Alvin Stardust dies aged 72

BRITISH pop star Alvin Stardust, also known as Bernard William Jewry, sadly passed away today at the age of 72 due to a short illness, according to his manager after he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.

His career started in the 1960’s, he was working as a roadie for the band ‘Shane Fenton and the Fentones.’ Unfortunately, the band broke up after the death of their lead singer Shane Fenton but were then asked to perform an audition for the BBC programme that they had previously applied for before Shane’s death. In memory of Shane, Jewry joined the band and performed under the stage name Shane Fenton.

After the band split up it was a while until Jewry was in the limelight until he hit the charts in the 1970’s with a totally new persona, Alvin Stardust. He was decked out in leather with a signature black quiff when he released popular hits ‘My Coo Ca Choo’ and ‘Jealous Mind’ but was set to release his first album since 1984 named ‘Alvin’ at the start of November.

After his musical success, he continued to perform in stage musicals including playing the role of the child catcher in Broadway favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and appearing in TV dramas such as Hollyoaks as well as hosting his own Sunday morning TV series ‘It’s Stardust.’

He is survived by four children and died peacefully at home with his wife and family beside him.