1). THOSE WE'VE LOST IN 2020
Terry Jones, @montypython, not only filled the world with laughter, but also fought against injustice.
In 2003, ahead of the Iraq war his article exposed not only the illegality but the absurdity of an invasion & in 2005 he almost ran against Blair.
Terry Jones, @montypython, not only filled the world with laughter, but also fought against injustice.
In 2003, ahead of the Iraq war his article exposed not only the illegality but the absurdity of an invasion & in 2005 he almost ran against Blair.
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1220693441467887616
2). Andrew Mlangeni, who died aged 95, was the last surviving member of the Rivonia trial convicted & jailed for 26 years with Mandela
In 2018, aged 88, he came to @fisahara film festival
Six grueling days in a desert refugee camp
I only saw him smile!
In 2018, aged 88, he came to @fisahara film festival
Six grueling days in a desert refugee camp
I only saw him smile!
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1019917220280000512
3/. Another Rivonia defendant, Denis Goldberg who spent 22 years in prison after being sentenced with Mandela died, also died this year, aged 87
This clip shows him back in the courtroom where he & Rivonia defendants expected to be sentenced to death.
This clip shows him back in the courtroom where he & Rivonia defendants expected to be sentenced to death.
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1020612849008246784
4). Mlangeni came to @fisahara in 2014 in place of another Rivonia defendant, Ahmed Kathrada, who was ill (he died in 2017)
After 2 days in the desert, Mlangeni took me aside & told me he'd not been able to use the log-drop toilet because of his bad knee
I cut a hole in a chair
After 2 days in the desert, Mlangeni took me aside & told me he'd not been able to use the log-drop toilet because of his bad knee
I cut a hole in a chair
5). Staying on the African continent, 2020 also took pioneering musician, Tony Allen
Fela Kuti once said: "Without Tony, there would be no Afrobeat.”
"You've got to do your passion," Allen told me when I interviewed him in 2010
And that's what he did.
Fela Kuti once said: "Without Tony, there would be no Afrobeat.”
"You've got to do your passion," Allen told me when I interviewed him in 2010
And that's what he did.
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1256212935002722309
6). Johnny Nash died in October, aged 80
He was responsible not only for "discovering" & signing Bob Marley in 1966, but also making a truly great song of his own
I Can See Clearly Now, recorded in London in 1972, has one of the funniest/greatest videos.
He was responsible not only for "discovering" & signing Bob Marley in 1966, but also making a truly great song of his own
I Can See Clearly Now, recorded in London in 1972, has one of the funniest/greatest videos.
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1336066991514415104
7). Not as famous as his cousin Michael, artist Paul Winner was one my best friends despite a 40-year age gap
When he looked at the world he saw it in all its wonder & absurdity
The words on his headstone
“Paul Winner. Dream conductor”
His motto
“You can if you think you can”.
When he looked at the world he saw it in all its wonder & absurdity
The words on his headstone
“Paul Winner. Dream conductor”
His motto
“You can if you think you can”.
8/. This year also saw the deaths of music legends including Bill Withers, Little Richard, Kenny Rogers, Mory Kante, Peter Green, Joseph Shabalala, Manu Dibango, Cristina, Florian Schneider, Bunny Lee and Toots Hibbert, frontman of Toots and the Maytals.
9/. The deaths of legends Kirk Douglas, Max von Sydow, Carl Reiner, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Olivia de Havilland & Sean Connery, feel like an end of an era
The world is sadder without Jerry Stiller, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Nicholas Parsons (& Jeremy Hardy).
The world is sadder without Jerry Stiller, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Nicholas Parsons (& Jeremy Hardy).
https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1322534403948580866
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