Robin Gibb: Music stars pay tribute to Bee Gees singer - BBC News
Singer Cliff Richard, a friend of Robin Gibb, said it was a sad day
Stars of the music industry have been paying tribute to Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who has died at the age of 62.
Sir Cliff Richard said the singer's legacy of songs with the group, including Tragedy and Jive Talkin' was "stunningly good".
Lyricist Sir Tim Rice said Gibb, who had cancer, was "a charming man".
"I saw him only a couple of weeks ago," he said. "He wasn't at all well but was putting up a marvellous fight. It's a terrible loss for the music industry."
Robin Gibb formed the Bee Gees with brothers Barry and Maurice. They were among the most successful pop groups and songwriting teams of all time, with hits spanning five decades.
They scored nine US number one singles and five chart-toppers in the UK.
Sir Cliff said: "We are a fraternity of people who sing pop and rock and Robin is another one of us who's gone too soon, too early.
"So the legacy will be what the Bee Gees did, which was stunning, stunningly good stuff - right on a par with the Beatles."
Former Beatle Ringo Starr told the BBC: "Robin will be remembered as a musician and as a singer and part of The Bee Gees. The legacy they'll leave behind is Stayin' Alive, the harmonies and the songs that they've written."
Singer Dionne Warwick, whose biggest hit Heartbreaker was written by the Gibb brothers, said of Robin: "He was wonderful. He was a jokester.
"He had an incredibly witty sense of humour and was fun to be around. All three of them were sensational gentlemen first, just fun loving guys."
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End Quote Paul Gambaccini BroadcasterThe Bee Gees are second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music”
She touched upon the family members' close bond, adding: "I think what was most attractive to me was how grounded they were.
"I think a lot of it has to do with their sense of family and being together as a family. That is very important, to be connected. They loved each other very strongly and showed it, and it was a joy."
The trio also penned Islands In The Stream for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, a hit which featured on Rogers' 1983 album Eyes That See In The Dark.
"Robin was a part of something unique," said Rogers in a statement. "The sound of the Bee Gees was so specific and dominating, especially in the 70s - unlike anything that had ever happened before or will ever happen again.
"Mostly, Robin was a good guy who didn't deserve to die this young. We will all miss him for what he was as a person and what he brought to music."
John Travolta, who danced to the Bee Gees' distinctive soundtrack in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, also paid tribute to Gibb on Monday.
He said: "I thought Robin was one of the most wonderful people - gifted, generous and a real friend to everyone he knew. And we'll miss him."
The announcement of Robin Gibbs' death was made by his family on Sunday with "great sadness".
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini described the singer as "one of the major figures in the history of British music".
"Everyone should be aware that the Bee Gees are second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music," he said.
Ringo Starr on 'cool' Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb had "one of the best white soul voices ever", Gambaccini said, adding that the group's accomplishments had been "monumental".
"Not only have they written their own number one hits, but they wrote huge hit records for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Celine Dion, Destiny's Child... the list goes on and on."
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran and Justin Timberlake are among a host of musicians that took to Twitter to pay their respects.
Gibb had battled ill health for several years.
In 2010, he cancelled a series of shows after suffering severe stomach pains while performing in Belgium. He went on to have emergency surgery for a blocked intestine.
His twin brother and band partner Maurice died in 2003 aged 53 following complications from a twisted intestine.
Robin Gibb cancelled a series of shows in Brazil in April 2011, after again suffering from abdominal pains.
Later that year, he was found to have cancer of the colon after having surgery on his bowel for an unrelated condition.
He was later also diagnosed with cancer of the liver, and underwent chemotherapy and surgery.
Last month the singer fell into a coma after contracting pneumonia.
Four weeks ago, he regained consciousness and was said to have been making a positive recovery. But his death was announced at 23:30 BST (22:30 GMT) on Sunday.
Fans group challenge Liverpool owners - Football
Published: 22 May 2012 - 11:47:04
Liverpool owners have been challenged to publicly explain their strategy for the club by a leading fans' group.
Spirit of Shankly, who led the protests against the despised former regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have written to principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner. The group have asked for some clear direction and communication from Fenway Sports Group to dispel the growing perception among some fans that the club is "in disarray".
As the Reds' search for a manager continues, the SOS said: "Confusion and chaos seems to reign and no one is coming out of this with much credit, particularly the football club's image and brand."
Their letter continued: "We need clear and pro-active communication, a confident message about the club's plans that breeds confidence amongst supporters that we are moving in the right direction.
"Instead, we have silence and a lack of information or understanding on decisions being made."
The letter makes reference to the worst days of Hicks and Gillett's tenure when fans felt they had no voice as decisions were taken by American owners who had no representative based at the club on a local level.
"As supporters we have seen all too clearly what a lack of communication from absentee owners leads to," it added.
"Ultimately supporters remain in the dark once again about the plans for this football club moving forward.
"We find ourselves experiencing deja vu, where boardroom decisions lead to more questions than they answer.
"We ask that you speak with supporters - engage with a true representative cross section of supporters and work with supporters to provide solutions to our current problems."
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RSS chief in Bhopal to attend training programme - zeenews.india.com
Bhopal: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is currently on a three-day visit to the state capital for a training programme being conducted by his organisation.
Bhagwat, who arrived here on May 20, will be staying till tomorrow, and is not scheduled to take part in any public function but will be busy attending a training programme being conducted by RSS at Sharda Vihar on the Kerwah Dam road, Sangh sources said.
He is accompanied by senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi. He spent some time yesterday at Samidha, the headquarters of RSS for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and then went to Sharda Vihar.
Joshi continued to stay at Samidha where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called him.
Jessie J announces UK arena tour for February 2013 - BBC News
Jessie J has announced her first full UK arena tour.
The 24-year-old singer revealed the news on Twitter: "#heartbeats I'm SO EXCITED to announce my 1ST EVER UK&IRELAND;ARENA TOUR next MARCH!!
"Its called 'Nice to meet you tour' and it will be NICE! :) Can't wait to show you this tour I've been working on for months! BOOOOM!"
The tour will see her perform in 14 different cities starting at Nottingham Arena on 26 February.
The series of concerts will finish with gigs in Belfast (17 March) and Dublin (18).
Jessie J told Newsbeat: "It's everything that I've ever wanted, to be on a tour. I can't wait.
"It's called the Nice To Meet You tour because I get to see everyone that I haven't met before.
"I want everyone to get to know me and not just have me sing all the songs and then they leave. I want it to be a little bit more than that.
"To be able to have everywhere across England on my list of places to go. This is why artists make music, to go on tour. It's going to be epic."
There are no support acts confirmed for the tour yet.
The full dates are:Nottingham Capital FM Arena - 26 February
Brighton Centre - 27
Birmingham LG Arena - 1 March
Manchester Arena - 2
Sheffield Motorpoint Arena - 3
Liverpool Echo Arena - 5
Cardiff Motorpoint Arena - 6
Bournemouth International Centre - 7
London O2 Arena - 9
Newcastle Metro Radio Arena - 12
Glasgow SECC - 14
Aberdeen AECC - 15
Belfast Odyssey Arena - 17
Dublin O2 Arena - 18
Mourinho extends Bernabeu stay - Football
Published: 22 May 2012 - 13:47:04
Jose Mourinho has signed a new contract with Real Madrid which ties him to the club until 2016, the Primera Division champions have announced.
The 49-year-old Portuguese penned an initial four-year deal when he took over at Madrid in May 2010.
Mourinho led Madrid to the Copa del Rey crown in his first season in charge and in the campaign just completed he guided the club to their first Primera Division title since 2008.
A statement on the Madrid website read: "Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho have reached an agreement to extend the coach's contract with the club until June 30, 2016."
Tuesday's news will put an to end speculation about Mourinho's future, with reports still linking him with the vacant managerial position at former club Chelsea.
Madrid's title success last season, which ended Barcelona's three-year reign as Spanish champions, saw Mourinho become the first coach to be win the league in Spain, England (Chelsea) and Italy (Inter Milan).
Mourinho is also one of only three coaches to have won the Champions League with separate teams having led Porto to the crown in 2004 and Inter in 2010.
He has also won numerous other trophies during a hugely successful coaching career that began with Benfica in 2000.
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