obituary

Terry Cox obituary

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Drummer with Pentangle, the folk-rock group who found fame in the 1960s with their fusion of jazz, blues and traditional songs

By Robin Denselow

Pentangle
Pentangle 1968


On 27 May 1967, a bravely original band called Pentangle made their first major appearance, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. They were not a typical folk group, although they included the folk scene’s acoustic guitar heroes Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, along with the singer Jacqui McShee.

But they were not a typical jazz band either, despite playing lengthy improvisations and including the jazz and blues exponents Danny Thompson on bass and Terry Cox on drums. Instead, they presented a subtle and often complex fusion of jazz, traditional styles, new songs and blues.

Cox, who has died aged 89, played a key role in creating Pentangle’s unique style, but also worked with a remarkable array of artists, including Charles Aznavour, the Bee Gees, David Bowie and Elton John.

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Heather Wood obituary

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Singer with the 1960s folk group the Young Tradition, whose songs ranged from sea shanties to haunting treatments of traditional music

Heather Wood, who has died aged 79, was the last surviving member of the Young Tradition, heroes of the 1960s folk scene in the UK and North America with their rousing three-part unaccompanied harmonies, clothes that made them look like rock stars and songs that ranged from sea shanties to a haunting treatment of the Lyke Wake Dirge.

The Young Tradition was the name of one of many London folk clubs in the mid-60s, and it was held in a pub then known as the Scots Hoose, near Cambridge Circus in the West End. Peter Bellamy and Royston Wood were two regular singers there, and Heather “just joined in from the audience” in 1965. The three of them found that “people would pay us to sing”, and were managed for a while by Bruce Dunnet, who ran the club and suggested they took its name. Later they became regulars at the Les Cousins club in nearby Greek Street, where they sang alongside Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, who lived above them in Somali Road, West Hampstead.

Signed to Transatlantic, in 1966 they released their first album, The Young Tradition, which included the Lyke Wake Dirge, the story of a departed soul making a hazardous journey to purgatory, as well as their gutsy treatment of the Tyneside colliers’ song Byker Hill. It immediately established their reputation.

Unlike the other great young unaccompanied vocal group of the era, the Watersons, the Young Tradition were not from the same family and were three very different individuals with different styles who “made up our own harmonies”. Bellamy loved the blues, Royston had roots in classical music, while Heather said she was influenced by “the Everly Brothers and years of school and church choirs”. What they had in common was their love of folk music, and a commitment to meeting and learning from veteran traditional singers such as Harry Cox or the Copper family.

Their second album, So Cheerfully Round, was released in 1967, the same year they were invited to the Newport folk festival in the US, where Heather remembered them singing informally with Janis Joplin. In the same year they recorded an EP of sea shanties, Chicken on a Raft, which was released in 1968, while their final studio album, Galleries, which came out in 1969, included guest appearances from David Munrow’s Early Music Consort of London, Dave Swarbrick and Dolly Collins.

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Bernard Hill: Titanic and Lord of the Rings actor dies

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Actor Bernard Hill, best known for roles in Titanic and Lord of the Rings, has died aged 79.

Bernard Hill enjoyed a career spanning decades in film and television. He played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film and King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings.

His breakout role was in 1982 BBC TV drama Boys from the Blackstuff, where he portrayed Yosser Hughes, a character who struggled – and often failed – to cope with unemployment in Liverpool.

He died early on Sunday morning, his agent Lou Coulson confirmed.

Alan Bleasdale, who wrote Boys from the Blackstuff, said Hill’s death was “a great loss and also a great surprise”.

“It was an astonishing, mesmeric performance – Bernard gave everything to that and you can see it in all the scenes. He became Yosser Hughes.”

He added: “I was desperate to work with him. Everything he did – his whole procedure for working, the manner in which he worked and his performance was everything that you could ever wish for.

“You always felt that Bernard would live forever. He had a great strength, physically and of personality.”

TCD/Alamy Bernard Hill in Lord of the Rings
TCD/Alamy | Bernard Hill in full flow as King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings

Hill, who was from Manchesterand lived in Suffolk, was due to return to TV screens in series two of The Responder, a BBC drama starring Martin Freeman, which begins airing on Sunday.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, paid tribute to him, saying: “Bernard Hill blazed a trail across the screen, and his long-lasting career filled with iconic and remarkable roles is a testament to his incredible talent.”

“From Boys from the Blackstuff, to Wolf Hall, The Responder, and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”

In Boys from the Blackstuff, Hill drew praise for his gritty portrayal of Yosser Hughes, an intense and memorable character who pleaded “Gizza job” as he sought work.

That show won a Bafta for best drama series in 1983, and in 2000 it was ranked seventh on a British Film Institute list of the best TV shows ever made.

Another of Hill’s memorable BBC TV performances came in the 2015 drama series Wolf Hall, adapted from Hilary Mantel’s book about the court of Henry VIII. Hill portrayed the Duke of Norfolk – an uncle of Anne Boleyn and an enemy of Cardinal Wolsey.

Hill was also much loved for his performances in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

He joined the cast for the second film, 2002’s The Two Towers, and returned to the franchise for 2003’s The Return Of The King, which picked up 11 Oscars.

Other roles in his decades-long career included the 1976 BBC TV series I, Claudius, an appearance in 1982’s Gandhi, Shirley Valentine in 1989, The Scorpion King in 2002 and 2008 Tom Cruise film Valkyrie.

Hill was meant to be at Comic Con Liverpool on Saturday, but had to cancel at the last minute, the convention said in a post on X. As news of his death broke, the organisers said on the platform they were “heartbroken” at Hill’s death, and wished his family “a lot of strength”.

Scottish musician Barbara Dickson also paid tribute on X, saying he was “a really marvellous actor”.

She added: “It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

Source: Bernard Hill: Titanic and Lord of the Rings actor dies

Bob Johnson obituary

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Steeleye Span guitarist whose rock, blues and folk influences became crucial to the band’s success

When Steeleye Span ended their most recent tour with a sold-out show at Cadogan Hall in London, they began it with The Green Man, a song about environmental concerns written by their former guitarist Bob Johnson that had been lost for 40 years and never performed or recorded until 2023. It was a poignant reminder of the key role that Johnson, who has died aged 79, played in Steeleye’s lengthy history as a band that took folk-rock to the charts and into large concert halls around the world.

Johnson was a rock guitarist with a background in blues and folk, and he fused those influences to provide new melodies or arrangements for epic traditional ballads such as Thomas the Rhymer, Long Lankin or Tam Lin that became crucial to Steeleye’s sound and success.

He joined Steeleye Span in 1972 at the suggestion of the band’s fiddle player, Peter Knight, during what seemed to be a difficult time for the group. Two of their most distinguished and popular members, Ashley Hutchings and Martin Carthy, had just left, and Johnson was then largely unknown, as was the new bass player, Rick Kemp. Their arrival, as their singer Maddy Prior said, “changed it completely – we became much more of a rock band”.

Below the Salt, the first album from the new lineup, featured Johnson’s fresh version of the traditional song King Henry, along with Gaudete, an a capella carol that he had heard sung in church, and which became a hit single, reaching No 14 in the charts. The new Steeleye brought traditional songs to a new audience around the world as they toured extensively in the US backing major rock bands including Procol Harum, Jethro Tull and the Beach Boys.

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