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Frederick Waite Jr dead at 55: Tributes paid to drummer of Pass the Dutchie band Musical Youth

Frederick Waite Jr dead at 55: Tributes paid to drummer of Pass the Dutchie band Musical Youth

One of the stars of a hit British band that produced one of the 1980s most seminal reggae songs has died at the age of 55.

Frederic Waite Jr was the drummer in Birmingham band Musical Youth.

The band performed their defining song, Pass the Dutchiejust days ago at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

In 1982, the cannabis inspired anthem went to number one on the charts in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland and reached the top 10 of the US Billboard chart.

It also had a recent resurgence after featuring in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things.

On Wednesday, the ban announced the death of Waite Jr on social media.

“We are sad to announce the passing of Musical Youth’s drummer Frederick Waite Jr.

“Our thoughts go out to him and his family during this sad time. We have lost a musical legend, who inspired many young musicians over the last 40 years,” the tribute stated.

Rest in Eternal Peace.

Waite, known as “Freddie” died on July 20 in Birmingham with details only being announced now. It is not known what caused his death.

The British-Jamaican band formed in the UK’s second city in 1979.

They first performed for students at their own school, Duddeston High, in the city, reported website Birmingham Live.

Pass the Dutchie was the first single after the group signed to a major label, in their case MCA Records.

Musical Youth was the first black act to have a music video played on the then new music channel MTV.

Debut-album The Youth of Today, also released in 1982, was certified gold in the UK and Canada and spawned a number of further hit singles. Musical Youth were also nominated for a Grammy Award for best new band in 1984.

The band disbanded in 1985. Two of the band members, Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant, resurrected the band as a duo in 2001.

The band came back together for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in on July 20 as part of a celebration of Birmingham culture alongside singer Beverley Knight, the band UB40 and a TV show Peaky Blinders.

However Waite did not appear with another drummer taking his place.

Tributes have poured in for Waite with people saying it was “beyond sad,” and remembering his youth in Birmingham.

“How incredibly sad, Freddie, you inspired so many black British teenagers in the 1980s and made them realize their dreams could come true,” one said.

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Sports

Meg Lanning takes indefinite leave due to personal reasons

Meg Lanning takes indefinite leave due to personal reasons

Australia captain Meg Lanning will take indefinite leave from cricket effective immediately, Cricket Australia announced on Wednesday.

The announcement comes just days after Australia won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

A Cricket Australia statement said Lanning will take leave due to “personal reasons”, and has withdrawn from the upcoming Hundred, where she was due to play with Trent Rockets.

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“After a busy couple of years, I’ve made the decision to take a step back to enable me to spend time focusing on myself,” Lanning said in the statement.

“I’m grateful for the support of CA and my teammates and ask that my privacy is respected during this time.”

CA Head of Performance, Women’s Cricket, Shawn Flegler said: “We’re proud of Meg for acknowledging that she needs a break and will continue to support her during this time.

“She’s been an incredible contributor to Australian cricket over the last decade, achieving remarkable feats both individually and as part of the team, and has been a brilliant role model for young kids.

“The welfare of our players is always our number one priority, and we’ll continue to work with Meg to ensure she gets the support and space she needs.”

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Sports

Peter Bol in 800m final result, Aussie knew race was compromised

Peter Bol in 800m final result, Aussie knew race was compromised

Peter Bol took one look at the start list and knew he wasn’t going to get the race he wanted.

But rather than fret about it he made a decision to overcome it — and he very nearly did in a thrilling men’s 800m final at the Commonwealth Games on Monday morning (AEST).

The 28-year-old was still smiling after he took the silver medal, but there will always be a part of him that looks back at his incredible achievement as “bitter sweet”.

Bol described the race as “strange” and was left lamenting the tactics at play that resulted in the first 500m being run ultra-slow.

It was playing out as he expected — not in his favour.

Bol told reporters after the race he knew it was going to be a slow race because there were no front-runners anywhere on the start list.

It meant he was unable to run the race he wanted as he took just a brief moment to respond when Kenyan Wyclife Kinyamal took off with more than 200m to go. That brief, micro, delay was all it took in the end as Kinyamal, the defending champion, won by just 0.14 seconds in a time of 1:47.52.

It will be particularly painful for Bol to see his time of 1:47.66 after he ran a 1:47.01 in the heats — and a 1:45.51 at the world championships in Oregon last month.

Silver medalist Peter Bol was so close. Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images.
Silver medalist Peter Bol was so close. Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images.Source: Getty Images
Peter Bol did us proud. Picture: Michael Klein.Source: News Corp Australia

“Looking at the start list and there’s no front runners out there,” he said.

“So I just knew it was going to be tactical and I knew I just had to come home strong and that’s what I did so I’m happy with that.

“After the first lap, and I’ve been saying it, it’s so tactical… I saw 55 (seconds) and I said to myself, ‘Stay relaxed, stay relaxed’.

“Maybe in 20 more meters I could have got him. But it’s the 800m not the 820m.”

Bol looked like he was about to go up alongside Kinyamal with 50m to run, but he just didn’t have the legs to keep his charge going.

Bol, who became a cult hero en route to his fourth-placed finish at last year’s Olympic final, was hoping to become the first Australian in 40 years to win 800m gold.

“What an environment and atmosphere, so close but will take second today,” Bol told Channel 7. “I’m pretty happy with that, to be honest. It was a strange race again, super slow but the 800m is super tactical.

“I thought, stay relaxed, stay relaxed but he (Kinyamal) is so strong and kept going and going. It’s just racing, I raced the best I could and came up short but … silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, we are second which is really good.

Australian Peter Bol chases down winner Wyclife Kinyamal to win silver. Picture: Michael Klein.Source: News Corp Australia

“We speak of this journey and we have different people from different years, I want to say a massive thanks to my family, especially my parents… I’m so grateful for them. This is for them, this is for my family, this is for the country.

“There’s a kid out there with a Peter Bol sign so definitely for him. I have to go find him.”

Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney said the race started on a “sluggish” note and Tamsyn Manou agreed, adding: “It is slower than we would have liked.”

At the conclusion of the race, Manou said: “Peter Bol did everything he possibly could there, he got into the right position, he covered… when Kinyamal made that move.

“Peter has still done us proud. People expected him to win that gold but we are talking about an athlete (Kinyamal) who is the defending champion and there is nothing more Peter Bol could have done.

“I hope everyone in Australia is very proud of Peter Bol, because we certainly are.”

England’s Ben Pattison was third in 1:48.25sec.

Bol embarrassed the rest of the field in the heats of the men’s 800m with an imperious run on Wednesday. He then had four agonizing days to wait for Monday’s final.

The Olympics finalist won his heat and was the fastest overall qualifier despite pulling up with 50m still to run.

Bol last month had a disappointing run in the world championships final after he became the first Australian man to ever contest an 800m final at the World Champs.

Earlier, Abbey Caldwell produced a huge shock when she collected the bronze in the women’s 1500m. The 21-year-old just nudged out fellow Aussie Linden Hall.

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Sports

Commonwealth Games 2022: Kelsey-Lee Barber wins javelin result, Aussie is a freak

Commonwealth Games 2022: Kelsey-Lee Barber wins javelin result, Aussie is a freak

However, you want to describe it, Aussie Kelsey-Lee Barber simply has that champion quality that all the great legends are made of.

Fresh from her record-breaking world championships victory last month, Barber pulled off a famous win in the javelin at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday night (AEST), taking the lead with her final throw.

Barber was pushed to her limits by Aussie Mackenzie Little, who had led all the way until the second-final throw of the event.

Barber won the gold by just 16cm with a monster final throw of 64.43m.

Little threw two personal bests in the competition and it still wasn’t enough as Barber produced a monster effort right at the death.

It was a super-human comeback after she tested positive to Covid last week and was isolated from the rest of the Aussie team.

Athletics commentator David Culbert said in commentary on Channel 7: “That is extraordinary, take a bow. That’s unbelievable.”

Barber, who won bronze at the Glasgow Games in 2014 and silver at the Gold Coast Games in 2018, was also stunned when interviewed after the final throws.

“I am in shock still. I went over to the fence and I said… my brain is a bit fuzzy,” she said.

“I don’t know what just happened. But you are right it is a beautiful story to share over my Commonwealth Games journey and I am happy to come away with a gold.”

Barber had thrown 66.91 in the final at the world championships in Oregon.

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Entertainment

Vanessa Amorosi stops Sunrise interview after Olivia Newton-John’s death

Vanessa Amorosi stops Sunrise interview after Olivia Newton-John's death

Australian singer Vanessa Amorosi appeared overcome with emotion and had to bow out of her live interview on Sunrise this morning, having only just learned of the death of Olivia Newton-John.

Amorosi was booked to appear on the program to discuss her new single, having just performed at the closing ceremony of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

But with Newton-John’s death aged 73 after a long cancer battle being the biggest news of the morning, Sunrise hosts Natalie Barr and David Koch were keen to first ask Amorosi about her memories of the star.

“It is an incredibly sad day – Vanessa, what are your memories?” Barr asked as they crossed to the Aussie singer in Birmingham.

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“Uh… I don’t know. I don’t particularly want to think about it, because I’ll get very emotional,” Amorosi began. “I just literally had one of the highest endorphins that just happened out there (at the closing ceremony), to being extremely sad coming offstage and checking my phone. I don’t think I’ve really processed it yet.”

Koch said he’d give Amorosi a chance to “compose” her thoughts about the late music legend, and changed tack to discuss her Commonwealth Games performance and new single.

A few minutes later, and with the interview nearing its end, the hosts moved the topic of conversation back to Olivia Newton-John.

“We know it’s a sad day for you and so many people, but we wanted to show this photo from quite a few years ago of you, Olivia Newton-John and Tina Arena,” Barr said, as a photo of the three Aussie singers at the Sydney 2000 Olympics appeared on screen.

“Can you talk us through those memories, that time, Vanessa?”
Amorosi gave it her best – but soon became overcome with emotion.

“Both of these women I have looked up to since (I was) a kid… I don’t know. I’m actually very sad about Olivia, to be honest. It’s..”

With that, she bowed her head and raised her hand, signaling the interview to stop.

Barr and Koch thanked her for her time – and Barr noted how hard it must’ve been to learn the news between a live performance and a live TV interview.

“I’m horrible. I feel for her, after coming off that.”

It’s been an emotional morning on breakfast television as friends, colleagues and fans of Newton-John have reacted to the news of her death in real time, after it broke at around 5:30am AEST.

Over on Nine, veteran entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins at first held it together as he reported the sad news on Today – but later in the morning, he was overcome with emotion, sobbing as host Karl Stefanovic rushed to comfort him.

And back on Sunriseanother emotional live interview, this time on the streets of Los Angeles with Grease casting director Joel Thurm, who wept openly as he described his fond memories of Newton-John.

The British-born, Melbourne-raised entertainer had waged a decades-long battle against cancer, which returned again in 2013.

In May 2017, she announced her breast cancer had returned and metastasized to her sacrum, and in 2018, it was revealed she was again battling the disease.

In October last year, Newton-John revealed that she was battling Stage 4 breast cancer but was managing the pain with medical marijuana.

Then today came the news fans had been fearing for years: Newton-John had died at her Southern Californian ranch, surrounded by loved ones, including her husband, John Easterling, and daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.

Chloe has today paid tribute to her late mum on social media – who she just days ago referred to as her “best friend.”

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Entertainment

Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne stuns world at Commonwealth Games closing ceremony

Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne stuns world at Commonwealth Games closing ceremony

Legendary Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne brought the curtain down on the Commonwealth Games in spectacular style on Monday as dominant Australia celebrated finishing top of the medals table yet again.

Athletes swarmed Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium for a closing party that also featured UB40, Dexys and a tribute to Peaky Blinders, the global hit TV show about the city’s most notorious gang.

Birmingham-born Osbourne, known as the “Prince of Darkness”, brought the ceremony to a climax after emerging as the surprise act.

Osbourne was recently seen looking frail following a major back operation in June, two years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

But the 73-year-old put on an energetic performance of the Black Sabbath’s biggest hit paranoid to put a cap on the 11-day sporting extravaganza.

The show, celebrating Birmingham’s rise from the wreckage of World War II and its emergence as a diverse and vibrant modern city, brought 11 days of sporting action to a close.

Earlier, six-time defending champions Australia wrapped up their campaign in style, hammering India 7-0 in the men’s hockey final to end up with 67 golds overall.

Hosts England ended in second place with 57 golds, ahead of Canada on 26 and India on 22, with para sports included in the medal tally.

Sporting powerhouse Australia have topped the table at every Games since 1990 except in 2014, when England finished in first place in Glasgow.

Australia hockey captain Aran Zalewski said winning the Commonwealth Games title is “harder than you think”.

“We have won seven, but it’s not as simple as coming out here and winning,” he said.

Elsewhere on Monday, Scotland’s James Heatly and Grace Reid won the mixed synchronized 3m springboard final, with England pair Noah Williams and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix taking gold in the 10m event.

India celebrated a golden double in badminton.

World number seven PV Sindhu won the women’s singles, overcoming Canada’s Michelle Li, while Lakshya Sen beat Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong to win the men’s gold.

India’s Sharath Kamal Achanta beat England’s Liam Pitchford 4-1 in the men’s singles table tennis gold-medal match.

Birmingham 2022 CEO Ian Reid told a briefing earlier that the Games had been a huge boost for the city and the surrounding area.

He said more than 1.5 million tickets had been sold, with most venues above 90 per cent capacity.

“One of the goals at the outset was to put the city on the world map and instill that huge pride across everyone that lives in the region and I think we’ve achieved that,” he said.

“I think that can lead to much bigger and greater things.”

Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Katie Sadleir said there had been “huge engagement” with the Games globally.

She added a number of countries had expressed an interest in staging future Commonwealth Games, including African nations.

She said Birmingham, which already had many facilities in place, could be a blueprint for the future.

“It is definitely not something we want people to spend huge amounts of money and capital investment if it is not needed and desired by the long-term plans for the country,” she said.

The Birmingham Games made history in being the first to award more medals to women than men.

Australian swimming great Emma McKeon became the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history, with 20 medals — including six golds in Birmingham.

And the tiny island of Niue won its first ever Commonwealth Games medal, a boxing bronze for Duken Tutakitoa-Williams.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Louise Martin handed the flag to Linda Dessau, the governor of the Australian state of Victoria, which will host the 2026 Games.

Martin said Birmingham had put on an event “unlike any we’ve seen before”.

“We are emerging from one of the most challenging periods in modern history, where the Covid-19 pandemic has kept us apart,” she said.

“Birmingham 2022 proved to be a special moment when we reunited, when the power of sport to connect us came into sharp focus.”

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