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Irish Examiner
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Leo Sayer: 'I got to sing a duet with Miss Piggy, a wonderful thing'
Leo Sayer has bittersweet memories of the night he opened for the Beach Boys and their tortured genius songwriter Brian Wilson, who passed away recently. 'We did a massive concert with The Beach Boys in 1977 when my star was really rising America, with two number ones. I got booked to do a gig with the Beach Boys. It was fantastic to be asked. But when we got to the gig, it was a bit weird, because Hell's Angels guys were doing the security. They wouldn't give us a dressing room trailer. It was about 40–50,000 people there at a race track in Rhode Island.' Without a trailer of his own, Sayer was mooching about backstage when Wilson noticed him. 'Brian saw me sitting by somebody else's trailer or by the steps somewhere backstage, and beckoned me into his cabin. I remember him and his lovely wife, Marilyn – not with us either anymore – making me tea, and Brian chatting away, and me asking him all these silly questions: how did you write this? He answered every single question. The guy was such a gentleman.' Wilson was familiar with Sayer's music – hits such as When I Need You, More Than I Can Say and the global number one, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. 'I'm not in that same stratosphere as those guys but he was kind and gracious. We had a good talk about songwriting. You pinch yourself to think I'm that close to talking to someone like that, who's your hero,' says Sayer. Leo Sayer IN 1975. (Photo by) Sayer (77) is speaking from Australia, his home for the past 20 years. He is talking ahead of a return to Ireland for a national tour – and a chance to reconnect with a country close to his heart. Growing up in the English coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea, he was always keenly aware of his family's Irish heritage, passed down through his mother, from Maguiresbridge in Co Fermanagh. 'My mother was Irish from Maguiresbridge in Ulster, near Enniskillen. We used to come over every summer as school kids - me and my brother. It was a pretty standard thing –every school holiday from the age of three until about 15 or so. "It was so much fun. Ceilis and donkey derbies and meeting up with relatives all over the north and on the border towns as well as Cavan and Donegal.' His creative side largely comes from his Irish roots, he feels. 'A guy, I think his name is Michael Daley, he's been writing a book about the Irish living in Britain and how they all felt growing up. And I was able to describe to him how a lot of my creative spirit came from that Gaelic experience. "It left a feeling of freedom, of honesty. My English side of the family – they were all very reserved, and I loved the lack of reserve that the Irish had – the country Irish, you know? "It probably wouldn't be the same in the city, but the country Irish… they just said how they felt. They didn't hold back. If they were asked to sing a song, they'd sing a full pelt, I love that, and that had a big effect on me. I thought, hang on, you can express these things. You don't have to be shy and quiet and retiring. Why not? You could be outgoing.' Sayer clocked up his biggest hits in the 1970s, when the music industry was a bit of a Wild West and artists such as David Bowie and Elvis were duped by unscrupulous managers who convinced them that the business side of music was best left to others. Things were much the same for Sayer. He has spoken openly about how his manager, the late pop star and actor Adam Faith, hoodwinked him – how those glory days topping the charts papered over a darker truth about his finances. However, he also nonetheless speaks positively of Faith, who passed away in 2003. He may have taken advantage of Sayer - but he also helped turn him into a chart-topper. All these years later, the singer's feelings are complicated, to say the least. 'He ripped me off. That was his form of management. At the same time, he took me where I was and he opened so many doors. His influence was quite incredible, and he truly believed in me; otherwise, he wouldn't have been both my producer and manager. We made some incredible records in those early days together. So I can't think bitterly of him. I didn't get rich. That's one side of it.' Unlike many British stars who were content to be big in the UK, he was always keen on doing well in America. This led to some surreal situations – sitting backstage in Rhode Island without a dressing room only to be introduced to Brian Wilson was one. Another was his appearance on the Muppet Show in 1978 when he sang with Kermit the Frog and struck up a firm friendship with Muppets creator Jim Henson and with Frank Oz, the puppeteer and voice of Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. 'Jim was a good friend, and sadly no longer with us. And Frank turned out to be a marvelous film director. This team of those two were wonderful to work with, very inspiring. And I did other shows with them, a Julie Andrews special. And I did the Johnny Carson Show, The Tonight Show. It was hosted by Kermit the Frog, and I got to sing a duet with Miss Piggy, which was a wonderful thing.' At the peak of his success, it seemed that Sayer could top the charts at will. He looks back on those days as a blur – it was all happening at such speed it was difficult to take it all in. 'Initially, anyway, all the way up to 1979, everything's at breakneck pace, and you're trying to keep up, so you don't really sort of stop and sit and look at everything. In fact, you don't dare do that. Because we all thought in those days that anyone over 40 would no longer be able to do this. Look at Jagger and Paul McCartney and Billy Joel and me and Rod Stewart. We're all still doing it, which is incredible.' Leo Sayer: A Question of Taste Television: I've been enjoying a show called MobLand. There's an Irish side to it because it stars Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as his Irish wife. It's been absolutely delicious to watch. It's by Guy Richie, and I love his productions – he's such a great writer and director. A scene from A Complete Unknown. Cinema: I loved A Complete Unknown about Bob Dylan. It was so brilliantly done. God knows how it didn't get an Oscar. I thought the same thing with the Elvis movie - the Baz Luhrman film. It was just incredible. Books: There's a series of books by a guy called Henry Porter. The most recent one is the Enigma Girl. It's fantastic. His plots are incredible and believable. Unlike a John le Carré, he's bringing it right up to date. You're reading something that has so many overtones of the crisis and chaos of modern life and modern geopolitics. Leo Sayer plays National Opera House, Wexford, Friday July 11; BGE Theatre, Dublin, July 12; and Cork Opera House, July 13
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Carnie Wilson seen for first time since death of dad Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys fame as she hugs her husband
Carnie Wilson put on a brave face as she was seen for the first time since the death of her father Brian Wilson at age 82. The Beach Boys band member passed away in mid June. The 57-year-old singer — who followed in her music icon dad's footsteps — stopped by a car dealership on Sunday. She was joined by her longtime husband, fellow singer Rob Bonfiglio, during the outing. At one point the couple warmly wrapped their arms around each other. Wilson, who shares daughters Luciana, 16, and Lola, 20, with Bonfiglio, wore cropped white cargo pants and a blue blouse. Beach Boys founder Brian, one of the most acclaimed and influential songwriters of the 20th century, died on June 11. The God Only Knows hitmaker rose to prominence as the frontman of the Beach Boys in the 60s. Last year, weeks after the death of his longtime wife Melinda, it was revealed that he had been diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder similar to dementia. His seven children announced his death on his official Instagram page, alongside a recent photo. 'We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now,' they wrote. The mourning brood added, 'Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.' One day later Carnie wrote on Instagram: 'I have no words to express the sadness I feel right now. My Father was every fiber of my body. 'He will be remembered by millions and millions until the world ends. I am lucky to have been his daughter and had a soul connection with him that will live on always.' The Wilson Phillips singer added, 'I've never felt this kind of pain before, but I know he's resting up there in heaven... or maybe playing the piano for Grandma Audree his Mom.' She concluded, 'I will post something else soon but this is all my hands will let me type. I love you Daddy....I miss so much you already.' On July 3 Carnie performed with her family at The Tribe's All-Star Tribute to the Beach Boys in Agoura Hills, California, calling it 'a total joy.' Wilson and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in late June, days after her devastating loss. She wrote online, '25 years my love... I knew you were the one when I saw your smile. You gave me the sweetest gift I've ever known... our girls. I love you baby @rob_bonfiglio now and forever! Happy Anniversary!' Rob shared a tribute of his own, writing on Instagram, '25 years, two beautiful children and a lifetime of adventures to go! I love you now and always!'
The Advertiser
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Can AI really write music you might want to listen to?
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to I want to disagree with Garry Linnell. In his last Echidna, he was of the opinion that music generated by AI was fine. "If a song created by an algorithm can break your heart or, better still, heal it, perhaps music and anything else we consider art still has a future after all in this increasingly artificial world of ours," he concluded elegantly but, in my opinion, wrongly. To my mind and ear, you can't divorce music from the human experience. It has to be authentic. A machine might write a love song, and it might be a sweet sound - but it will fall on my deaf ears. I'm not interested. Good music isn't just a string of notes. It has context and history. As an analogy, I think of the singer Joss Stone. She is phenomenally successful and belts out a good sound. She has her fans (in their millions) but soul music demands, well, soul - and that comes from an upbringing and a background. I met her as a sweet English teenager (her, not me) when she was starting out and trying to make a name for herself. It struck me then that she had a fabulous voice, throaty and growly, similar to Aretha Franklin's. The resonance was with the great soul singers of that black America where soul came from suffering. But Joss was a nice white girl from middle-class England. Aretha Franklin was born in a wooden shack in Tennessee in 1942 when black people risked death if they displeased a white man by, say, looking at him the wrong way or, even worse, at his wife. Soul music came from Aretha's experience. So, what has that got to do with artificially generated songs? The essence of music is that it needs to be authentic. It needs to reflect the human condition. It has to ring true. The Beach Boys were authentic. The Monkees were an inauthentic creation. AI does inauthentic creation at warp speed. It relies on copying the past. It relies on seeing what love songs have said and done and then varying it and replicating it. The result may be tuneful but it has no human resonance - no meaning, in the broad sense. Tell AI to write a new Bob Dylan song and the result would fool the ear - but not the mind. Musicians have always taken music from the past and developed it. Mozart did it. So did the Rolling Stones. All that is fine and creative. But AI doesn't quite do that. In a way, it mimics. It creates a kind of muzak. I'm not sure that AI could have created punk - or the later Beatles stuff, because they were both too different from previous music. One day, probably soon, someone will ask AI to create a Beethoven symphony, and the result will sound like a Beethoven symphony - but it won't be a Beethoven symphony, coming from that time, from Ludwig van's human experience. Listening to it might pass a pleasant hour but no more than that. It would be shallow. Take another example. If you were getting married and your best friend wrote an emotional, moving poem for the wedding, would it be just as moving if you found out later that it had been generated by AI in a machine? HAVE YOUR SAY: So, it's a choice. Is Garry right or am I right? Send your thoughts to echidna@ . By the way, I'm writing the Echidna for Tuesday but I promise to be fair-minded in selecting your views. SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Australian actor Julian McMahon, known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed and Home and Away, has died aged 56 after a private battle with cancer. - Israel will send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. - US President Donald Trump says he will start talking to China about a possible TikTok deal, saying the United States "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of the short-video app. THEY SAID IT: "Don't look at me in that tone of voice." - Dorothy Parker YOU SAID IT: Rick said: "AI music is entirely about making money. Therefore, I believe it to be unnecessary. The Monkees may have acted (it's a stretch to call them actors), but they were actual musicians." Susan was more open to AI-generated music: "My eclectic music education began when I was very little, and my likes have few boundaries. My response is visceral. If it appeals, terrific. If not, I move on." Alex was worried about the implications of AI for human music-makers: "One big reason for concern about AI composition is that companies have trained their AI on songs written by humans, without compensation: AI developers have consistently massively infringed intellectual property rights, and that is not fair." Elaine said: "AI does not 'float my boat' and reading how much water (which is vital for our existence} is needed to generate this device is very worrying. With AI entering so many aspects of our lives, which is most important - humanity or AI?" This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to I want to disagree with Garry Linnell. In his last Echidna, he was of the opinion that music generated by AI was fine. "If a song created by an algorithm can break your heart or, better still, heal it, perhaps music and anything else we consider art still has a future after all in this increasingly artificial world of ours," he concluded elegantly but, in my opinion, wrongly. To my mind and ear, you can't divorce music from the human experience. It has to be authentic. A machine might write a love song, and it might be a sweet sound - but it will fall on my deaf ears. I'm not interested. Good music isn't just a string of notes. It has context and history. As an analogy, I think of the singer Joss Stone. She is phenomenally successful and belts out a good sound. She has her fans (in their millions) but soul music demands, well, soul - and that comes from an upbringing and a background. I met her as a sweet English teenager (her, not me) when she was starting out and trying to make a name for herself. It struck me then that she had a fabulous voice, throaty and growly, similar to Aretha Franklin's. The resonance was with the great soul singers of that black America where soul came from suffering. But Joss was a nice white girl from middle-class England. Aretha Franklin was born in a wooden shack in Tennessee in 1942 when black people risked death if they displeased a white man by, say, looking at him the wrong way or, even worse, at his wife. Soul music came from Aretha's experience. So, what has that got to do with artificially generated songs? The essence of music is that it needs to be authentic. It needs to reflect the human condition. It has to ring true. The Beach Boys were authentic. The Monkees were an inauthentic creation. AI does inauthentic creation at warp speed. It relies on copying the past. It relies on seeing what love songs have said and done and then varying it and replicating it. The result may be tuneful but it has no human resonance - no meaning, in the broad sense. Tell AI to write a new Bob Dylan song and the result would fool the ear - but not the mind. Musicians have always taken music from the past and developed it. Mozart did it. So did the Rolling Stones. All that is fine and creative. But AI doesn't quite do that. In a way, it mimics. It creates a kind of muzak. I'm not sure that AI could have created punk - or the later Beatles stuff, because they were both too different from previous music. One day, probably soon, someone will ask AI to create a Beethoven symphony, and the result will sound like a Beethoven symphony - but it won't be a Beethoven symphony, coming from that time, from Ludwig van's human experience. Listening to it might pass a pleasant hour but no more than that. It would be shallow. Take another example. If you were getting married and your best friend wrote an emotional, moving poem for the wedding, would it be just as moving if you found out later that it had been generated by AI in a machine? HAVE YOUR SAY: So, it's a choice. Is Garry right or am I right? Send your thoughts to echidna@ . By the way, I'm writing the Echidna for Tuesday but I promise to be fair-minded in selecting your views. SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Australian actor Julian McMahon, known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed and Home and Away, has died aged 56 after a private battle with cancer. - Israel will send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. - US President Donald Trump says he will start talking to China about a possible TikTok deal, saying the United States "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of the short-video app. THEY SAID IT: "Don't look at me in that tone of voice." - Dorothy Parker YOU SAID IT: Rick said: "AI music is entirely about making money. Therefore, I believe it to be unnecessary. The Monkees may have acted (it's a stretch to call them actors), but they were actual musicians." Susan was more open to AI-generated music: "My eclectic music education began when I was very little, and my likes have few boundaries. My response is visceral. If it appeals, terrific. If not, I move on." Alex was worried about the implications of AI for human music-makers: "One big reason for concern about AI composition is that companies have trained their AI on songs written by humans, without compensation: AI developers have consistently massively infringed intellectual property rights, and that is not fair." Elaine said: "AI does not 'float my boat' and reading how much water (which is vital for our existence} is needed to generate this device is very worrying. With AI entering so many aspects of our lives, which is most important - humanity or AI?" This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to I want to disagree with Garry Linnell. In his last Echidna, he was of the opinion that music generated by AI was fine. "If a song created by an algorithm can break your heart or, better still, heal it, perhaps music and anything else we consider art still has a future after all in this increasingly artificial world of ours," he concluded elegantly but, in my opinion, wrongly. To my mind and ear, you can't divorce music from the human experience. It has to be authentic. A machine might write a love song, and it might be a sweet sound - but it will fall on my deaf ears. I'm not interested. Good music isn't just a string of notes. It has context and history. As an analogy, I think of the singer Joss Stone. She is phenomenally successful and belts out a good sound. She has her fans (in their millions) but soul music demands, well, soul - and that comes from an upbringing and a background. I met her as a sweet English teenager (her, not me) when she was starting out and trying to make a name for herself. It struck me then that she had a fabulous voice, throaty and growly, similar to Aretha Franklin's. The resonance was with the great soul singers of that black America where soul came from suffering. But Joss was a nice white girl from middle-class England. Aretha Franklin was born in a wooden shack in Tennessee in 1942 when black people risked death if they displeased a white man by, say, looking at him the wrong way or, even worse, at his wife. Soul music came from Aretha's experience. So, what has that got to do with artificially generated songs? The essence of music is that it needs to be authentic. It needs to reflect the human condition. It has to ring true. The Beach Boys were authentic. The Monkees were an inauthentic creation. AI does inauthentic creation at warp speed. It relies on copying the past. It relies on seeing what love songs have said and done and then varying it and replicating it. The result may be tuneful but it has no human resonance - no meaning, in the broad sense. Tell AI to write a new Bob Dylan song and the result would fool the ear - but not the mind. Musicians have always taken music from the past and developed it. Mozart did it. So did the Rolling Stones. All that is fine and creative. But AI doesn't quite do that. In a way, it mimics. It creates a kind of muzak. I'm not sure that AI could have created punk - or the later Beatles stuff, because they were both too different from previous music. One day, probably soon, someone will ask AI to create a Beethoven symphony, and the result will sound like a Beethoven symphony - but it won't be a Beethoven symphony, coming from that time, from Ludwig van's human experience. Listening to it might pass a pleasant hour but no more than that. It would be shallow. Take another example. If you were getting married and your best friend wrote an emotional, moving poem for the wedding, would it be just as moving if you found out later that it had been generated by AI in a machine? HAVE YOUR SAY: So, it's a choice. Is Garry right or am I right? Send your thoughts to echidna@ . By the way, I'm writing the Echidna for Tuesday but I promise to be fair-minded in selecting your views. SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Australian actor Julian McMahon, known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed and Home and Away, has died aged 56 after a private battle with cancer. - Israel will send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. - US President Donald Trump says he will start talking to China about a possible TikTok deal, saying the United States "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of the short-video app. THEY SAID IT: "Don't look at me in that tone of voice." - Dorothy Parker YOU SAID IT: Rick said: "AI music is entirely about making money. Therefore, I believe it to be unnecessary. The Monkees may have acted (it's a stretch to call them actors), but they were actual musicians." Susan was more open to AI-generated music: "My eclectic music education began when I was very little, and my likes have few boundaries. My response is visceral. If it appeals, terrific. If not, I move on." Alex was worried about the implications of AI for human music-makers: "One big reason for concern about AI composition is that companies have trained their AI on songs written by humans, without compensation: AI developers have consistently massively infringed intellectual property rights, and that is not fair." Elaine said: "AI does not 'float my boat' and reading how much water (which is vital for our existence} is needed to generate this device is very worrying. With AI entering so many aspects of our lives, which is most important - humanity or AI?" This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to I want to disagree with Garry Linnell. In his last Echidna, he was of the opinion that music generated by AI was fine. "If a song created by an algorithm can break your heart or, better still, heal it, perhaps music and anything else we consider art still has a future after all in this increasingly artificial world of ours," he concluded elegantly but, in my opinion, wrongly. To my mind and ear, you can't divorce music from the human experience. It has to be authentic. A machine might write a love song, and it might be a sweet sound - but it will fall on my deaf ears. I'm not interested. Good music isn't just a string of notes. It has context and history. As an analogy, I think of the singer Joss Stone. She is phenomenally successful and belts out a good sound. She has her fans (in their millions) but soul music demands, well, soul - and that comes from an upbringing and a background. I met her as a sweet English teenager (her, not me) when she was starting out and trying to make a name for herself. It struck me then that she had a fabulous voice, throaty and growly, similar to Aretha Franklin's. The resonance was with the great soul singers of that black America where soul came from suffering. But Joss was a nice white girl from middle-class England. Aretha Franklin was born in a wooden shack in Tennessee in 1942 when black people risked death if they displeased a white man by, say, looking at him the wrong way or, even worse, at his wife. Soul music came from Aretha's experience. So, what has that got to do with artificially generated songs? The essence of music is that it needs to be authentic. It needs to reflect the human condition. It has to ring true. The Beach Boys were authentic. The Monkees were an inauthentic creation. AI does inauthentic creation at warp speed. It relies on copying the past. It relies on seeing what love songs have said and done and then varying it and replicating it. The result may be tuneful but it has no human resonance - no meaning, in the broad sense. Tell AI to write a new Bob Dylan song and the result would fool the ear - but not the mind. Musicians have always taken music from the past and developed it. Mozart did it. So did the Rolling Stones. All that is fine and creative. But AI doesn't quite do that. In a way, it mimics. It creates a kind of muzak. I'm not sure that AI could have created punk - or the later Beatles stuff, because they were both too different from previous music. One day, probably soon, someone will ask AI to create a Beethoven symphony, and the result will sound like a Beethoven symphony - but it won't be a Beethoven symphony, coming from that time, from Ludwig van's human experience. Listening to it might pass a pleasant hour but no more than that. It would be shallow. Take another example. If you were getting married and your best friend wrote an emotional, moving poem for the wedding, would it be just as moving if you found out later that it had been generated by AI in a machine? HAVE YOUR SAY: So, it's a choice. Is Garry right or am I right? Send your thoughts to echidna@ . By the way, I'm writing the Echidna for Tuesday but I promise to be fair-minded in selecting your views. SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - Australian actor Julian McMahon, known for his roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed and Home and Away, has died aged 56 after a private battle with cancer. - Israel will send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. - US President Donald Trump says he will start talking to China about a possible TikTok deal, saying the United States "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of the short-video app. THEY SAID IT: "Don't look at me in that tone of voice." - Dorothy Parker YOU SAID IT: Rick said: "AI music is entirely about making money. Therefore, I believe it to be unnecessary. The Monkees may have acted (it's a stretch to call them actors), but they were actual musicians." Susan was more open to AI-generated music: "My eclectic music education began when I was very little, and my likes have few boundaries. My response is visceral. If it appeals, terrific. If not, I move on." Alex was worried about the implications of AI for human music-makers: "One big reason for concern about AI composition is that companies have trained their AI on songs written by humans, without compensation: AI developers have consistently massively infringed intellectual property rights, and that is not fair." Elaine said: "AI does not 'float my boat' and reading how much water (which is vital for our existence} is needed to generate this device is very worrying. With AI entering so many aspects of our lives, which is most important - humanity or AI?"
Hype Malaysia
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hype Malaysia
From Diogo Jota To Michael Madsen: 7 Celebrities Who Recently Passed Away
Saying goodbye to these iconic figures, we remember their legacies and their names forever etched in history as public figures loved by their fans. Their contributions across film, music, and sports leave an indelible mark on audiences, and their absence will be deeply felt. From iconic actors to legendary sportsmen, their legacies helped to shape the cultural landscape through their grit and presence. Here are 7 celebrities who recently left the world: 1. Diogo Jota Liverpool's star footballer, Diogo Jota, passed away on the morning of 3rd July 2025 (Thursday) in a fatal car crash that also took the life of his brother, Andre Silva. Reportedly, the 28-year-old Portugal forward had just gotten married to his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, only 12 days ago (22nd June 2025). The couple shared 3 children: two sons named Dinis and Duarte, and a daughter. 2. Lee Seo Yi (이서이) Confirmed by her manager on Wednesday (2nd July 2025), Korean actress Lee Seo Yi (이서이), who starred in 'Cheongdam-dong Scandal' and 'Killing Romance', passed away on 20th June 2025. The post described the 43-year-old actress as 'Radiant, beautiful and kind' and calls on fans to pray for her peace. Apart from her acting career, the actress also ran a small flower shop where she planned to relocate and reopen in September 2025. No official cause of death has been released, and her agency remains silent out of respect for the family's wishes. 3. Kenneth Colley Known for his role as Admiral Piett in 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi', Kenneth Colley passed away on 30th June 2025 (Monday). The 87-year-old retired actor had died peacefully at his home in Ashford, Kent, due to contracting COVID-19 and developing pneumonia. 'Ken continually worked on stage, film and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian to evil and eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure for the BBC', said his manager, Julian Owen. 4. Michael Madsen Known for his tough guy roles in movies, Michael Madsen passed away at age 67 due to cardiac arrest in his home located in Malibu, California. His iconic performances included starring in Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs', and he has a decorated career spanning from TV Series, films, voice acting and is also an author. Additionally, in 2022, Michael's son, Hudson Madsen, had also passed away following a gunshot wound that was classified as suicide. 5. Brian Wilson The Beach Boys frontman, Brian Wilson, passed away on 11th June 2025 due to respiratory arrest in his Beverly Hills residence. The 82-year-old co-founder of the iconic band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 with the rest of the band and would only reunite with them in 2012 for their 50th anniversary. 6. Walter Scott Jr. Walter Scott Jr., vocalist and co-producer of the R&B group The Whispers, passed away on 26th June 2025 after a six-month-long battle with cancer. The 81-year-old had founded the group in 1969 with his identical twin brother, Wallace Scott, after serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. The group took off in 1980 and released several gold and platinum hits. 7. Maureen Hingert Sri Lankan first Miss Universe finalist, Maureen Hingert, passed away on 30th June 2025 at the age of 88. The beauty queen passed due to liver failure at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, surrounded by family. Other than her beauty pageant career, Hingert had also starred in films such as 'The King and I' and Gunmen From Loredo'. Sources: Sky Sports, The Star, BBC, New York Times, People, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Beach Boys Announce First Major Live Performance Since Brian Wilson's Death
Beach Boys Announce First Major Live Performance Since Brian Wilson's Death originally appeared on Parade. The iconic 1960s and '70s group has announced its first major live performance since founder Brian Wilson died in early June. Wilson died on June 11 at the age of 82 after a battle with dementia. Now his group will honor the sounds of Americana by performing for A Capitol Fourth for PBS. Alfonso Ribeiro returns as host, and the Beach Boys are the headline act for the 2025 Capitol Fourth, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The all-star lineup for the nation's birthday celebration includes: the iconic multi-platinum selling music legends The Beach Boys; world-renowned Motown stars The Temptations; Grammy Award-nominated multi-platinum-selling country music superstar Josh Turner; Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle; legendary Grammy Award-winning musician and producer and New Orleans icon Trombone Shorty; platinum-selling hitmakers LOCASH, named "country music's iconic feel-good duo" by People; four-time Grammy Award-winning Gospel music legend Yolanda Adams; acclaimed singer-songwriter and American Idol Season 22 winner Abi Carter; the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly"I'm honored to be back hosting the 45th anniversary of A Capitol Fourth," said Ribeiro in a statement. "It's everything you want in an Independence Day celebration - great music and fantastic fireworks. For me, the best part is always the crowd: so many happy, patriotic faces, from grandparents to little kids. You don't want to miss this party!" Also participating in the event will be Members of the Armed Forces carrying the State and Territorial Flags, the Armed Forces Color Guard and Service Color Teams provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C., the Choral Arts Society of Washington, and Patrick Lundy & The Ministers of Music. There's no word as to whether John Stamos will perform with The Beach Boys for A Capitol Fourth, but he has hosted the event three times — in 2017, 2018 and 2019 — so it would not surprise us if he sat in with the Beach Boys. A Capitol Fourth airs live on Friday, July 4, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. PT on PBS, as well as airing live on the American Forces Network to troops around the world. It will be available on demand here from July 4 to July 18. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Beach Boys Announce First Major Live Performance Since Brian Wilson's Death first appeared on Parade on Jul 1, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
