Latest news with #SamSorbie
The Independent
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Eurovision singer Clodagh Rodgers dies aged 78
Singer Clodagh Rodgers, who represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971, has died at the age of 78. The Northern Irish star secured fourth place in the competition, held in Dublin, with the song Jack In The Box. She was also a regular face on television, appearing in various TV shows in the 1970s. Her son, Sam Sorbie, said in a post on Facebook that she had died after suffering a long-term illness and that life would 'not be the same' without her. He said: 'With a heavy heart, my dear beautiful mum Clodagh has sadly passed away after battling an illness for the last three years. She passed away peacefully yesterday surrounded by her family in Cobham. 'Mum has lived an incredible life, full of love and happiness. Her fantastic career performing, travelling the world, devoting her life to her two sons and being the rock of this family. ' Life will not be the same without mum, but she will finally be at peace now with dad, nanny and pappa. 'We all love and miss her terribly.' Scoring 98 points at the Eurovision Song Contest, she lost out to Monaco, represented by Severine, also known as Josiane Grizeau, with the song Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue. Rodgers spent more than a year in the charts from 1969 to 1971 with top five hits such as Goodnight Midnight and Come Back And Shake Me. She had two children; Matthew, with first husband John Morris, and Sam, with guitarist Ian Sorbie, to whom she was married for seven years until his death in 1995.
BBC News
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Eurovision singer Clodagh Rodgers dies aged 78
Clodagh Rodgers, who represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971, has died at the age of from Warrenpoint, County Down, came fourth with the song Jack In The was chosen to represent the UK at the contest being held in Dublin, during the son, Sam Sorbie, shared her death on social media "after battling an illness for the last three years". "Mum has lived an incredible life, full of love and happiness," Mr Sorbie said."Her fantastic career performing, travelling the world, devoting her life to her two sons and being the rock of this family."He added that his mother would "be at peace" with his father and grandparents. Speaking on the BBC's Desert Island Discs in 1971, she said she started singing aged 12 after becoming interested in music because her father was a concert "one big regret" was not taking music about her first performance at 12, she said: "I thought I was terrific standing up there with my new socks on and the crowd cheering for me."She left school at 15 and her father got her an audition for a record company, where she was given a family then moved to said she made eight or nine "dud" records before she had any after releasing Come Back and Shake Me, "things completely changed over night". Paying tribute on X, former BBC Radio DJ Mike Read said: "So sad the news about Clodagh Rodgers, a star in many spheres: Film, TV, stage and hit songs and of course Eurovision. "She worked with so many greats in different genres. "Commiserations to Frank, Louis and Lavinia and bless you for asking, and trusting, me to write her obituary."
Telegraph
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Clodagh Rodgers, Eurovision singer, dies aged 78
Clodagh Rodgers, the United Kingdom entrant for the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, has died at the age of 78. The Northern Irish singer came fourth with her song Jack in the Box and became a regular personality appearing on numerous television shows in the 1970s. In a statement posted on social media, her son Sam Sorbie said: 'With a heavy heart, my dear beautiful mum Clodagh has sadly passed away after battling an illness for the last three years. She passed away peacefully yesterday surrounded by her family in Cobham. 'Mum has lived an incredible life, full of love and happiness. Her fantastic career performing, travelling the world, devoting her life to her two sons and being the rock of this family. 'Life will not be the same without mum, but she will finally be at peace now with dad, nanny and pappa. 'We all love and miss her terribly.' The singer, born in 1947 in Warrenpoint, County Down, received deaths from the IRA when she agreed to represent the UK at the Eurovision competition which was staged in Dublin in 1971. She shot to fame in the 1960s and appeared regularly on pop music television programmes. She had a string of hits throughout the 1960s and '70s, including Goodnight Midnight, Come Back, Shake Me, Lady Love Bug, It's Different Now and I am a Fantasy. She appeared on shows such as Sunday Night at the Palladium, The Morecambe and Wise Show, The Two Ronnies and Seaside Special. She also forged a reputation performing impressions of fellow artists, including Cilla Black. She worked alongside Mike Yarwood, Des O'Connor, Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse. In her later years, she developed a career as an actress, appearing in The Bill and numerous West End shows, including Blood Brothers, Pump Boys and Dinettes, as well as touring theatres in cities such as York, Liverpool and Bristol. A few years ago she claimed there was no point taking part in the Eurovision contest after Brexit as the UK would never receive enough votes to win. She told The Mirror: 'We'll never win it [Eurovision] again. Not after Brexit and the hoo-ha with the vaccine. 'They really hate us in Europe now. We won't even get a point. I really don't know why we do it any more. The UK competing in Eurovision is a waste of time.' Asked about the reason why Eurovision songs had, during the 1960s and '70s, proven so popular, she said 'They may have been a load of rubbish but they were catchy.'
