Biography in brief
A collection of obituaries and reflections from major outlets highlight the career of a legendary record executive who shaped artists from Janis Joplin to Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen. The pieces emphasize his instinct for pairing talent with mainstream appeal, and note Patti Smith’s counterpoint approach. The coverage spans the Independent, New York Times, Guardian and Scotsman, among others, with portraits of his long influence.
A 40-minute video installation by Helen Cammock at the National Portrait Gallery has sparked a broad debate over Churchill’s role in the Bengal famine of 1943. Cammock defends the work as a dialogue about who is celebrated in public memory, while critics call the claims ideologically motivated and historically contentious.
Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler has died in a hospital in Portugal after an illness. She rose to fame with Total Eclipse of the Heart in 1983 and later hits such as Holding Out for a Hero. She had been hospitalized for emergency intestinal surgery in Faro and was in an induced coma earlier this year; her family confirmed the death.