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This has been a terrible year for celebrities and Colonel Abrams death is just another in a long list of our favourite stars passing on.
He died on November 25 2016,the American thanksgiving day.
Funnily,i was only laughing at a friend a couple of weeks ago with his hairstyle that reminded me of the 80s hit singer.To hear that he was homeless for a while filled me with such sadness.His friends actually had to fight him before he allowed them to hold a benefit for him.That does not shock me at all,cos looking at him at his peak,you could tell this was a proud man that takes pride in himself.It must have literally killed him to have people gather round and give him what he probably felt was handouts.
But like another classic song taught us,"we all need somebody to lean on"
I had wonderful times as a youngster dancing to Abrams music and songs.I loved that rich dark aggressive voice of his,when he sang,i'm not gonna let you get the best of me,you believed him.You thought,this man is not joking.And the way he moved from side to side when he recorded and performed his most famous song trapped on video always made you smile.Never with a smile on his face,that hard stare and repeating the words:Can't you see i'm trapped,i'm like a man locked in a cage i can't get out.
He had a very strong image back then,those monkey jacket and square haircut,shaved low on the sides and flat at the top.
Sadly like we will all be someday,he is locked up and trapped by death now,and he surely cannot get out.I was quite shocked to hear of his age,67.He was born on May 25 1949.He found success at a late age,in his 30s,cos he came into prominence in the mid 80s.
Trapped was a huge hit in the UK and i remember it being one of the biggest 12 inch singles of it's time.Another thing i never could understand was why they did not sue the writers and publishers of Rick Astley's biggest hit,Never gonna give you up.The rhythm and bassline of that song was an absolute rip off of trapped.How they got away with that i will never know.If you have the time,play each song side by side and it is as clear as night and day.
Funny thing is,his stage name is actually his real name.Everybody thought it must have been an alias,but no,he was actually named that at birth,no kidding.His last name though is Page.My favourite and biggest songs of Mr Page apart from the obvious one were,Music is the answer,I'm not gonna let and How soon we forget.
Here are some interesting Colonel Abrams biography facts which you might not have known.His first group was Conservative Manor.In 1976 he joined a group which saw a soon to be worldwide .legend play guitar,Prince! Yep the same superbad Prince,his Royal Purpleness.The group was called 94 East.He had 2 UK top 30 hits in 1985.
He had a huge following in the popular house music world in the 1980s.
Well,i am sure we shall not be forgetting you anytime soon,like one of your songs says,we need some unity to come together you and me,music is the answer.
Rest in peace my man.