[no subject]

Who's who of rock says farewell to Entwistle 
By Hugh Davies, Entertainment Correspondent

The rock world said a fond farewell to John Entwistle
of The Who at London's St Martin-in-the-Fields
yesterday, as the musician known as "the Ox" was shown
on an altar screen in one of his last performances.

With silver-hair flying, he played his bass run on
5.15 from Quadrophenia. He was 57 when he died in a
Las Vegas hotel room from a cocaine-induced heart
attack. Rueful reference was made at a memorial
service to his part in the band's classic hit My
Generation, with its unforgettable line "Hope I die
before I get old".

Friends told of his penchant for old cognac, Havana
cigars and the trashing of hotel rooms, including one
occupied by the group's drummer, Keith Moon, before
his own premature death from an overdose of sleeping
pills in 1978.

Entwistle's mother Queenie sang along as the band's
singer Roger Daltry took a microphone to perform Boris
The Spider, composed by Entwistle.

John Hurt, the actor, read a poem he had composed on
hearing of his friend's death, centring on the myth
and "splurge of rock 'n' roll".

Entwistle died on the eve of an American tour, which
quickly sold out, grossing an average of $1 million
(#650,000) a night for 26 concerts.

Daltry said: "We completed the tour in his memory,
with another bass player, but John lives on within our
music. Obviously it will never be the same without
him. But The Who can go on. We've a completely new
audience, which seems to be bigger than ever."

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin told of being one of
Entwistle's "great admirers". He said: "He established
a style and a benchmark for every other player." Among
the congregation was Lisa Pritchard-Johnson,
Entwistle's girlfriend of six years.


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-Brian in Atlanta
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