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Top guitarist passes
FOUNDING member and original guitarist for the Yardbirds
Anthony ‘Top’ Topham has died at the age of 75.
Topham, who left the Yardbirds before they enjoyed commercial success, had suffered from dementia.
According to a news outlet, his representative said on Wednesday, January 25 the musician had died surrounded by his family.
Topham, who later became known as Sanderson Rasjid after joining the Subud spiritual movement, was replaced first by Eric Clapton, then the late Jeff Beck and finally Jimmy Page.
Born in London in 1947,
Topham founded the group in 1963 along with secondary school pal Chris Dreja and singer Keith Relf, bassist Paul
Dementia diagnosis
SamwellSmith and drummer
Jim McCarty. A few months later they were offered a residency at the Crawdaddy Club in Surrey after the Rolling Stones moved. But he decided to leave the group.
Although he had retired from music due to his ailing health, Topham will always be remembered as the founding guitarist of The Yardbirds but also as the sound behind top artists like Christine McVie and Peter Green.
Most vehicles banned
A LONDON borough is taking a bold step as it announced that most vehicles are to be banned from its streets as it expands the controversial low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.
Labourrun Hackney Borough Council signed off plans for what it has billed as “the country’s most ambitious plan” to tackle pollution and what it refers to as “toxic air.”
According to the local press on Wednesday, January 25 around half of the borough’s roads are already covered by the scheme, the most in London.
Announcing the plan Mayor Philip Glanville said that the threeyear implementation plan will result in the borough having the largest number of car restrictions, but that it would also have the highest number of electric vehicle chargers and parking for cycles.
He said: “This is the most ambitious plan in London, if not the most ambitious in the country, building on an incredible track record in this borough.”
Bollards, planters and traffic cameras will be used to police the streets and to stop the area from being used as shortcuts.
THE ‘Is this the way to Amarillo’ singer Tony Christie has opened up about his dementia diagnosis saying he is determined to carry on making music.
Speaking on UK TV on Wednesday, January 25, Christie, real name Anthony Fitzgerald, said: “If you start worrying about it, you’re finished. Ignore it, carry on and do what you do.”
Now 79 years old, Christie added: “I’ve always been, for 50 years, a fanatic at doing crosswords and things, and suddenly I started finding it very hard.”
That prompted his wife to encourage him to get checked out and was then told: “you’ve got the oncoming of dementia.
He said: “The main thing was, and why I’ve come out about it, is a lot of people I’ve met and who have got it, they’re worried about it.
“And I’m not worried about it. I went to specialists and they gave me tablets and they’ve gradually worked.”
Christie released his latest album before Christmas and is preparing to perform a special show for his 80th.
