death was not specified. Beard's passing "necessitates the cancellation" of the band's tour dates this week in Utah and Colorado, the statement said.

ZZ Top was founded in 1969 and played their first live concert the following year. Together they released 15 studio and four live albums, with hit singles like Gimme All Your Lovin', Sleeping Bag, and Viva Las Vegas.

Members of the group have included founder and lead vocalist Billy Gibbons and the late Dusty Hill. When Hill died in 2021, the group carried on performing with Elwood Francis as its bassist.

"Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas," Gibbons said.

"His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished," he said.

ZZ Top, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, has continued touring throughout North America, Europe and South America.

Shows the group called off after Beard's death had been scheduled in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday and in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday. The group said it plans to resume its current The Big One! Tour over the weekend, with two dates at Austin City Limits, which the band said was one of Beard's favourite venues in "a city that had been something of a second home for him".

Beard joined the group after ZZ Top released its first single Salt Lick and later brought on Hill as its bassist, serving as the band's rhythmic force on drums, he anchored hits such as La Grange, Tush and Cheap Sunglasses.

He became known as The Man With No Beard - despite his surname - because he was the only member of the Houston ensemble who didn't sport the lengthy facial hair the band became known for, the band has said.

The group's famous 1984 album Eliminator featured the hits Gimme All Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man and Legs. It sold more than 10m copies, was certified diamond, by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1996. The album also earned a Grammy Award nomination.In 1987, the group received another Grammy nod from the Recording Academy for their Afterburner album. In 2021, the group was also nominated for best music film for Sam Dunn's documentary That Little Ol' Band From Texas.

In Memoriam: Legendary English Producer & Electronic Music Pioneer "William Orbit" Has Died

William Orbit, the English producer, composer, and electronic music pioneer passed away on 23 July 2026, aged 69, leaving behind a catalogue that shaped the sound of mainstream electronic music across four decades.

Orbit was born in London on 15 December 1956 and started earlier circa 1980 when he co-founded Torch Song, a synth and ambient trio operating out of a squatted school in Notting Hill. In the 1990s he launched Bassomatic, whose Fascinating Rhythm reached the UK Top 10, and founded Guerilla Records, one of the defining labels of the UK progressive house explosion. 

Things suddenly got changed when in 1998; Orbit co-produced Madonna's Ray of Light, a record that arrived at the exact moment electronic music was moving from the underground into the mainstream and pulled both worlds into the same room. The album won four Grammys. Frozen, the title track, and The Power of Good-Bye are still in rotation. It remains one of the most significant crossover records electronic music has produced. The following year he produced Blur's 13. Harder, more abrasive, equally important. Tender alone is reason enough for the credit. 

The production reputation tends to overshadow the solo work, which ran longer and reached further. Orbit began the Strange Cargo series in 1987, building atmospheric ambient electronic records that were influencing the genre well before the mainstream caught up. Orbit's sixth solo album make a crossover moment on the U.K. charts. Originally released in 1995, Pieces in a Modern Style applied the producer's signature electronic style to the works of masters like Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Händel. "Adagio for Strings," a new spin on the piece by Samuel Barber, climbed the singles charts in 1999, eventually reaching No. 4. In 2000, Pieces in a Modern Style reinterpreted classical compositions through his production approach and became a genuine commercial hit. 

In his final decade he released Pieces in a Modern Style 2, worked on orchestral live projects, and completed The Painterin 2022, folding his visual art practice into the music. He was still making cutting-edge things.

In Memoriam: Trashcan Sinatras Songwriter And Guitarist "John Douglas" Has Died

The iconic Scottish songwriter and guitarist John Douglas has died, aged 62. Douglas, a founding member of the indie rock band the Trashcan Sinatras, died on Monday, August 3 following "a brief illness:"  His death comes just days after the Trashcan Sinatras released their latest album, Ever The Optimist, on July 31. 

The surviving members of the band, Stephen Douglas, Davy Hughes, Paul Livingston and Francis Reader, paid tribute to their longtime bandmate and friend in a brief but emotional statement:

"We are devastated to inform all of you that we have lost our dear friend and brother John after a brief illness," the band said in a statement. "John died peacefully in the early hours of Monday the 3rd August 2026, surrounded by loved ones, his beautiful voice and songs filling the room." 

Douglas had been part of Trashcan Sinatras almost since the group's formation in Irvine, Scotland, in 1986. Joining alongside his brother, drummer Stephen Douglas, and guitarist Paul Livingston later that year, he helped establish the line-up that would remain the creative nucleus of the band for the next four decades.

As rhythm guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Douglas contributed to every one of the band’s seven studio albums. His melodic guitar work, harmonies and songwriting became integral to the group’s distinctive sound, which blended sophisticated pop melodies with literate lyrics and intricate acoustic arrangements.

Born in Irvine, Douglas was a supporter of the pro-independence movement, appearing in 2025 at a pro-independence event at Oran Mor. "Getting the band back together" was a night to celebrate Scotland's grassroots musical talent, with Douglas taking the stage alongside his wife, folk artist Eddi Reader.

Trashcan Sinatras first attracted international attention after signing with Go! Discs. Their 1990 debut album, Cake, introduced songs including "Obscurity Knocks", "Only Tongue Can Tell" and "Circling the Circumference". The album spent three months on the Billboard 200 in the United States and established the band as a significant presence within the alternative music scene.

The group followed with I've Seen Everything in 1993, featuring  "Hayfever", which gained additional exposure through MTV’s Beavis and Butt-head. Their third album, A Happy Pocket, arrived in 1996 before the band endured major setbacks after Go! Discs was absorbed into Universal. Dropped from the label, the members were forced to sell their Shabby Road recording studio and declare bankruptcy.

Rather than ending the band’s career, those challenges ultimately led to an independent resurgence. The critically acclaimed Weightlifting followed in 2004, leading to renewed touring across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia. Subsequent releases included In the Music in 2009 and Wild Pendulum in 2016 before the lengthy gap that preceded Ever The Optimist.

Released on 31 July 2026, Ever The Optimist featured guest appearances from Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura and Green Gartside of Scritti Politti. The album had been previewed by the singles "The Bitter End", "Bad Husband", "Melodramatic" and "Games for the ZX Spectrum", and represented the band's first new studio album in a decade.

Away from Trashcan Sinatras, Douglas built a respected reputation as a songwriter and collaborator. He wrote "Wild Mountainside" for his future wife, Scottish singer Eddi Reader, who recorded it for her acclaimed 2003 collection Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns. Douglas also wrote "Should I Pray?" and "Prisons" for Reader's 2007 album Peacetime, with both songs later becoming part of the Trashcan Sinatras catalogue. The couple married in 2013.

Following his marriage, Douglas underwent treatment for ulcerative colitis, requiring surgery and an extended recovery. He continued performing and recording in the years that followed, including acoustic tours with the band across North America. In 2024 he released his first solo album, presenting intimate acoustic performances alongside original material outside the Trashcan Sinatras catalogue.

He had more recently taken on an acoustic solo career, often touring the UK and Ireland with his wife Reader and her band.

Douglas leaves behind a catalogue spanning more than 40 years with Trashcan Sinatras, a body of work that earned the Scottish band an enduring international following through its craftsmanship, musicianship and understated approach to guitar-driven pop. His death comes at a moment that should have celebrated the band’s long-awaited return, giving Ever The Optimist an unexpected place as the final chapter in his recording career.

In Memoriam: The Influential Bassist "Jennifer Finch" Dies Aged 59

Jennifer Finch, the longtime bassist for influential grunge rock group L7, has died. Finch, who had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2011, revealed she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer last week. She was 59.

Finch's bandmates shared the news of her death on Saturday on Instagram, calling her a "beloved bandmate, friend, and fellow troublemaker".

"She had a long courageous fight with brain cancer and was loved by many wonderful friends, musical peers and fans worldwide," wrote L7's Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner and Demetra "Dee" Plakas.

Finch was due to join L7 on the feminist rock band's The Last Hurrah farewell tour this year, however, she pulled out last week after revealing her brain cancer diagnosis, giving the band her blessing to forge ahead.

A GoFundMe campaign to help pay for her treatment, launched by friends and family, swiftly surpassed its goal and raised nearly $US400,000. Despite initial radiation treatment, "unforeseen complications" led to Finch enduring "multiple surgeries and a string of difficult setbacks".

Born on August 5, 1966, and raised by her adoptive parents in Los Angeles, Finch had a passion for photography, often documenting the city's burgeoning punk and alt-rock scenes, snapping influential groups like The Cramps and Bad Religion.

In the early 80s, Finch played bass in Sugar Babydoll, led by future Hole frontwoman Courtney Love, and The Pandoras.

Finch joined L7 in 1986, a year after Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner formed the band. They released their self-titled debut in 1988 via influential independent record label Epitaph.

After adding Dee Plakas on drums, the group's 1990 album Smell The Magic made them one of the few non-Seattle bands signed to Sub Pop and earliest all-female groups in the grunge explosion. Finch even dated Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl for a time.

Their 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy is considered one of the era's most significant, featuring L7's biggest crossover hit Pretend We're Dead, a searing political commentary on the marginalisation of women in society inserted into a hooky anthem.

Fiercely rejecting traditional beauty standards and fearlessly advocating for women's rights, L7 co-founded Rock for Choice in 1991, a concert series raising funds and awareness for reproductive rights.

Four women playing loud, aggressive tunes confronting sexism and political disillusion was considered a feminist statement in and of itself. But L7 did not actively try to be a feminist band.

"We don't write in any contrived way," Sparks told Double J in 2019. "We write from very personal experiences and they just morph into something else. "We're not writing feminist lyrics. We're writing L7 lyrics and I think they speak to everybody."

In 1996, two years after their fourth album Hungry for Stink, Finch left the band and played in other groups, namely OtherStarPeople and The Shocker, and launched her own label, Little Pusher Records.

Following an acrimonious split in 2001, L7 reunited in 2014 and Finch rejoined, playing on their 2019 reunion album Scatter The Rats.

The band then toured regularly, playing headline shows and festivals throughout the US, UK and Australia where, in 2023, they performed Bricks Are Heavy in full on tour.

In Memoriam: Legendary And Former 120 Minutes Host "Dave Kendall" Dies Aged 68

Dave Kendall, who created and hosted the influential MTV show 120 Minutes, has died. His friend Matt Pinfield, who hosted the show after Kendall’s tenure, shared the news on Instagram. Bangkok Post, where Kendall worked from 2017 to 2025, also ran an obituary. No cause of death was given. Kendall was 68, according to Bangkok Post.

The British-born Kendall got his start writing about music for UK and U.S. publications such as Melody Maker and Spin, he explained in a website bio. He relocated to New York City in the 1980s and created 120 Minutes for MTV, where he spent seven years as a writer, producer, presenter, and news reporter. The show, conceived as a home for alternative music, launched in 1986, three years before Kendall took over as its ever-impassioned host. As well as promoting bands like Sonic Youth and Pixies, Kendall helped to spread the Nirvana explosion, hosting the premiere of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991.

Kendall went on to host and co-produce the talk show Music Scoupe, as well as taking on various radio, TV, and DJing gigs. His website touts his early 1990s Hot 97 program Planet Traxx as the first electronica show on commercial radio. From the mid '90s, he embarked on a career in digital journalism that included some of the first online video streaming shows. He eventually returned to TV before settling in Thailand and joining Bangkok Post.

In Memoriam: Actor "Sam Neill" Dies Aged 78

Actor Sam Neil, best known for his starring role in 1993's Jurassic Park, has died aged 78.

In a statement his family say Neill's death was "sudden and unexpected" but that he was "surrounded by family". Neill had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but announced earlier this year that he was cancer-free.

Neill was an undeniably versatile and accomplished actor, which was demonstrated no better than in 1993 which saw two of his most outstanding films, he first rose to fame in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs, before going on to star in My Brilliant Career, Jurassic Park, The Piano, The Dish and Possession among other films.

He was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s — a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.

Actor Sam Neill might have officially been a Kiwi, but he did some of his best work in Australian film and television. This is his story. In 2023, Neill revealed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in early 2022. He entered remission later that year after a rare anti-cancer drug worked, but needed ongoing infusion treatment. He announced in April he was cancer-free.

The actor was also knighted in 2022, becoming Sir Sam Neill. "I said I didn't want the title for 10 or 12 years," he said in 2023. "Then when I thought I was dying a couple of years ago I thought, 'Oh bugger it, I may as well go out with the title,' so I changed my mind."Neill's range as an actor was remarkable, playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy Sweet Revenge to chopping off Holly Hunter's finger in The Piano to poking his own eyes out in the sci-fi horror Event Horizon.

The actor first came to the attention of international audiences in Armstrong's 1979 film My Brilliant Career, which also introduced Judy Davis. He later appeared in Phillip Noyce's Dead Calm, a classy thriller set at sea and co-starring the then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman.

Neill twice co-starred with Meryl Streep, in Australian director Fred Schepisi's Plenty and — again for Schepisi — in A Cry in the Dark, a film about the sensationalised aftermath of a dingo killing a baby in the Australian Outback. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 mini-series Merlin and another as narrator of 2017's Wild New Zealand.

He perhaps achieved his highest level of fame in Jurassic Park, playing palaeontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough in the Steven Spielberg directed hit.

His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: "Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?" Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose, but didn't return for The Lost World: Jurassic Park II in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.

Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Neill emigrated to New Zealand at the age of seven. His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island and he was sent to boarding school in Christchurch.

After college, he took the lead in Sleeping Dogs in 1977 — the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade. There's no fuss, no entourage and no star ego, writes producer Vanessa Gorman, on filming with Sam Neill. Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.

On social media, he often posted images of his farm animals, many of them affectionately named after celebrities and friends, like Laura Dern the chicken, Kylie Minogue the duck and Helena Bonham Carter the cow. His memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? came out in March 2023 and he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to film" — a title approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

"I can't pretend that the last year hasn't had its dark moments," Neill told The Guardian in 2023, referring to his cancer diagnosis and treatment.

In Memoriam: Johnny Hates Jazz Founding Member "Calvin Hayes" Dies Aged 62

Calvin Hayes, a founding member of the British pop band Johnny Hates Jazz, has died aged 63 after collapsing at his home in Washington state. His wife, Kathy, confirmed his death late Friday early on Saturday. 

Hayes' former bandmates Clark Datchler and Mike Nocito shared an emotional tribute celebrating both the musician and the lasting legacy of the music they created together. Hayes co-founded Johnny Hates Jazz with Datchler and Nocito in 1986, helping launch one of the decade's most successful pop acts. 

After an initial single failed to break through, the trio found worldwide success with "Shattered Dreams" in 1987. The song became an even bigger hit in the United States than in the UK, climbing to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was followed by the hits "I Don't Want to Be a Hero," "Turn Back the Clock" and  "Heart of Gold," while the band's debut album, Turn Back the Clock, reached No. 1 in the UK and sold millions of copies worldwide.

In their Instagram statement, Datchler and Nocito said they were “utterly shocked and deeply saddened” by Hayes’ death, explaining that they chose to speak privately with friends and loved ones before making a public statement “to share our memories, express our emotions, and begin to come to terms with such a tragic loss.”

Reflecting on their years together, they wrote, "The three of us were brothers in arms for an extraordinary moment in time, one in which we managed to touch the world with the music we created together."  They added that, despite Hayes no longer being part of the band, they knew he remained incredibly proud that their songs, particularly those from Turn Back the Clock, continue to resonate with so many people nearly 40 years later.

Following the band’s initial success, Datchler departed in 1988 to pursue a solo career, while Hayes and Nocito continued recording with singer Phil Thornalley. That chapter came to an abrupt end after Hayes suffered a devastating car accident that left him hospitalized for an extended period. He later reunited with the original lineup for live performances in 2010 before stepping away from the band once again. Beyond Johnny Hates Jazz, Hayes also performed with other artists, including Kim Wilde, and was the son of legendary producer Mickie Most, whose clients included The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate.

In Memoriam: Legendary Welsh Pop Singer "Bonnie Tyler" Dies Aged 75

The legendary Welsh pop star and Grammy-nominated "Bonnie Tyler" has died, aged 75. Tyler died unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday in a statement on her website. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery. She had been placed in an induced coma for a period but was reportedly improving last month and expected to make a good recovery.

“Bonnie’s family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for,” her family said.

Tyler earned three Grammy and in 2013 represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest, where she came in 19th. She was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II, thanks mainly to "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which has had more than 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017 and 2024.

The song has never really gone away: it was covered by the English singer Nicki French in 1995, and the band Westlife in 2006. Cate Blanchett sang it while hitting Billy Bob Thornton with her car in 2001’s “Bandits,” it appeared in a wedding scene in 2003's "Old School."

Tyler was born — as Gaynor Hopkins — a coal miner's daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers. Loved the Beatles and her first album was "A Hard Day's Night." The first song she bought, at 13, was "Hippy Hippy Shake" by the Swinging Blue Jeans and she watched "Top of the Pops" religiously, according to her memoir, "Straight From the Heart."

In 1976 she had to have surgery to remove nodules on her throat, leaving her with that trademark vocal sound. Changing her name to Sherene Davis, she was fronting a soul band when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell, who brought her to London for demo sessions. Then she waited for a label until RCA said it was interested.

Under her new RCA-sanctioned name Bonnie Tyler, her debut album "The World Starts Tonight" in 1977 contained her first chart hit, "Lost in France," and she was nominated for a breakthrough artists award at the Brit Awards. She then had a No. 3 hit in 1978 with "It's a Heartache," but soon drifted. She then signed with Sony and saw Meat Loaf perform "Bat Out of Hell" on the BBC. Impressed, she requested to work with Meat Loaf songwriter and producer Jim Steinman.

Steinman introduced her to his song "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which would become the debut single for her fifth studio album, "Faster Than the Speed of Night." He borrowed one of the song's lyrics — "Turn around, bright eyes" — from his 1969 musical "The Dream Engine," written when he was a student at Massachusetts' Amherst College. He told her the song was from a prospective musical version of Nosferatu.

“Jim liked to put down a basic rhythm track, do nine takes of the song, choose the best one and then put the kitchen sink on there, like Phil Spector used to,” Tyler told The Guardian in 2023. “He gave me a cassette to listen to in my hotel and we both preferred take two.”

The video, a staple of early-days MTV, was shot in a frightening gothic former asylum in Surrey, where the guard dogs apparently wouldn't set foot in the rooms downstairs where they used to give people electric shock treatment. The visuals included slow-motion tossed doves, candles, dancing ninjas, dancing greasers, Tyler in frighteningly big shoulder pads, fencers, gymnasts, wind machines and shirtless boys wearing swim goggles being doused with water.

"Faster Than the Speed of Night"  earned a Grammy nomination for best rock vocal performance — losing to Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield” — and Tyler got another nod for  "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in the best pop vocal performance category, losing to Irene Cara's Flashdance — What a Feeling.

Tyler never reached such status again but stayed current with such movie soundtrack singles as "Holding Out For a Hero" — from 1984's "Footloose" — and "Here She Comes” from  "Metropolis" also in 1984.

Her 2019 disc “Between the Earth and the Stars” featured duets with Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Status Quo’s Francis Rossi, and she ended that year performing a Vatican Christmas concert before Pope Francis.

In 2013, she switched gears to make a country-flavored record in Nashville, "Rocks and Honey,"which included the Vince Gill duet "What You Need From Me" and a little ballad called “Believe in Me,” written by American songwriter Desmond Child and British songwriters Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide.  "Believe in Me" was picked to represent the United Kingdom at that year's Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.

In 2017, she joined Joe Jonas’ band DNCE for a performance on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas as part of a "Total Eclipse Cruise." When the moon passed in front of the sun, they played "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

Tyler was married to property developer and former Olympic judo competitor Robert Sullivan.

In Memoriam: The Actress Who Played Mon In Alf "Ann Schedeen" Dies At 77

Anne Schedeen, the actrees who famously played Kate Tanner in "ALF," has died at 77. Her family announced her peaceful passing on Sunday, remembering her as a "force" with "whip smart humor," a "burning hatred for Trump," and deep love for family and dogs. 

 

Schedeen starred in "ALF" from 1986 to 1990. Her extensive career included guest roles on "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Emergency," "Three's Company," "Cheers" and "Murder, She Wrote." She made her final screen appearance in the 2023 reunion special "ALF on ALF." Schedeen is survived by her husband Christopher Barrett, daughter Tay, and other beloved family member. Schedeen’s death was announced by her family in a Facebook post on Sunday. She was 77.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share Annie has passed peacefully," the post reads. "She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of creative energy, whip smart humor, delight in her family, adoration for little dogs, burning hatred for Trump, passion for second-hand thrifting, and love for a good story. We are bereft without her. We loved her so so much, as did all who met her.

She was a force. And it is unimaginable to think about life without her in it,” the post continues. “But as she said, ‘I’m always with you.’ And she’s right. The memories, artwork, belly laughter, handmade jewelry, oil paintings, sculptures, costumes, and all around joie de vivre live on. Raise a margarita in her honor.”

Schedeen starred opposite Max Wright, who played her husband, Willie Tanner, in ALF, an acronym for Alien Life Form. Adopted by the Tanner family, ALF was a fuzzy character voiced and puppeteered by Paul Fusco, who co-created the sitcom with Tom Patchett. Mihaly ‘Michu’ Meszaros occasionally appeared as ALF in costume when full body shots were needed. The character's full name was Gordon "ALF" Shumway.

Born Luanne Ruth Schedeen on Jan. 8, 1949, in Portland, Oregon., Anne Schedeen made her screen debut in a guest role on Lee Majors' sci-fi action series The Six Million Dollar Man in 1974. Schedeen played guest roles on a half-dozen series, including Get Christie Love!, Ironside and McCloud. She also guest-starred in three different roles over 12 episodes in the hit medical series Marcus Welby, MD, from 1974 to 1976. During the same time period, Schedeen also appeared in guest roles in six episodes of the action drama Emergency!

Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Schedeen also appeared in guest roles on such TV shows as Bionic Woman, Family, Baretta and The Incredible Hulk. From 1978 to 1982, the actress appeared in various guest roles on five episodes of the hit sitcom Three’s Company.

In the 1980s, Schedeen also appeared in several more TV guest roles on such shows as Cheers, E/R, Simon & Simon, Magnum, P.I. and Murder, She Wrote. In 1984, Schedeen starred as Sarah Frank on the TV drama Paper Dolls. Schedeen appeared in all 13 episodes of the series about the modeling and cosmetic industries, which only ran for one season.

But then, her most well-remember role came from 1986 to 1990, Schedeen starred as Kate Tanner on 103 episodes over four seasons on ALF. Schedeen´s last screen appearance came in the 2023 reunion special ALF on ALF, which also featured Paul Fusco and Tom Patchett, as well as Andrea Elson and Benji Gregory, who played the Tanner children Lynn and Brian. Also featured in the special were Max Wright, who died in 2019 at age 75, and Mihaly ‘Michu’ Meszaros, who died in 2016 at 76.

According to her family's Facebook post, she is survived by beloved friends and family including her husband of 55 years Christopher Barrett, darling daughter Tay Barrett, daughter-in-law, Hilary Flynn, sister Sarabeth Schedeen, niece Minnie Land, brother Roland ‘Tony’ Schedeen, sister in-law Julieann Schedeen, and her beloved rescue dogs Roo and Red.

In Memoriam: The Pop Art Icon Pioneer "David Hockney" Dies At 88

Legendary and iconic British painter "David Hockney" made his name with sunkissed visions of California and never stopped breaking barriers, going on to become one of contemporary art’s most important figures, has died aged 88.

He made his name as a pop artist during the swinging 60s and was perhaps best known for his paintings of swimming pools that helped define the Los Angeles aesthetic. Works such as A Bigger Splash and Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures) depicted hedonistic scenes of love, lust and loss taking place below the city’s sun-soaked skies.

But Hockney’s six-decade career cannot be defined by a single era. He produced perspective-shifting portraits using photo-collage, experimented with abstract landscape painting and, in later life, investigated the possibilities of creating artworks out of emerging 3D technology.

He is survived by his long-time partner and companion Jean-Pierre Gonçalves de Lima; his great-nephew Richard, who acted as studio assistant in his last years; his brothers Philip and John; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, his publicist Erica Bolton said.

Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1937, Hockney was the fourth of five children in what he described as a "radical working-class family". His parents encouraged their son's early artistic promise. He studied art at Bradford College and sold his first painting – a portrait of his father – for £10 at the Yorkshire Artists Exhibition in 1957.

As a conscientious objector, he completed his two years of national service as a hospital orderly before enrolling at London’s Royal College of Art in 1959. He swiftly gained a reputation as a unique talent, albeit one with a rebellious streak. His refusal to paint a life drawing of a female model almost stopped him from graduating – pointedly, he submitted Life Drawing for a Diploma, which depicted a muscular male figure from an American physique magazine. Hockney also declined to write an essay required for the final examination, believing he should be assessed solely on his artworks. The RCA, aware of the talent it was fostering, bent its rules so it could award him the diploma.

It was the start of a career in which Hockney had no qualms about challenging conservative society. His 1961 painting We Two Boys Together Clinging, named after a Walt Whitman poem, was an early indicator of that. Works that followed, such as 1962's Cleaning Teeth, Early Evening (10pm) W11, with its phallic Colgate tubes and chains, would depict gay life with an honesty and openness that was almost completely at odds with a Britain in which homosexuality remained a criminal offence until 1967.

With his signature bleach-blond hair, round, thick-rimmed spectacles and cigarette dangling from his lip, Hockney became a figure on the 60s party circuit in London and the US. He partied with Andy Warhol, Ossie Clark and Dennis Hopper, earning himself a reputation as a playboy and a flâneur. Yet while he indulged in the pleasure-filled life of a drug-taking bohemian, he never lost sight of his strong Yorkshire work ethic. Even after a stroke in 2012, which temporarily impaired his speech, he continued working.

After moving to LA in the mid-60s, his more mature and restrained works garnered acclaim for their ability to transport deep and complex emotions on to the canvas. Man in Shower in Beverly Hills (1964) found the artist hitting his stride as he developed towards a more realist style. In November 2018, Hockney’s 1972 masterpiece, Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures), sold for $90.3m (£70.2m) at Christie’s, a world record for a living artist at the time. The work, inspired by Hockney’s breakup with his lover, enraptured critics, including the Guardian’s Jonathan Jones, who described it that same year as “a calm distillation of love and sorrow”.

While working on one of his LA paintings, Hockney took a series of reference photographs on a Polaroid camera and accidentally stumbled upon the next stage of his career: photocollage, or “joiners” as he would term them. Through assembling multiple photographs together, Hockney could explore his fascination with perspective. The portraits he created of his mother and the British art dealer John Kasmin exhibited a strong cubist influence that drew comparisons with his idol, Picasso.

In later years, Hockney experimented in many new areas including set and costume design for operas and ballets. Developing technology fascinated the artist: as his career evolved, his art made use of the photocopier, the fax machine, the printer and the iPad – the latter allowing him to create reams of digital paintings that he would excitedly email friends and acquaintances. But his technological interests always came back to one thing: "I'm really only interested in technology that is about pictures,” he told Interview magazine in 2013. “I’m interested in anything that makes a picture."

An avid smoker all his life, Hockney maintained that cigarettes had been beneficial to his mental health. Writing in the Guardian in 2007 he called the UK’s imminent smoking ban "the most grotesque piece of social engineering".

He had moved back to Yorkshire from Los Angeles in 2005, but in 2013 tragedy struck when his 23-year-old assistant Dominic Elliott was found dead at his Bridlington home. Elliott had been found to have consumed household drain cleaner after taking a range of recreational drugs including ecstasy and cocaine. A coroner ruled that Elliott had died as a result of misadventure. Hockney said that for a period he had considered giving up art altogether, as he was unable to draw in the wake of Elliott’s death.

Hockney is believed to have turned down a knighthood on several occasions and once declined an invitation to paint a portrait of the queen. His iconoclasm found its way into the 2001 book Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters, in which he challenged much established thinking regarding how the great paintings of the past may have been created. It managed to both enrage and enrapture critics and art historians.

“I don’t reflect too much,"  “I live now. It’s always now.”

In Memoriam: Film And TV Actor "Anthony Head" Dies Aged 72

Iconic British actor Anthony Head, best known for his roles in TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ted Lasso, Merlin and Little Britain, has died at the age of 72. Head found international fame as Rupert Giles in hit supernatural teen show Buffy in the late 1990s.

 

He went on to have a recurring role in sketch show Little Britain as the prime minister, he played king Uther Pendragon in the BBC's Merlin, and appeared as former football club owner Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso. "He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family," his daughters Emily and Daisy said.

His daughters' statement said "it is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father".

"It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many."

They also said they knew "how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues and fans of the show he was in", adding that he "loved his job very much" and "always considered himself incredibly lucky".

His family acknowledged that "his legacy will live on" and said they considered themselves "lucky" to have watched him doing what he loved throughout his career.

Head's other credits included playing Geoffrey Howe in The Iron Lady and appearing in Doctor Who, Persuasion, The Inbetweeners and Manchild.

He also starred in Ted Lasso from 2020 as former Richmond FC owner Rupert Mannion, the ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham's character Rebecca Welton. Brett Goldstein, their co-star and a writer on the show, said: "Anthony Head was a brilliant actor who played the worst person in the world, which was an incredible skill because he was the best person."

Head first found fame in the UK in the 1980s as the face of Nescafe coffee adverts on TV. He was part of the Gold Blend couple alongside Sharon Maughan, with their coffee-themed romance ads becoming popular between 1987 and 1993. 

Head starred in numerous popular British shows during his career, also including Motherland, Silent Witness and Doctor Who. His last acting credits included Bridgerton in 2022, in which he starred in one episode in series two. He joined the cast of BBC Radio 4's long-running drama The Archers in 2018, playing Robin Fairbrother. The actor also enjoyed a long stage career, performing in several iterations of The Rocky Horror Show and musicals such as Godspell and Chess.

Born in Camden, London, in 1954, Head's mother was actress Helen Shingler, best known for BBC TV series Maigret, and his father Seafield Head, a documentary maker. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Head lost his long-term partner Sarah Fisher, who was an animal welfare campaigner, in December 2025 at the age of 61. His daughters Emily, 37 and Daisy, 35, both work as actors - with Emily best known for playing Carli D'Amato in The Inbetweeners. Daisy has appeared in TV shows including Harlots and Shadow and Bone. His brother Murray is also an actor, who appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film Sunday Bloody Sunday and the musical Chess.