The New Year's Nearly Goners List

Such was Ray Davies CBE's topsy-turvy start to 2004. Outraged when two men snatched his girlfriend's bag in New Orleans' French Quarter, the Kinks legend took off in pursuit of the assailants. Aware that they were being caught up with, one of them turned and fired a low calibre bullet into his leg.
Rather than hailing his have-a-go-heroics – © The Sun – Police Chief Eddie Compass said Davies had "showed poor judgement in going after the individuals."
Thankfully, the wound wasn't serious and the 59-year-old author of classics like 'Waterloo Sunset', 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion' and 'You Really Got Me' is expected to be out of hospital by the end of the week.
He's considerably luckier than John Lennon, Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay, The Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur and half-a-dozen lesser-known rap musicians who've all been shot dead in the past.
Meanwhile, ex-Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood is in critical condition after being shot in the stomach by a security guard. The incident, which occurred in Phoenix, Arizona on St. Stephen's Day, was apparently sparked by a row over a car park space. To add insult to injury, it was the 43-year-old rocker who got arrested and charged with felonious assault with a deadly weapon.