Teddy Pendergrass dies aged 59

　　

　　

　　Soul singer Teddy Pendergrass has died at the age of 59 following "a difficult recovery" from colon cancer surgery, his son has told the AP news agency.

　　Teddy Pendergrass II said his father had died at a hospital in Philadelphia.

　　He was paralysed from the waist down in a 1982 car accident. In 2001, he went on his first tour since the accident.

　　Pendergrass enjoyed early success with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, whose hits included If You Don't Know Me By Now, before going solo in 1976.

　　

　　He was the first black male singer to record five consecutive multi-platinum albums in the US.

　　Pendergrass, who has used a wheelchair since his accident, made a return to live performance at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia in July 1985.

　　"To all his fans who loved his music, thank you," his son said.

　　"He will live on through his music."

　　Sex symbol

　　As lead singer with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Pendergrass had his first US hit with I Miss You in 1972.

　　A string of successful singles in the US, as well as the UK followed, including If You Don't Know Me By Now, later covered by acts including Simply Red, and Don't Leave Me This Way - also a hit for Thelma Houston in 1976 and The Communards in 1986.

　　

　　He quit the band in 1975 and went on to enjoy greater fame as a solo singer known for his soulful ballads. His hits included Love TKO, Close The Door and Turn Off The Lights.

　　Pendergrass became something of a sex symbol attracting the adulation of enthusiastic young women at his concerts.

　　After suffering a spinal cord injury in 1982, he spent six months in hospital before returning to the studio the following year to record the album Love Language.

　　He performed his first solo live dates in almost 20 years in May 2001 in Atlantic City, which were followed by concerts all over the US.

　　In 2006, Pendergrass told the BBC the tour took an enormous effort.

　　"For a start, I had to have a group of people with me to look after my health needs," he said.

　　"But if you add to that the problems of transporting a wheelchair from airport to airport, it was all just too much effort."

　　He later founded the Teddy Pendergrass Alliance to help people with spinal cord injuries "achieve their maximum potential in areas of education, employment, housing, productivity and overall independence".

　　He is survived by his wife, his son, two daughters, his mother and nine grandchildren.

 

Policy Exchange think tank calls for BBC overhaul

　　Policy Exchange think tank calls for BBC overhaul

　　

　　The centre-right Policy Exchange said the BBC should cut the amount it spends on sports rights, popular entertainment and shows for 16 to 35-year-olds.

　　It also urges the government to drop its controversial "broadband tax".

　　The BBC Trust said any proposed changes must not put the public value of the BBC or its independence at risk.

　　The report by the free-market think tank said public service broadcasting was under strain and needed radical reform if it was to survive in the digital age.

　　It said the BBC should put quality before ratings and leave sport and popular entertainment to commercial channels.

　　Star salaries

　　It highlighted the reported £6m a year salary of Jonathan Ross, who announced he was quitting the BBC last week.

　　"The problem was not so much what the BBC paid, but what the BBC was doing in the bidding ring in the first place," the report said.

　　It recommended licence fee money should be spent on Channel 4 or E4, rather than BBC3, in order to reach 16 to 35-year-olds.

　　And it called for BBC Worldwide, which is the corporation's commercial arm, to be privatised and the BBC Trust to be scrapped.

　　Policy Exchange said a Public Service Content (PSC) Trust should be set up to promote public service broadcasting across all TV, radio and broadband.

　　

　　It would lead the way in tasks such as monitoring the delivery of BBC services and reviewing the effectiveness of the BBC's co-funding obligations.

　　The report also said government plans for a "broadband tax" to fund super-fast broadband should be scrapped and funded from general taxation, if it is shown to be necessary.

　　Meanwhile, Channel 4 should be privatised in 2012 but retain a public service broadcasting licence for at least 10 years.

　　The report said it should receive extra digital capacity, reallocated from ITV and perhaps the BBC.

　　Channel 4 should also be granted cross promotional and linked access to BBC new media services such as www.bbc.co.uk and the iPlayer.

　　The BBC Trust said any proposed change must not put the public value of the BBC or its independence against inappropriate political or commercial influence at risk.

　　Mark Oliver, the author of the report called Changing the Channel, was previously the BBC's head of strategy and has advised the government.

　　He said: "The current UK broadcasting system was set up in the 1950s and now struggles to keep up with the extraordinary changes of the digital age.

　　"It is clear that the 20th Century analogue institutions that were created are now worryingly out of date.

　　"We need a dramatic rethink if we are to continue to deliver public service broadcasting in an entirely new age."