This was one of the regular Friday night music programmes on BBC 4. It is such sad story which impacted me when I heard the news of his death. I was 16 and still at school and I remember all the girls in my class being shocked and tearful. It was sad to hear that he went on the fateful tour because he needed the money, having been ripped off by his management which was a very common occurrence then. They travelled in a freezing cold bus from one venue to another - nothing like the luxurious tour buses musicians have today, just an old school bus. One of his band members actually had to be admitted to hospital because of frostbite in his toes. The saddest part was seeing his wife Maria Elena saying that she lost the baby she was carrying because of the shock and grief. It was also sad to see his brother still moved to tears when recalling that he had to tell his parents what had happened. Some light relief came from his drummer Jerry Allison saying that he had asked that the song Cindy Lou be changed to Peggy Sue to impress the girl he was seeing. With a wry smile he said he wished it had stayed Cindy Lou, the fact that he referred to Peggy Sue as ‘my first ex wife’ said it all. A very nostalgic programme for me.
