Lou Ragland hadn't been feeling too good recently and was in a lot of pain. So on Monday, he went for a check-up. After some hours in hospital and lots of tests, he was told he has incurable cancer.

Even though he was advised to go into hospice, Lou is facing the news bravely & has decided to go on with his everyday life as much as is still possible. He says, as long as he can get pain relief drugs, he'll be fine.

REASON FOR MY POST  ... Lou visited the UK three times; on the Ric Tic Review, on a UK tour in 1990 and to perform at the Prestatyn Weekender. He really loved each visit & all the UK fans he got to meet. He told me that the first fans to really accept him as a singer in his own right were the Brits (in the US he was mainly valued for his guitar playing, his studio skills, etc.).

IT WOULD BE GREAT to get a few messages from folk that got to meet him or for who a track of his has a special meaning. I will then collate them all & forward them all onto Lou. I'm sure reading such stuff will lift his spirits in this trying time. 

Lou; how he looked yesterday & an inset picture from a bit ago ... 

Terrible news.

I'll never forget seeing Lou perform at the 100 Club - I presume 1990, from what you've said about dates. He was, I thought, a bit nervous and hesitant at first - perhaps he was just unsure about how the crowd would react to him. But he quickly settled down, everybody loved him, and he performed magnificently. What a star! It's a night I'll never forget, that's for sure!

Here's a photo I took of him that night.

I wish you peaceful and pain-free days in the difficult times ahead.

Lou @ the 100 Club, in London & @ Dingwalls back on that UK tour ...   

Off topic, but did you take those pics of Lou at the 100 Club, and if so, is this you with the camera in the pic below? The position would be about right as I can just make out myself in your 2nd pic (white shirt and spectacles with face obscured by the mic stand), just as I can see the photographer opposite in my pic!

Just curious...

 

 

Edited April 23, 20205 yr by Amsterdam Russ

John 
can you pass on best wishes to Lou at this difficult time on behalf of everyone who is involved with the Soul Source site
thanks
mike

John,

This is uncanny as I only this week I've been tidying up around home and found a Mini Disc of one of my Prestatyn Radio shows, where I take over from you interviewing Lou, so it has the very tail end of your interview on.  I would say that I would send a copy to you mate but it literally is just the handover with very minimal chat between you and Lou, so not really worth it.

Please pass on our regards to him, I remember seeing him at that Ric Tic review in Hinckley in '83......my very first all nighter!

 

Cheers,

Mark R

Awful news ,met Lou and wife at Prestatyn ,Lovely man.He helped me buy some records from America when the person did not have a pay pal account.I sent the money through Lou via his pay pal account and he transferred it and actually struck up a friendship with the said person who used to work for Motown as a producer and later set up his own label.

Please send our regards and best wishes  John

Lil bro