Gerry Rafferty Singer-Songwriter of ‘Baker Street’ Takes Final Taxi

One of the most memorable scenes in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 film “Reservoir Dogs” was when the character Mr. Blonde (played by Michael Madsen) tortures Kirk Baltz while dancing to the 1972 classic song by the band Stealers Wheel called “Stuck in the Middle With You”. The song was originally a joke song by a member of the band that parodied Bob Dylan’s distinctive lyrical style. It became a surprise hit for the group and peaking at No. 6 in 1973 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

The song was written by song writters Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Singer and songwriter Gerry Rafferty has taken his Final Taxi at age 63.

Rafferty will be best known for his solo work which includes hits like “Baker Street” and “Right Down the Line”.

Known for its prominent eight-bar saxophone riff, “Bakers Street” remains Rafferty‘s most identified song. Released in 1978 it reached No. 2 in the U.S singles chart. The album it came from,” City To City”, sold over 5.5 million copies and became a No. 1 selling LP. The songs lead to a resurgence of saxophone use in mainstream pop music and TV advertising at the time.

His song “Right Down the Line” reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart in the U.S., making this Rafferty’s only song to ever reach No. 1 on any US chart.

Rafferty continued to record music but never had the success he did with “City To City.” His last recording was titled “Life Goes On” which was released in November 2009.

Actor Pete Postlethwaite Takes Final Taxi

I get knocked down – But I get up again – You’re never going to keep me down

Pissing the night away – Pissing the night away

He drinks a whisky drink- He drinks a vodka drink – He drinks a lager drink – He drinks a cider drink

He sings the songs that remind him Of the good times – He sings the songs that remind him Of the better times………..

These are some lyrics to the song, “Tubthumping” by the band Chumbawumba. In August 11 1997. It reached #6 on the US Billboard Hot 10.

The album version of the song opens with a sample of a monologue used in the 1996 film Brassed Off and goes: “Truth is, I thought it mattered. I thought that music mattered. But does it? Bollocks! Not compared to how people matter.”

That clip was performed by Pete Postlethwaite who starred in the film. It is Postlethwaite who has taken his Final Taxi at the age of 64.

One of my favorite roles he was in was in 1995’s hit film “The Usual Suspects”. Postlethwaite played the menacing criminal mastermind Kobayashi. The thought was that he was the major villain in the film, but he was not as it turned out.

He was recently seen in 2010 in the films “Clash of the Titans” and “Inception”. Other films include “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Aliens 3”, “Dragonheart” and “James and the Giant Peach”. He worked with director Steven Spielberg in the dinosaur adventure film “The Lost World: Jurrassic Park”, and Amistad, about a slave mutiny on a ship.

Postlethwaite received an Oscar nomination for his performance, as Guiseppe Conlon in the 1993 film In “The Name Of The Father”. He will be seen in April in the film “Killing Bono”