Where were you when?

[Rolo Tomasi]

Elvis - At Grove Vale Nursery

Diana - The Foresters Arms Lordship Lane

Jill Dando - Dam Square

Michael - Fast asleep.

[Ted Max]

Same thing for all of them for me. A brief chirrup on the red phone; the encoded voice saying, "Target neutralised."

Then, whatever the hour, a quiet walk down the Embankment to one's Club for a fresh boiled egg and a Cognac.

[*Bob*]

Elvis - n/a

Diana - Sitting in a golf course bunker, a little light-headed after a party in some deserted mansion somewhere in North London. I was heartbroken, because I knew comedown television would certainly be ruined as a result.

Jackson - awoken by a text from my brother which poignantly said "Wacko RIP".

[Keef]

I was heartbroken, because I knew comedown television would certainly be ruined as a result.

See my above comment RE "Saved by the bell" (possibly "the college years"),

[*Bob*]

So no 'Saved by the Bell' - instead, television was 'Ruined by Bell-Ends' for weeks to come.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Diana. I was staying with a mate and was "in the bathroom" reading the paper. I heard my mate swearing because he couldnt find the Archers on the radio - because of the initial coverage. Later I was driving down the M40 and at 1pm James Naughtie read out the official announcement on Radio 4, all the traffic around me slowed down as people listened.

Much later that day I was in Aberdeen as the Royal Flight flew back with Prince Charles after collecting Diana's body in France and taking it to London. I was in a Hotel under the airport flight path and walked out into the car park to watch the plane as it flew over, very low.

[Santerme]

Flipper

Skippy

Mr Ed

Lassie

These are the true losses to showbiz.

[DaveR]

Don't remember where I was when I heard Diana had died, but I remember the exact moment (a couple of days later) when I realised that, as a consequence, the world had gone mad. I expressed the opinion that not only was I unaffected by her death, but that in life I had thought she was a silly, trivial woman. Cue outrage, disgust, name-calling and some suggestion of fisticuffs, from a bunch of people I had previously thought to be sane and sensible.

[SteveT]

One of the lads I employed dropped in to the shop and I said "Elvis is dead Joe" he looked back nonchalantly and said "He's been dead for years Steve aint 'e". I was rather shocked by his dimissal but Marc Bolan was his hero, he was 10 or so years younger than I.

When Diana bought it I was on the same road as Mike Palaeologus the M40 and it was around 9am and there was nothing playing on any of the radio channels as a mark of respect I presume. I guess it was Diana's death that affected me most, not because I am a royalist I'm not, but she was in the kitchen and/or lounge (we were a 2 tv family) every day because she was on the news all the time.

When JFK got his I was watching the tv at my youngest sisters place and the announcement was made interrupting the programme, and my sister and brother in law were stunned and turned their tv off, it was that important. Then Johnson assumed his place and scaled up the war in Vietnam.

When John Lennon got it I felt a great loss because of his talent and him being nearer to my age, he was just re-emerging back into society after being at home for four years baking bread. We all felt expectant about what new music he was going to produce and then bang, he was gone.

[JetSetWilly]

elvis i was too young to know or care,

diana, i was sitting in the waiting room in kings a&e waiting for a review of the x-ray i had taken an hour before to confirm that i had cracked my wrist falling down the stairs in the swan, while pissed. the news came on about 4am regarding the accident and subsequent death,to be honest not too many of my fellow mainly drunken patients batted an eyelid.

[Maurice]

I just realised in thinking through this exercise that BBC Radio informed me of every death. It was the world service in 1977 regarding the death of Elvis. I was in Rhodesia and we were, I believe, in the midst of an election. Difficult days they were. For Diani, it was Radio 4. I recall it was a Sunday morning and I was up early having morning coffee. That was a beautiful summer, as I recall, though the outpouring of grief bizarre. It was Radio 4 again that informed me of Mr Jackson's untimely death over a morning coffee, too.

I'm struggling to recall the JFK announcement, though I'm sure it was World Service. It may seem, at times, like yesterday and yet I cannot remember it so clearly. I shall continue to ponder.

[Jeremy]

Elvis - was less than one year old, so too young. Probably sleeping at the time

Diana - was in bed hungover (summer hols during uni) and my Mum woke me up to tell me

Kurt Cobain - was in bed, possibly hungover (easter hols during 6th form) and my Mum woke me up to tell me

Jacko - was in bed watching news before going to sleep (sober)

[Jeremy]

How about the queen mum? Another young life cut tragically short - where were you then?

[PeckhamRose]

No, Jill Dando had a greater impact than QMum. Sorry. Not a Monarchist!

[brum]

9/11 - Home from a night shift and slept through as it was happening. Woke to find a message on my ansaphone from a workmate telling me how awful something was and how he can't believe it's happened. Puzzled, I put TV on in time to see the 2nd tower collapsing. I remained there for the rest of the day, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

Jacko - in hotel room in Palm Springs California, got a text from friend back in UK asking if its true about Jacko having heart attack. I put local TV on to see live images from helicopter showing huge crowd of people running outside the hospital where he'd been taken. They were heading for the main entrance where the formal announcement of his death was expected to take place.

[jaybee82]

I was watching Strike It Lucky when I heard Rod Hull had died. Good to hear Emu's still knocking about though.

[Jeremy]

PeckhamRose Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> No, Jill Dando had a greater impact than QMum. Sorry. Not a Monarchist!

It seems that my sarcasm is going over most people's heads these days. I thought it would be pretty obvious...

[????]

Bobby Moore - workng at home when my then other half came home with one of those I've got some terrible news looks. On the Saturday, Wolves at home, I was actually crying on the South Bank during the minutes silence - strange us blokes. Diana - didn't give 2 shites.

[Maurice]

I don't recall crowds waiting all night to walk past Jill Dando's body, but then I don't recall her death. The Queen Mum's death was a sad day, though her long life and contribution made it a day to celebrate her, too.

[Muley]

Hold on a minute, this is huge- Flipper and Skippy are dead?

Are you absolutely sure?

When?

How?

Why?

[Keef]

9/11 I was in a mini bus travelling from Portsmouth to Hindhead (where I was living and training at the time). Radio said they'd had reports of 2 plane crashes in New York City, and more or less dismissed it as a joke. Got back and turned tv on just as the second tower fell. Sat watching open mouthed. Now that really was a weird day.

[bigbadwolf]

When 9/11 happened I was sitting on Tatooist's chair getting my first ink.

I don't remember where I was when I heard about Jill Dando's death but I certainly remember the rumours abound as to whether she'd been bumped off by Nick Ross or even Santa Claus.

I remember the Crimewatch with the the re-enactment of her death.

[Jeremy]

9/11 - I was at work. Two American clients were watching the coverage online at a nearby desk. One was crying, the other kept on saying "oh my god, we are so gonna kick their asses".

[Keef]

LOL! I know it's not a funny thing, but that reaction didn't do much to expel certain stereotypes.

[Moos]

9/11 I was at work too. Someone popped their head around the door and said, have you heard the news? A plane's crashed into one of the Twin Towers. We all assumed it was a light plane, like the one that crashed into the Statue of Liberty a few years before. But people gradually started to tune into the news on the internet and we all watched the towers go down. My overwhelming memory was the shock, taken out in frustration as every single news website in the world crashed under the weight of audience, and not really knowing what to do. Selfishly, we started to wonder whether the City would get hit too, and some people were getting wound up listening out for planes. About 2 hours later we were all sent home, and I spent the evening glued to the news. For some bizarre reason, it felt like the 'right thing to do' in order to make acknowledgement of the scale of what had happened.

At the time of the Boxing Day tsunami we were staying with friends, and again stayed glued to the news all day. At first it was hard to understand how so many people could have drowned in the flood water, until you saw images of the water and realised that it was really just roiling, liquid, rubbish. Makes me shiver thinking about it now.