Roger Whittaker dead: Durham Town folk singer known for hit song The Last Farewell & his ‘expert whistling’ dies aged 87

FOLK singer Roger Whittaker has died at the age of 87.

The star was famous for his 1969 hit song Durham Town and expert whistling.

Roger Whittaker has died

2

Roger Whittaker has diedCredit: Getty
The singer was well known for his hit song Durham Town

2

The singer was well known for his hit song Durham TownCredit: Avalon.red

His other hits included The Last Farewell and New World in the Morning.

Whittaker sold nearly 50 million records around the world.

The legend was born in Nairobi to English parents in 1936 before moving to Britain in September 1959.

The music of East Africa left a mark on Roger’s childhood.

He explained: “In over 30 years of singing and playing musical sounds – the wonderful drumming, and those marvelous, infectious rhythms – have played a great part in everything I have ever written and sung.”

Once in Britain he studied zoology, biochemistry, and marine biology, while pursuing a passion in music at local folk clubs.

After university he had his first major breakthrough when he was signed to appear on an Ulster Television show called “This And That.”

However, he did not gain much notoriety in England until he recorded his own compositions The Leavin’ (Durham Town) in 1969.

Roger also guested regularly on TV, including on Top of the Pops.

In 1971 he was the host of Whittaker’s World of Music.

Roger’s website tonight announced his death with a picture of the late musician, alongside his year of birth and death.

Fans have been leaving comments in an online book of condolences.

One person wrote: “The Last Farewell….A truly great troubadour who brought so much pleasure wherever he performed.”

And comedian Matt Lucas also paid tribute on Twitter, writing: “The great Roger Whittaker has passed away.

“I adored Durham Town and The Last Farewell. Beautiful, warm, catchy songs. I am glad I got to see him perform live.”

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);

You May Also Like

Leonardo DiCaprio makes subtle change to his appearance and looks years younger on Las Vegas trip

LEONARDO DiCaprio has made a subtle change to his appearance and looks…

Vogue Williams looks incredible in blue bikini on the beach in St Barts after denying split with Spencer Matthews

VOGUE Williams dazzled in a bright blue bikini as she hit the…

Brett Gardner’s son Miller’s cause of death finally confirmed by toxicology results: report

Toxicology results have finally confirmed the cause of death of New York…

Val Kilmer’s heartbreaking admission he was ‘lonely every day’ after split from wife Joanne Whalley amid health battle

VAL Kilmer spent the last 24 years of his life single despite…