Roger Whittaker, folk singer, dead at 87
Folk singer Roger Whittaker, best known for his hit single ‘Durham Town’, has died aged 87.
While no cause of death has been given for Whittaker, his passing was confirmed on his official website. The landing page displays an image of the late musician, along with his date of birth 1936 and 2023, signifying the date of his death.
Whittaker grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, to British parents, and after enrolling in the Kenyan Army during the 1950s, he moved to the homeland of his family to attend the University College of North Wales. While in Britain, Whittaker began to sing on the club circuit and eventually signed to Columbia Records in 1966.
His breakthrough song ‘Durham Town’ was released in 1969, peaking at 12th position in the UK charts. Over the next few years, Whittaker’s success continued with ‘I Don’t Believe in If Anymore’ reaching eighth in the charts in 1970. Five years later, his highest-charting single ‘The Farewell’ charted at second place in the United Kingdom.
Despite not being able to speak German, Whittaker built a surprisingly strong fanbase for himself in the European country during his later years but sang in their language phonetically. According to the biography section of Whittaker’s website: “In 1985, he was acclaimed as the country’s most successful recording artist, singing in the German language, a distinction no other major international record star could claim. Roger admits to being unable to speak a word of German and records his songs phonetically.”
In 2001, following a lengthy tour of Germany, Whittaker announced his decision to retire from the road after celebrating his 65th birthday. However, his initial retirement was short-lived; he was back playing shows by 2003 and also recorded a Christmas album in German.
Eventually, Whittaker retired for good in 2012 when he moved to France with his wife Natalie. The couple married in 1964 and had five children.
Comedian Matt Lucas is among those who have paid tribute to Whittaker on social media, writing on Twitter: “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.”
Listen to ‘Durham Town’ below.
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