Singer Vince Hill, best known for his cover of the song Edelweiss, which was originally from The Sound of Music, has died at home in Henley-on-Thames at the age of 89.
His death was announced in a post on his Twitter account which read: “Sadly we have to share news none of us want to hear. We’re very sorry to have to tell you Vince has left us.
“He passed peacefully at home. Vince created a musical legacy…his tunes will remain forever in our hearts. Here’s to you V…you bloody legend.”
Vince first rose to fame with his debut single The Rivers Run Dry before he was signed to EMI’s Columbia label in 1965 and went on to produce a number of hits
His first Top 20 chart success with the new label was Take Me To Your Heart Again in 1966.
His cover of the Edith Piaf hit, La Vie En Rose, reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart the same year and other hits included Look Around, Daydream and Doesn’t Anybody know My Name.
However, he was to enjoy his biggest chart success with his cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song Edelweiss from their classic 1959 musical The Sound of Music.
It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1967 and would become his signature song for the rest of his career.
In the Seventies he turned his hand to television presenting and was host of BBC’s They Sold A Million in 1973.
He went on to host The Musical Time Machine in 1975, and later had his own prime-time television show in Canada called Vince Hill At The Club, which also aired in the USA.
In 1976 he had the honour of appearing on this Is your Life where he was celebrated by friends and family.
The eighties saw him turn his hand to acting when he wrote and starred in in the BBC radio drama, Tolpuddle.
The nineties saw him take to the stage to play Ivor Novello in the play My Dearest Ivor.
He also wrote the stage musical Zodiac and starred as the Cowardly Lion in an adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Wizard Of Oz.
In recent years he came out of retirement several times to appear in various projects and was working until quite recently, but in 2021 it was announced on his Twitter that he had suffered a stroke.
Leading the tributes to Vince was Les Dennis who tweeted: “Heard the news driving home tonight and cried. Did two summer seasons with Vince.
“He was brilliant on stage and more importantly he was a lovely man. Remember visiting him and Annie at their beautiful home in Henley. They welcomed Dustin [Gee] and me and we had a lovely evening. RIP X”.
Singer Lyn Paul chimed in: “Oh no! One of the nicest guys I had the pleasure of working with. RIP Vince. Xx”.
Radio DJ Tony Blackburn wrote: “So sorry to hear that singer Vince Hill passed away yesterday. We were in the same agency in the 60’s and he was a very nice guy. He had a great voice and his version of Edelweiss in 1967 was a big hit. R.I.P Vince.”
Boxer Frank Bruno shared a memory of the singer writing: “Vince Hill RIP sad news of the passing of this middle of the road singer we worked together on many charity shows ultimate professional his big hit Edelweiss I remember once a mic stand suddenly collapsed on him when he was about to start to sing a song he said “lets do that intro again” and he carried on went cool as a cucumber”.
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