Brian Hibbard
| Brian Hibbard | |
|---|---|
 Brian Hibbard | |
| Born |
26 November 1946 Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, Wales |
| Died |
17 June 2012 (aged 65) Cardiff, Wales |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1980 – 2012 |
| Known for | Being a founding member of The Flying Pickets |
| Children | 3 |
Brian Hibbard (26 November 1946 – 17 June 2012)[1] was a Welsh actor and singer, best remembered as the lead vocalist in the original Flying Pickets.[2]
Early life and career
Hibbard was born into a working class family in Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, and had a socialist upbringing.[3] He was educated at Ebbw Vale Grammar School. After various jobs including teacher, steel worker, barman and chimney sweep, he formed the Flying Pickets with a group of other actors who had practised a cappella singing while travelling by coach to their appearances. He performed two concerts at Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre when touring with the Flying Pickets, and formed a picket line on Top of the Pops at the height of the miners' strike (1984-1985).
Following the group's success in the early 1980s, Hibbard went on to pursue a career as a television actor, appearing in Coronation Street as garage mechanic Doug Murray, in Emmerdale as Bobby-John Downes, and as Johnny Mac in the Welsh language soap Pobol y Cwm as well as the youth drama Pam Fi, Duw?. He was in the 1997 film Twin Town as the self-styled "Karaoke King" Dai Rees. He has also appeared in the drama serial Making Out; in the Doctor Who story Delta and the Bannermen; in comedy in The Armando Ianucci Shows; and in the film Rancid Aluminium. Hibbard appeared in EastEnders from 4 to 8 July 2011 playing Henry Mason, a man who ran a children's home where Billy Mitchell and Julie Perkins were in care.
Death
In 2000, Hibbard was diagnosed with prostate cancer; he died of the disease on 17 June 2012.[4][5] He is survived by his wife, Caroline and their children: Lilly, Hafwen and Cai.[6]
References
- ↑ "Brian Hibbard: Singer and actor who formed the Flying Pickets". The Independent'. June 20, 2012.
- ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 387. CN 5585.
- ↑ Independent obituary
- ↑ Brian Hibbard dies from prostate cancer
- ↑ Brian Hibbard obituary in The Guardian
- ↑ "Actor and ex-Flying Pickets singer Brian Hibbard dies". BBC News. Retrieved 18 June 2012.