Tributes to Brum’s forgotten pop star
Tributes to Radio 4 scriptwriter who was the talent behind several 1970s and 80s pop acts
LOL Mason, one of the select group of Birmingham singers to savour chart success with not just one, but two bands, has died at his Harborne home.
The man who had top ten hits with both City Boy and The Maisonettes suffered a fatal heart attack last Tuesday, only weeks after undergoing a kidney transplant. He was 69 years old.
Mason will be remembered by casual fans for singles 5.7.0.5, which climbed to No 8 for City Boy in 1978, and Heartache Avenue, The Maisonettes’ 1983 track that peaked at No 7.
But there was much more on Mason’s CV.
He wrote tracks for two Sam Fox albums that gained gold and platinum discs and penned music for a host of other stars, including Sarah Brightman. He collaborated on the soundtrack for Oliver Stone movie Every Given Sunday. But he also went on to become a successful comedy scriptwriter.
Mason’s wife of 20 years, Kathryn Moore, said his demise was unexpected.
Mason was something of a musical chameleon, capable of embracing a host of styles and genres.
Even in the final days of his life, Lol was working on new material and a single he’d crafted was set to be recorded by local singer Madeline Farmer.
“He was the most intelligent, bril
liant man I’ve ever met,” said his is wife, a professor of landscape e architecture at Birmingham’s City y University. “His humour, wit and d command of the English lan- guage... he was such a remarka- ble person. Everyone has rung up p and said he was such a clever r man.
“I was also struck by how many friends he had, and everyone adored him. He was just one of the most brilliant men I’ve known. I think he got two O Levels and an A Level, which made me realise sense and intelligence has nothing to do with intellect. He was absolutely my rock.”
Mason came from a creative, highly artistic Harborne family.
The youngest of four children, his father, Edward J Mason, was the man behind the legendary Dick Barton radio series and he also co-created The Archers. Older brother Jeremy was Birmingham Rep’s youngest director.
Educated at Birmingham’s West House preparatory school and then Bromsgrove School, Mason began performing music in the late 1960s.
With childhood friend Steve Broughton and Max and Chris Dunn, he hit Birmingham’s acoustic scene with their group, Back In The Band, and the quartet landed a contract with Phonogram’s Vertigo label in 1975.
But Mason’s wife admitted her husband gained most enjoyment from his time with The Maisonettes. He was the consummate one-take professional, whether in the studio or in front of the Top of the Pops cameras.
“He was known as The Headmaster in The Maisonettes,” recalls Kathryn. “He was a total professional, it was extraordinary the way he managed it. It was a serious job and he said he was a ‘benign dictatorship’.” TIES with previous band members remained strong. Over the years, Lol M Mason and Steve Broughton, now li living in New York, reignited their d deep friendship.
Following his death, Steve said: “Lol was the brother I never had. When I reluctantly left City Boy, I only played one more show ever. That was all it took for me to realise that it was no fun, that it was cold and pointless without my brilliant best friend and co-conspirator by my side.”
Away from the TV cameras, Mason concentrated on scriptwriting and gained plenty of accolades for his work.
In 1991 he won the Radio Times comedy award for Total Accident. His six-part Radio 4 series Richard Barton, General Practitioner – homage to his father’s work – proved a huge success.
Mason also contributed to Radio
4’s Weekending and spoof documentary The Spoken Page.
“He never wanted the limelight back,” said wife Kathryn. “It can really mess you up, and you’re left wondering ‘Why can’t I have it back?’
“Lol overcame that extraordinarily well. He was so strong and fascinated by so many things. His work ethic was extraordinary, he’d write every day.”
Mason, a staunch Birmingham City football fan, has a son, Ben, and four-year-old granddaughter from his previous marriage to Sheila.
Ben, who lives, Perth, Australia, and is flying over for the funeral, said: “He has left a void, which at this stage, I’m unsure how will be filled. His incredible wit, insight and intelligence are things I’ll forever remember and miss, but most of all I will miss his conversation and his laughter.”