Kitt (81) and Walters (82): Romance Without Finance is a Nuisance

Romance without finance don't make no sense, no kinda way, buddy can you lend me a dime? Or something like that anyway. Even the top sheet for this top tune is proving elusive.

Like some Peston of the Obituaries the ambulance chasing Bloga Donna Iain Dale took the extraordinary step of claiming a "scoop", "breaking the story" with a wafery wiki-skim death notice of Sir Alan Walters - the Conservative economist credited in some quarters with bringing down Maggie Thatcher. Hurrah! Mr Dale claims the scoop under the self-aggrandising title "First For News" bragging that he had the story at 9pm on Sunday.

Though, strictly speaking, it was at 9:09pm. Whereas Donal Blaney had a slightly skimpier wiki skim much much earlier. At 9:07pm. Though that presumably won't count because Iain won't have seen that. Therefore it did not and does not exist. Perhaps there are still earlier sightings? Does Sir Alan's gerontologist have a blog?

Iain's point such as it is is that various mainstream media published their considered and extended and prominent and original obituaries some hours later than Iain's couple of quickie paragraphs. Though if there is one story that even the most avaricious news makers mostly think can wait it is "news of their death". And although Iain has been right on a political death, he's also been wrong. So perhaps the MSM insisted on seeing the body?

As I recall The Sun had an obit for Alan's arguably far far more important contemporary Eartha Kitt that "sadistic nymphomaniac whose escapades and loose morals were the talk of Paris" a day or two ahead of most of the rest of the media. Ahead even of blogs and broadcasters. On Boxing Day. Whereas some were three or four days later on the case.

Sadly sex-kitten contemporary Sir Alan was not smeared so marvellously, though the Telegraph did have a try with: "a eurosceptic monetarist and the former personal economic policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher".

Here's Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes (tenor guitar and tenor) with an extract from "Never Too Old to Swing". I believe they did record a live performance of Romance ... but can't find a VT of that one just now. The photography of once earthy now heavenly Miss Eartha was uncredited in the Telegraph. Jak Kilby and/or Redferns perhaps?