1939-2006, guitarist

When Ali Farka Toure was asked to state his profession, his preferred response was “farmer”: he owned extensive lands in Mali. But he also happened to be arguably the finest guitarist Africa has produced.

Born Ali Ibrahim in the village of Kanau on the banks of the River Niger, Toure’s intricate, fluid playing was acclaimed by such western rock guitar legends as Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, who were often seen at his concerts.

He was in his late forties before he found himself lionised by a western audience, yet even after his international success he retained not only his African dress but his ancient tribal beliefs and customs. Whatever record company executives proposed, they knew he would consult the spirits of his ancestors before he accepted.

— The Times

John Junkin

1930-2006, actor, writer and joker

John Junkin wrote, often in his garden shed, for some of Britain’s best-known comedians, including Morecambe and Wise and Ronnie Barker. Between 1961 and the mid-1970s he was also constantly on the screen in sitcoms and in dramas, but as the 1980s drew to a close the work dried up. When it petered out completely, he got up at 4.30 in the morning to submit jokes to a DJ in Newcastle. His wife left him but he managed to joke, “We became incompatible, I no longer had an income and she was no longer pattable.”

— The Times