A STREET performer who shunned the limelight has died at the age of 69.
One-man-band street performer Don Partridge had a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including Rosie and Blue Eyes and was signed to UK record label EMI for a time– but he always returned to a life of busking.
Born in Bournemouth in October 1941, he left school at 15 and took various jobs in the area, until he found his calling as a street performer after seeing American one-man band Jesse Fuller, perform on a UK tour.
He set himself up with a guitar, a harmonica on a harness, a drum on his back and left his home to travel.
After a chance encounter with EMI music producers outside the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square in 1967, he was invited to a recording session and the record label put out his first record.
Colleagues reported that Don was difficult to work with and often swore on stage, making him unmarketable.
He soon returned to his life on the streets, although he was never homeless. He spent some time travelling round the country living in a horse-drawn caravan and sometimes on a boat. He was frequently to be seen singing in Swanage.
He released his last album, The Highwayman, in 2001, he died on September 21, 2010.
Don left behind eight children and was married four times.
Share