Shanty singer dies after accident

12 February 2013 Last updated at 14:24 GMT  Trevor Grills suffered severe head injuries A Cornish shanty group singer injured in a music venue accident has died.

Fisherman's Friends singer Trevor Grills suffered critical injuries after being hit by a falling metal door at G Live in Guildford, Surrey, on Saturday.

The group said Mr Grills, 54, from Port Isaac, died of severe head injuries. He was described as a "much loved and valued friend".

Tour manager Paul McMullen, 44, from Disley in Cheshire, also died in the incident.

Fans' support

Police were called to the London Road venue just after 11:45 GMT on Saturday after a report that two men were trapped under a metal door in a loading bay.

Tour manager Paul McMullen died at the scene

The 10-piece group from Port Isaac were due on stage that evening.

Officers said Mr McMullen suffered serious injuries to his legs and died at the scene.

Mr Grills was taken by ambulance to St George's Hospital in south London.

The group said: "Trevor was a much loved and valued friend to all of us and was an integral part of the Port Isaac community.

"He will be sadly missed. Our thoughts are with Trevor's family at this very difficult time."

President of Island Records Darcus Beese added: "We are all deeply saddened at losing Trevor.

"The Fisherman's Friends are exactly that; life-long partners in all they do and our thoughts and prayers go out to them and Trevor's family and friends."

Members of the group gathered in Port Isaac on Monday to thank fans for their support after news of Mr Grills's injury spread.

'Special person'

However, his condition deteriorated and Surrey Police confirmed that he had died on Monday night at the hospital in Tooting.

Ian Brown, manager of Fisherman's Friends, told BBC News: "It's awful, he was a lovely man.

"It's a very close knit community in Port Isaac and we're just doing what we can to help the Fisherman's Friends and the families.

"Trevor was a very special person and will be sadly missed."

The Fisherman's Friends said Mr Grills was a "much loved and valued friend"

On the groups' Facebook page many people have started leaving tributes to Mr Grills.

Cate Bain wrote: "Our hearts are in Port Isaac right now and our love and deepest sympathy go to all the family and friends mourning such a terrible tragedy."

And Charlie Berman said: "Such an awful tragedy. Loss is something that fishing communities have long had to face but this is little solace at this moment. You must keep the music alive for him."

Mr McMullen has been called an "amazing man" by group Said The Maiden, which has worked with the singers.

"We feel honoured and grateful to have been able to work with him," said the group.

The Fisherman's Friends were given a £1m recording contract after being discovered by music industry bosses during a pub concert.

They have since performed at the Glastonbury Festival.

Ealing Studios is working on developing a film charting the rise of the a cappella group.

The Fisherman's Friends show was cancelled on Saturday night by G Live.

Venue director Alvin Hargreaves said he was "devastated" to hear of Mr Grills's death and said the venue team's "thoughts and prayers" were with the group and their families.

Guildford Borough Council, which owns the building, said it "expresses its condolences and sympathy to all involved".

Surrey Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the incident.

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RSC returns to Newcastle after cuts

8 February 2013 Last updated at 18:02 GMT By Ian Youngs Arts reporter, BBC News  The Newcastle Theatre Royal will host three RSC productions The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is to take a season of plays to Newcastle, two years after its annual visits were scrapped due to funding cuts.

The company had sent a season to the city every year from 1977 to 2010.

It is returning for a three-week residency at the Newcastle Theatre Royal in October and November.

It will take Hamlet, All's Well That Ends Well and As You Like It, the score for which is being composed by folk singer Laura Marling.

"Our special relationship with the north east of England is a source of great pride to the company," said the RSC's artistic director Gregory Doran.

"The audiences in Newcastle are wonderful and the actors enjoy their time performing in this great cultural city very much."

"The RSC is a wonderful, and truly iconic company," said Philip Bernays, chief executive of the Theatre Royal.

"It is an honour to have it back at their northern home."

The announcement comes as the Theatre Royal and other Newcastle venues face uncertainty over their funding, following a city council announcement that it plans to scrap its arts budget.

The RSC season will not be on the scale of previous years, when the company would take over multiple theatres in the city.

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One Year After Whitney Houston's Grammys-Eve Death: Five Award Shows That Were Touched by Tragedy

by Joal Ryan Sat., Feb. 9, 2013 7:30 AM PST

John Shearer/Getty Images, Craig Sjodin/ABC

The 2012 Grammys was one for the history books.

And sadly so.

Held one day after the sudden death of singer Whitney Houston, the music-industry's prime promotional event hastily remade itself, opening with an L.L. Cool J prayer, and showcasing a Jennifer Hudson a cappella rendition of "I Will Always Love You."

Here's a look at five other instances where awards shows were forced to deal with tragic circumstances beyond their control:  

All the scoop on Sunday's 55th Annual Grammy Awards

1. Remembering Pearl Harbor: Shortly after Japan's attack on the United States, the Motion Picture Academy voted to cancel the 1942 Academy Awards. The decision subsequently was reversed, and the ceremony went on, though like never before. There was no host; attendees were asked to wear business attire; dancing was nixed.

2. The President's Been Shot: As March 30, 1981, got underway, Ordinary People was hours away from claiming Best Picture at that night's Academy Awards. But then at 2:27 p.m. ET, President Ronald Reagan was wounded by a would-be assassin, and the Oscars was called off. With Reagan's prognosis good, the show went on 24 hours later. Among its highlights: a pre-taped greeting from the president himself.

3. 9/11: In 2001, the Sept. 11 terror attacks suspended business as usual, including the Primetime Emmys, originally slated for Sept. 16. Rescheduled for Oct. 7, and set to feature a live segment with then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the show was iced again when the U.S. war in Afghanistan was launched that same day. The show finally went on, without incident, and with low-key goodwill, on Nov. 4.  

Five big ways Hollywood was changed by 9/11

4. Assassination: The April 4, 1968, shooting death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. resulted in turmoil throughout the country, including in Hollywood, where the Academy Awards ceremony was scheduled to go on just four days later. When prominent African-American stars, including Best Actor nominee Sidney Poitier, announced they'd sit out the show, the event was rescheduled for April 10, one day after King's funeral. Poitier attended, Gregory Peck paid tribute to King, and a crime drama that hinged on race, In the Heat of the Night, won Best Picture.  

5. Long Live the King of Pop: The 2009 BET Awards were held four days after the June 25, 2009, death of Michael Jackson, and it showed. The event underwent a "total overhaul" in working in all-star tributes to Jackson.

Divas who died too soon

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