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Stevie Wright obituary

Singer with the Australian band the Easybeats, best known for their worldwide 1966 hit Friday on My MindFor Australian music fans in the 1960s, the Easybeats were the Beatles and the Stones rolled into...

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Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye obituary

Kenyan writer whose novels and poetry focused on the country’s postcolonial transformation and social developmentThe British-born Kenyan writer Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, who has died aged 87, told the...

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Former ABC managing director Brian Johns dies aged 79

Johns – also an adviser to Gough Whitlam and to Malcolm Fraser, political correspondent and head of Penguin books – remembered as a cultural leaderFormer ABC managing director Brian Johns has died of...

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Sir Peter Gregson obituary

Civil servant who served under Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, and advised Margaret Thatcher during the 1984 miners’ strikeSir Peter Gregson, who has died aged 79, was a quintessential high-flying...

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Benedict Anderson obituary

Political historian who focused on the roots of south-east Asian nationalismBenedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities (1983) was the most influential book in the wave of writing in the early 1980s that...

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Sir Brian Tovey obituary

My father, Sir Brian Tovey, a former director of GCHQ, who has died aged 89, had a flair for languages that led directly to his recruitment in 1950 by the recently formed government communications...

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Christine Llewelyn obituary

My sister, Christine Llewelyn, who has died aged 72, was a popular French teacher who inspired pupils with her enthusiasm both for the subject she taught and for life in general.Born in Aberdare, south...

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Sylvester Stein obituary

Writer and athlete who edited the South African magazine Drum and launched several fitness magazinesSylvester Stein, who has died aged 95, always gave the impression of sailing through life with...

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Natalie Cole obituary

Singer who performed her own arrangements of songs made famous by her father, Nat King Cole, on her 1991 hit album Unforgettable… With LoveNatalie Cole, who has died of heart failure aged 65, shot to...

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Robert Spitzer obituary

Psychiatrist who transformed the ‘world bible’ of psychiatric diagnosisThe American psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, who has died aged 83, took a homegrown system for classifying psychiatric disorders to...

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Vilmos Zsigmond obituary

Cinematographer responsible for superb lighting and photography in The Deer Hunter and Close Encounters of the Third KindHollywood studios have good reason to be grateful to repressive European...

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Ronald Frankenberg obituary

Academic whose book Village on the Border pioneered the application of anthropological methods to British societyIn the 1950s, British anthropologists normally conducted their fieldwork overseas....

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Kei Taniguchi obituary

Japanese mountaineer who was one of the leading alpinists of her generationKei Taniguchi, who has died aged 43 while climbing in her native Japan, was one of the leading female alpinists of her...

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Olwyn Hughes obituary

Literary agent with a fearsome reputation who was devoted to the work of her brother, Ted Hughes, and the posthumous literary life of his wife Sylvia PlathIn a photograph of Ted Hughes from his youth,...

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Guru Josh obituary

DJ whose rave anthem Infinity played a significant role in the dance culture that swept Europe in the 80s and 90sThe DJ Guru Josh, who has died aged 51, having apparently taken his own life, made an...

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Peter Rice obituary

Stage designer whose work graced Opera Holland Park, the Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera House and many West End theatresEven in his last West End production, the stage designer Peter Rice, who has died...

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Robert Stigwood obituary

One of the entertainment industry’s most powerful tycoons, he produced Saturday Night Fever and turned the Bee Gees into international starsAt the height of his success, in the 1970s, Robert Stigwood,...

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Sue Adamson obituary

The varied career of my friend Sue Adamson, who has taken her own life at the age of 52, included working for the fine-china companies Wedgwood and Villeroy & Boch, and as a childminder. More...

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Pierre Boulez obituary

French composer and conductor whose influence transformed the musical worldPierre Boulez, who has died aged 90, was arguably the single dominant figure of the classical musical world through the second...

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Paul Bley obituary

Adventurous pianist who participated in some of the pivotal groups of modern jazzIf jazz is a music of constant change, then the Canadian pianist Paul Bley, who has died aged 83, was one of the most...

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