Tarbuck’s tribute as his old stage pal Kenny Lynch dies at age of 81
JIMMY TARBUCK last night paid tribute to entertainer Kenny Lynch, who has died at 81.
The comic said Lynch was “a great singer and a wonderful personality who looked great in a good suit”.
Tarbuck recently visited the Up On The Roof singer at home. He was very ill and “ready to die”, he said.
The two frequently performed together over the years and Tarbuck said they ended up roaring with laughter as they reminisced on the good times.
Tarbuck, 79, said: “He was a very good singer. The whole family was – his sister was a great singer.” He added that Lynch was “a wonderful personality and looked great in a good suit”.
He said he toasted his friend with Sir Tom Jones on Tuesday night, saying: “It was the 50th year of Tramp and I went with Tom. He was saying the same thing. He was such a good singer and such a good talent – and that came from the best 80-year-old singer in the world.
“He said last night, ‘Lynchy was a good singer’ and we raised a glass or two to him.”
Discussing when he last saw Lynch, Tarbuck said: “I went down to the house to see him in the last month. It was very strange. He was ready to die.
“It wasn’t a shock at all. I don’t want to appear cold, but it wasn’t. He told me, ‘I’ve had enough, I want to go’, and then we reminisced and we were roaring laughing, just at things that have happened.”
Of Caribbean and Irish heritage, Lynch was one of the few black singers in British pop music at the time.
In 1963 he appeared alongside The Beatles on their first British tour when both acts were on the bill for a string of dates headed by Helen Shapiro.
In the same year Lynch became the first artist to cover a song by the Fab Four when he rerecorded Misery.
On the big screen he appeared in Carry On Loving in 1970, as well as The Plank and The Alf Garnett Saga. On TV he starred in Curry And Chips with Spike Milligan.