On This Day
Births
1953 – Peter Baumann
Peter Baumann formed the core line-up of the pioneering German electronic group Tangerine Dream with Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke in 1971. Baumann composed his first solo album in 1976, while still touring with the band, and embarked on a solo career in 1977. He founded the record label Private Music. Since the early 2000s, Baumann has devoted his time to studying and promoting initiatives in science and philosophy that shed light on the human condition.
Age 65
1961 – Dave Baynton-Power
David Baynton-Power is a musician, best known as drummer of the long-existing English rock band James. He has a recognisable and characteristic way of playing the drums, moving his sticks in a circular motion as the songs build up.
Progressive rock was his first real venture into playing drums, but Baynton-Power became a huge fan of punk rock and was part of the new wave movement with his first real band, The Modernaires. They played some decent sized gigs for a new band, but they soon split after moving to Chester as their vocalist, who was schizophrenic, announced he was leaving.
They soon re-formed with a new singer however, they realised that with the arrival of the Welsh TV station S4C, if they changed the lyrics of their songs from English to Welsh they could make some profit. They changed their name to Brodyr Y Ffin (Welsh for ‘Brothers on the Border’) as their house in Chester was right on the Anglo-Welsh border, and quickly rose to the top of the Welsh scene, staying there for a few years.
However, their existence came to an abrupt end with a massive house fire, which resulted in the death of one of their members. Not long after, Baynton-Power was linked to James through another band’s keyboardist, who was a friend of Andy Dodd – Dodd initially booked all the bands at the Band on the Wall venue in Manchester. Dodd suggested Baynton-Power as a replacement for James previous drummer Gavan Whelan in 1989. According to the band’s biography Folklore by Stuart Maconie, the band was particularly keen to hire Baynton-Power after lead singer Tim Booth’s psychic medium advised him to look out for a “Dave from Wrexham” as the band’s new drummer. Although Baynton-Power was initially uninterested in the offer of an audition, he finally relented after the band members offered to pay his train fare to Manchester. Following the audition they immediately offered him the role of drummer.
Baynton-Power endured, remaining in James from that time through to their farewell tour in December 2001. He also played a big part in the production side of the later James albums, from Whiplash onwards.
From 2002 Baynton-Power toured with the Welsh rock band The Alarm, spent more time with his family, and also worked as a freelance sound engineer in television. In early 2007, he was confirmed as a member of the reformed James and joined them on their tour in April of that year, then played on their comeback album Hey Ma, released in April 2008.
Age 57
1970 – Heather Graham
Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy License to Drive (1988), followed by the critically acclaimed film Drugstore Cowboy (1989), which gained her initial industry notice. She then played supporting roles in films such as Shout (1991), Diggstown (1992), Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Swingers (1996) and on the television series Twin Peaks (1991) and its prequel film Fire Walk with Me (1992), before gaining critical praise in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997) as porn starlet Brandy / Rollergirl. In 1999, she co-starred in Bowfinger and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
In the 2000s, Graham starred in films Committed (2000), Say It Isn’t So (2001), Mary (2005), Gray Matters (2007), The Hangover (2009) and its sequel, The Hangover Part III (2013). She also had a role on the television series Scrubs in 2004, before playing the title character on the short-lived series Emily’s Reasons Why Not in 2006. She also had recurring roles on Showtime’s Californication (2014) and Netflix’s Flaked (2016).
Noted for portraying characters with sex appeal, she often appears in magazine lists of “Most Beautiful” and “Sexiest” women. Graham is a public advocate for Children International, and supported the climate change campaign Global Cool in 2007.
Age 48
1985 – Craig Westcarr
Craig Naptali Westcarr is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Alfreton Town.
He began his career at Nottingham Forest, becoming the youngest player ever to play for the club when he made his first team debut in October 2001 at the age of 16. He was loaned out to Lincoln City and Milton Keynes Dons in 2005, before he left the Football League to spend the 2005–06 season in the Conference with Cambridge United. He then spent three seasons with Kettering Town, helping the club to win the Conference North title in 2007–08. He signed with Notts County in May 2009, and helped the club to win the League Two title in 2009–10. He was sold on to Chesterfield in August 2011, and won the Football League Trophy with the club in 2012, scoring a goal in the final. He joined Walsall, initially on loan, in November 2012. He finished as the club’s top-scorer in the 2013–14 campaign, but was released in May 2014. On 17 June 2014 Westcarr joined Portsmouth on a free transfer after leaving Walsall, penning a two-year contract.
He represented England at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-21 level.
Westcarr played 37 times for Portsmouth scoring 7 goals between 2014 – 2015
Age 33
1988 – Catrin Stewart
Catrin Stewart is a Welsh actress. She is best known for portraying Emma in the Sky1 comedy drama series Stella and Jenny Flint in Doctor Who. She also portrayed Lily in Misfits. Her theatrical performance as Juliet in Headlongs Romeo and Juliet has been acclaimed by The Observer as “one of the most captivating and touching I have seen.”
Age 30