Sad to hear the news of the passing of legendary Australian music writer Ritchie Yorke at the age of 73. An early biographer of both Led Zeppelin and Van Morrison and friend to all the stars of that generation – including John & Yoko – Ritchie began his career in music in early 60s Brisbane. He moved to the UK in 1966, where he represented Brisbane’s Festival-affiliated Sunshine label, and looked after Normie Rowe during his UK stay, helping set up some of Normie’s greatest recordings. Ritchie spent much of the 70s in Canada (he’d helped stage of John and Yoko’s famed Montreal bed-in in 1969) and returned to Australia in the 80s when he started a long stint at the Sunday Mail.

Let’s remember Ritchie with this great pic of him with his lifelong mate Normie in the studio at Advision studios in London, and with Normie’s brilliant recording of "It’s Not Easy", a song that Ritchie found for him and which Normie recorded with crack sidemen including Jimmy Page on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass and Clem Cattini on drums.

- DL