Guitarist Charlie is hailed a ‘gem’
TRIBUTES have been paid to former Lindisfarne guitarist and “pure gem” Charlie Harcourt.
The musician died last month aged 73.
His death came less than two years after retiring from the band due to illhealth.
His former bandmates have paid tribute to a “wonderful friend”, while TV legend Tim Healy tweeted the North East had lost a “beautiful human being”.
The guitarist initially joined the band in 1973 for two years before returning to the line-up in 2013.
He was also a founding member of another Newcastle staple Junco Partners, the group which replaced The Animals as the house band at the city’s Club A Go Go.
He enjoyed more than half a century working in the music industry.
However, in 2018 he hung up his axe due to health issues, although he called his time in the band “a pleasure and a blast.”
He said at the time: “All the travelling, hotels and so on just became too much for me so I have had to ‘hang up my rock’n’roll shoes.’”
According to a death notice, his family said “much loved” Charlie had died peacefully in hospital on July 28.
They requested donations in lieu of flowers to be made to The British Lung Foundation.
Since his passing, fans and former bandmates have queued up to pay their respects to an “absolute legend.”
Charles Foskett wrote: “For those who really knew Charlie there will be nothing but a massive gap now where he once stood but nevertheless a gap filled with loving memories.
“For those who did not know Charlie too well they missed out on a pure gem of a human being.”
Others lamented the loss of a key figure in the North East music scene, whose best-known band will go down as one of the most important the region ever produced.
Named after the island, the folk rocker’s second album - Fog on the Tyne - topped the charts in 1971 and was the biggest British record that year, while the title track is a Tyneside anthem.
A cover recorded with Gazza was a smash hit.
For the past 40 years, the band’s Christmas shows at the City Hall have become a festive Tyneside tradition.
However, once they return, they will sadly be without a familiar face who has been a staple on that stage with them through the years.