If you have a UK-produced CD or LP from what many regard as the golden era of pop, there is a strong possibility that the sleeve notes were written by the music journalist Chris White, who has died of a rare liver ailment, aged 61. Over four decades, Chris interviewed and profiled a galaxy of music stars but, alongside his professionalism as a journalist, what endeared him to people great and small in the music industry was the sincerity and warmth with which he conveyed his love of music and people.
Chris was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, one of three children of Arnold, a master painter and decorator, and Ivy, who ran Carrigills bookmakers in Dewsbury. He studied journalism at Darlington College before becoming a cub reporter at the Batley News. His duties included covering Batley Variety Club, where he met performers including Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield and Eartha Kitt. When he announced his plans to move to London in 1974, his mother told him: Oh Christopher, love, dont go down to London, you have such a lovely job at the Batley News and you might not get it back if things dont work out.
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