Lonnie Donegan RIP

Lonnie Donegan, the legendary king of skiffle, has died. He collapsed suddenly in the early hours of Sunday morning, November 3rd 2002 and passed away in the presence of his wife Sharon and son Peter.

He leaves behind seven children – Fiona and Corrina by his first wife, Anthony and Juanita by his second wife and Peter (19), David (13) and Andrew (12) by his third wife Sharon.

Lonnie Donegan was halfway through a UK tour and staying with friends in Peterborough when the tragedy struck. He had been complaining of back trouble for some days and had been forced to cancel two shows because of it. He is thought to have died as a result of an embolism. His last performance was at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall last Wednesday, ironically the very first town he performed in when he first made it big in 1957.

Lonnie Donegan was a legend. He changed the face of British popular music. In a career that covered over 50 years, he inspired nearly every major musician alive today. He was Britain’s first true musical superstar, putting groups on the map long before anyone else. Mark Knopfler, Brian May, Van Morrison, Joe Brown and the late Rory Gallagher and George Harrison were all fans.

Donegan had a close affinity with Ireland. His links with Van Morrison, who openly acknowledged his influence, were celebrated in the 1999 album, The Skiffle Sessions, a live recording in which the king of skiffle swapped vocals with the Belfast Cowboy. However, the Irish connection ran far deeper than that one album.

In 1978, he recorded Putting On The Style with the late Rory Gallagher. Later, Rory’s brother Donal took up Lonnie’s cause, releasing his superb Muleskinner Blues album on the Capo label, which Donal had founded with Rory. This was to be Lonnie’s last studio recording – and a fine and fitting memorial it is too, showing that as he approached his seventies, Lonnie Donegan could still rock like a demon.

"Lonnie was an extraordinary man," Donal Gallagher told hotpress.com yesterday. "Obviously it comes as a terrible shock and is a source of great sadness to anyone who knew him – but his legacy is a remarkable one. He encapsulated the whole cycle of contemporary music, having been involved from the beginning, in introducing rhythm’n’blues into popular music in this part of the world. I’m proud to have been able to release his last studio album and to have worked with one of the great legends of rock’n’roll."

It is a measure of the esteem in which Lonnie Donegan was held that Paul McCartney wrote the liner notes to Muleskinner Blues. His influence was also openly acknowledged by John Lennon, who performed covers of Donegan’s material with The Quarrymen.

But then, Lonnie Donegan was widely acclaimed as one of the world’s finest ‘white’ blues singers. He received an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 1997 - not only was he was the first man to play "skiffle", a gritty blend of folk, jazz, gospel and blues, but he also wrote many songs for other artists. Tom Jones’ huge hit ‘I’m Never Gonna Fall In Love Again’ was a Donegan composition. In 1999 he was presented with a lifetime award from his record company for being their longest-running recording artist and in November 2000 he was awarded the MBE in recognition of his musical contribution to this country.

He was born Anthony James Donegan in Glasgow on 29th April 1931.
In fact, his mother was from Omagh in County Tyrone, and his Irish roots were a source of considerable pride to Lonnie. He had a hit along the way with the Irish ballad, ‘Kevin Barry’, celebrating the life of the young Irishman executed by the British authorities in 1920. The record was banned by the BBC, in what was just one of Lonnie’s scrapes with the authorities. One of his biggest Irish hits was ‘The Battle of New Orleans’, a song which celebrated the defeat of the British forces at the hands of the U.S. in the eponymous battle early in the 19th century. That single was also banned by the BBC.

Another of his most played songs in Ireland was ‘Nobody Loves Like An Irishman’ and plans were underway to record a new version of the song with Ronnie Drew, and members of The Dubliners. Sadly, that collaboration will not now take place. Donegan was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award, by the Irish Post, in 2001.

It was Lonnie’s version of Leadbelly’s song ‘Rock Island Line’ that first shot him to prominence. It sold over 3 million copies and made the Top 10 both in Britain and in the States. Over 30 chart hits followed including ‘Putting On the Style’, ‘Have A Drink On Me’, ‘Cumberland Gap’, ‘My Old Man’s A Dustman’, ‘Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour’, ‘Battle Of New Orleans’ and ‘Pick A Bale Of Cotton’. The first artist to be awarded a gold record with a debut release, he popularised the guitar and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the biggest hit-makers of all time. Recently Martin Guitars announced that one of their guitars was to be called a Lonnie Donegan model.

In recent years Lonnie suffered a series of heart attacks but despite these was still determined to keep performing. His legacy is immense and his contribution to British music is unquestionable.

It is expected that a private funeral service will be held shortly with a more public Memorial service at some point later.

*See also Hot Press on November 21st.