World of Chig   

5.9.06
It was 60 years ago today...

...that a musical legend was born in a foreign land. But enough of Loudon Wainwright III, except to say that I hope you bought Daddy a card, Rufus and Martha.

Also born that day was one Farrokh Bulsara, destined to become the most famous person ever to come from Zanzibar, even if some killjoys there now want to spoil the Freddie Mercury party.

Two coincidences on Freddie's birthday:

The Mercury Music Prize is decided tonight. Despite sharing his name and being instigated the year after Freddie died, it's actually nothing to do with him, but still named after the phone company which sponsored it originally. This despite the fact that Mercury became one2one, and was then swallowed up by a very big German company, to become the company where I now spend my working days. I find it very odd that the Music Prize still bears the name of a sponsor that doesn't exist, in conjunction with its new sponsor, so it's currently the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize. Anyway, Richard Hawley's my tip, but what do I know?

Far more importantly, is it just coincidence that BBC One is showing Panorama on Freddie's birthday, about Jill Dando's murder and the conviction of Barry George, AKA Barry Bulsara? (He used to claim he was Freddie Mercury's cousin, hence the assumed name.) I'm so pleased that the BBC is drawing more attention to George's case, at long last. After following his trial, I was stunned that he was found guilty and I remain convinced that the wrong person was convicted of Dando's murder. Even without the forensic evidence that's due to be revealed in tonight's programme, there didn't seem to be any reason for convicting Barry George at the time, and I remember The Independent being similarly bemused and suggesting that this could be one of the most dreadful miscarriages of justice in legal history. It's bad enough that an innocent man may be in jail, but what it also means it that Dando's murderer may still be at large and we're no nearer knowing who it was. Let's see what the programme reveals.


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