Thursday, November 21, 2024

Sting Eulogizes His Beloved Road Manager, Billy Francis, Dead at 73: “I couldn’t have had a better teacher, big brother, protector, mentor, confidant”

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Sting’s beloved road manager, Billy Francis, has died of cancer at age 73. He’s known around the world in music circles. I was lucky to know him. Considering the pressure of touring and accompanying a rock star, Billy had a great sense of humor and a lot of love in his heart for everyone in the Sting universe. It was reciprocated. Sting and Billy were certainly like brothers. As Sting says in his beautiful eulogy, he probably spent more time with Billy than he did with his family. Wherever Sting was, there was Billy, in good humor, in fine form, undaunted by whatever would be wrong (because there always is).

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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