'70s pop star Alvin Stardust dies aged 72

POP STAR Alvin Stardust, who had major hits in 1973 with "My Coo Ca Choo" and a UK chart topper "Jealous Mind" in 1974, died of cancer on 23rd October. The singer was born Bernard William Jewry in 1942 and in the early '60s he and a bunch of instrumentalists, The Fentones, enjoyed a string of minor hits on the UK singles chart under the name Shane Fenton. Reinventing himself as Alvin Stardust and dressed in hip-hugging biker leathers and with his fair hair dyed black, he became what one journalist described as "a glam rock overlord," enjoying 13 chart hits between 1973 and 1985. In 1984 he caused some controversy amongst evangelical Christians by joining Sheila Walsh as presenter of the second series of the BBC TV series The Rock Gospel Show for until that time he was not known to be a Christian. However, Alvin subsequently established himself as a believer and even recorded a single "I Hope And I Pray" with Sheila Walsh. Stardust went on to star in the UK tour of Godspell and then played Uriah Heap in David Copperfield: The Musical and Sir Billy Butlin in The Butlin Story. In 1989 he hosted his own Sunday morning children's TV series, It's Stardust. It wasn't until 2011 that Alvin made a return to the stage as a singer rather than an actor and his first album for 30 years, 'Alvin', was released in October. He died at home with his third wife, actress and choreographer Julie Paton, and his children around him.