https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66843162?

Roger Whittaker: Durham Town folk singer dies at 87

By Helen Bushby
Entertainment reporter
Folk singer Roger Whittaker, famous for his 1969 hit song Durham Town and expert whistling, has died at the age of 87.

His other hits included The Last Farewell and New World in the Morning, and he sold nearly 50 million records around the world, his website said.

After starting in folk clubs, he went on to success with the Skye Boat Song, a duet with Des O'Connor in 1986.

He was also able to sing in several languages.

They included German and French, allowing him to appeal to a wide audience, especially in Germany, where he was particularly popular.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1936, his parents were from Staffordshire, England.

Whittaker studied medicine after doing national service in Kenya.

While studying for his degree, he sang in local clubs and wrote his own songs.

But he left his medical course after 18 months and went in to teaching, moving to the University of Bangor in Wales in 1959 to get a teaching qualification.

While there, he composed some songs to sing during university Rag Week, and sent a demo track to a music publisher.

"Before he knew it, Roger was back in the studio recording his first single, The Charge of the Light Brigade," his biography said.

His next release, Steel Men, picked up airplay while he was still a student, and his career began to progress, with TV work following.

He retired with his wife Natalie in France in 2012.

I remember around '85 or so Whittaker released a greatest hits album and promoted it with a TV commercial barrage. The commercial portrayed Whittaker singing in a small club. While watching the commercial with a friend he pointed out to me the people in the club were actually mannequins and by Jove they were!

In article <266f8a18-2944-456c-b91a-867f450d0b7dn@googlegroups.com>,
Tommie Hicks <tommie.hicks303@gmail.com> wrote:

> I remember around '85 or so Whittaker released a greatest hits album and
> promoted it with a TV commercial barrage. The commercial portrayed Whittaker
> singing in a small club. While watching the commercial with a friend he
> pointed out to me the people in the club were actually mannequins and by Jove
> they were!

There were lots of album ads back then, particularly on Turner outlets.
Ted Turner ran the ads in exchange for a cut of the gross, which could
be considerable. Some of those albums sold more than 500,000 copies,
sometimes a lot more.

In the previous article, radioacti...@gmail.com wrote:
> Never realized he was still with us; appreciate the posting.

I knew he was still around. In fact, the morning of the day his death
was announced, I was listening to "C'est Une Ballade" in my car and
wondering whether he might be on the verge of checking out. I was a
little surprised to learn he was as young as 87 -- I would have
expected him to be into his 90's at the very least.
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / baldwin@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it.-T. Lehrer
***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the previous article, A Friend <A Friend> wrote:
> > I remember around '85 or so Whittaker released a greatest hits
> > album and promoted it with a TV commercial barrage. The
> > commercial portrayed Whittaker singing in a small club. While
> > watching the commercial with a friend he pointed out to me the
> > people in the club were actually mannequins and by Jove they were!

I don't know about the mannequin ad, but I remember a major TV ad
barrage in the mid-1970s. In fact, that's probably what brought him
to my attention and I came to quite like him, even in my teens. He
wasn't exactly what the kids were listening to, but I was a little odd
in that respect, so ...
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / baldwin@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it.-T. Lehrer
***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------