Alan Rickman, 1946-2016

It’s been a really crappy few weeks for losing some brilliant British talent, hasn’t it? The best way we can honour these three gentlemen is to keep on rocking to their music and enjoying their films.

Today we heard that Alan Rickman passed away. Legions of Harry Potter fans will remember him as Professor Snape; Jane Austen fans will recall his part as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility; and many more — including the Brits in Toronto crew — think that Hans Gruber in Die Hard was one of the best screen villains we’ve seen.

Alan’s full impressive repertoire is here.

Then what can we say about Ian Fraser Kilmister, otherwise known as Lemmy? Only one of the baddest mofos in rock and roll, that’s what. Didn’t seem to give a crap about anything, but hell, what a career he had with Motorhead.

Here’s one of our favourite memories of Lemmy:

And last — but in no way least — David Robert Jones. Or David Bowie.

This bloke seemed to live our life with us, always there with a song that seemed just right for the times. Constantly changing, adapting, innovating. He led and countless musicians since have followed, all inspired by his vision.

The loss of David Bowie was a massive shock this week. But we can all remember the good times he gave us. Here’s a favourite scene of Brits in Toronto where David shows his comedy chops: