Latest news with #Prime
Leader Live
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Deacon blue keyboard player James Prime dies after short battle with cancer
The Scottish pop-rock band announced the news shortly after Prime, from Kilmarnock, died on Thursday morning. They wrote on social media: 'Dear friends, We announce with great sadness that our brother James Prime passed away this morning after a short struggle with cancer. Dear friends, We announce with great sadness that our brother James Prime passed away this morning after a short struggle with cancer. Thank you so much for the messages of support that you shared over the last two weeks, they meant so much to Jim, his family & us. With love, DBx — Deacon Blue (@deaconbluemusic) June 19, 2025 'Thank you so much for the messages of support that you shared over the last two weeks, they meant so much to Jim, his family & us. With love, DBx.' Founded in 1985, Deacon Blue consist of Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh on vocals, Dougie Vipond on drums, Gregor Philp on guitar, and Lewis Gordon on bass. The group have released 11 studio albums to date, as well as two live albums, eight compilation albums, and an album that features both studio and compilation elements. They are best known for their hit single Dignity, which propelled them to success in their early years. Earlier this month, the band said Prime, who was also a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, was seriously ill. They wrote on social media on June 11: 'We wanted to share some news with you about our brother, Jim. 'Unfortunately, he is seriously ill and undergoing care in hospital. We would like you to join us in wishing him well and to share your love with him. 'We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue's plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead, even if it means replacing the irreplaceable James Miller Prime for the time being. 'Together with Jim's family, we want to thank all the nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and compassion.'
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish auction house on course to hit record turnover
Since Prime Property Auctions was set up in 2022 by Glasgow businessmen John Morris and Luis Guarin it has seen revenues build consistently, with the current financial year 'promising to be the best yet'. Turnover at year end October 31, 2024 was £1.5 million which represented 90.5 per cent growth on the firm's first year, at £764,700. The trajectory for the same time this year is sitting at £2.4m, and is 'buoyed by a strong performance' from the turn of the year. READ MORE: Housebuilding giant purchases land in Scotland Plans for homes in Scottish village Prime offers listings on commercial, residential and land and operates throughout Scotland as well as England and Wales from its headquarters in West Regent Street in the centre of Glasgow. It has a database of more than 20,000 buyers with more than 600 auction lots sold in the UK since 2022. Mr Morris said: 'When Luis and I started out on this journey our intention was to demonstrate that auction is a route that people can go down for selling property. Not every property is appropriate for auction but it does serve a purpose and is becoming increasingly popular as is evidenced by our strong financial position as we move through our current financial year. 'Our growth has been pretty much organic and based on referrals, which is very pleasing and shows that people put their trust in what we do – and that is selling their property quickly for the price they want. 'We have doubled in size every year but we are not stopping here. We are consistently investing back into the business, including our systems and staff. We have grown steadily since forming and we want to continue that trend. 'With the people we have working for us and the application we all put in, we are confident that is going to happen. This is only the beginning of what is going to be an exciting journey.'
USA Today
14 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are less than $170 ahead of Prime Day
The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are less than $170 ahead of Prime Day Save up to 49% on Beats headphones, Apple AirPods, plus tons of must-have Apple accessories. Amazon Prime Day 2025 is coming back with double the deals, and the early discounts are already music to our ears—especially for Apple fans. While the official sale starts on Tuesday, July 8, Amazon is rolling out early Prime Day savings on some of the most popular Apple audio gear. Whether you're upgrading your old earbuds or finally grabbing that pair of AirPods you've been eyeing, now's the time to score serious savings. Right now, you can save up to $80 on select Apple earbuds, headphones and accessories. Top early Prime Day Apple AirPods on sale at Amazon These deals are part of Amazon's lead-up to Prime Day, but they're also a solid sneak peek at what's to come for the official Prime Day 2025 sale in July. If you're an Apple audiophile or shopping for a techie in your life, this is your chance to grab premium audio gear at a discount. Below, shop the most popular early Prime Day deals on Apple AirPods, Beats headphones and accessories. Early Prime Day 2025 deals: Shop Apple AirPods and Beats headphones on sale at Amazon 1. Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C Charging: 32% off 2. Apple AirPods 4 Wireless Earbuds: 23% off 3. Beats Studio Pro Wireless Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones: 49% off 4. Apple AirPods Max Wireless Over-Ear Headphones: 9% off 5. Apple AirPods (3rd Generation) Wireless Earbuds: 20% off Amazon is one of our favorite online retailers for Apple AirPod accessories, especially if you need something fast and for an affordable price. Here are a few top deals to consider today: More: Is an Amazon Prime membership worth it? Here's what you need to know What are other early Prime Day deals people are shopping? When is Prime Day? Amazon announced that Prime Day 2025 will run from Tuesday, July 8 at 12:00am PT/3:00am ET through Friday, July 11. This is the first year that the sale has been extended from the usual two days to four days. That means 96 hours of Amazon deals! Do I need to be an Amazon Prime member to shop Amazon Prime Day? Yes, you must be an Amazon Prime member to access most deals. The July Prime Day sale has tons of special Prime-exclusive discounts on select products that can help members save more than anyone else. Plus, joining Prime helps guarantee you get other perks like fast shipping all year long, access to Prime Video, Prime Reading and Prime Gaming and more. → More: Is an Amazon Prime membership worth it? Here's what you need to know How much does an Amazon Prime membership cost? New members can try one week of Amazon Prime benefits for just $1.99. After that, Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. More: Amazon Prime for Young Adults is back! Do you qualify for the discount? Find out here
The Herald Scotland
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Jim Prime, widely admired keyboard lynchpin of Deacon Blue
Died: June 19, 2025. WHEN Ricky Ross was putting his band Deacon Blue together in 1986, he heard of a talented keyboard player named Jim Prime. He rang Prime's number but a woman who answered told him that he had picked a bad time. At length, a breathless Prime picked up the receiver and told Ross that he had gone into the street to 'stop a guy beating up his wife' in a domestic argument. As Ross wrote in 2022, 'the strangeness of the conversation set the scene for the next thirty-five years'. When Prime attended a rehearsal and heard a new song, Raintown, wrote Ross, 'something began to happen to make it sound like a band who had a direction. A lot of that 'something' was about what Jim brought to the arrangement'. Read more: Who was Deacon Blue keyboardist and 'Killie boy' James Prime? Deacon Blue announce death of founder member Jim Prime after short cancer battle Deacon Blue announce new album and huge Scottish shows for 2025 Prime, who has died, aged 64, of cancer, 21 years to the month since the passing of the band's guitarist, Graeme Kelling, also from cancer, was an integral part of Deacon Blue's sound. The band's debut album, Raintown, featured Prime and Kelling alongside Ross, Ewen Vernal on bass, Dougie Vipond on drums and Lorraine McIntosh on vocals. Released in May 1987, it went into the British Top 20 and yielded such classic Deacon Blue songs as Dignity, Born in a Storm, Raintown and When Will You (Make My Phone Ring). Two years later the band released a follow-up album, When the World Knows Your Name, which went to number one and opened doors for them in America. All told, the band enjoyed 12 UK Top 40 singles and two chart-topping albums, and became one of Scotland's most successful musical exports. James Miller Prime was born in Kilmarnock on November 3, 1960. Asked last year on the Australian interview series, The Keyboard Chronicles, when he realised he had a passion for music, he said he had been brought up classically trained and that he came from a 'long line of piano players in my house'. His three sisters played the flute, piano and guitar, but he had 'something else that was going on'; he started playing piano at the tender age of four. 'My mum said, 'I was in the kitchen and you heard Loch Lomond on the radio and you ran through to the piano and you just played the melody - you couldn't even play the piano'. I couldn't even reach it. 'I guess that's something I know inside myself, that I'm kind of joined to this thing', he added, indicating his piano. The bass guitarist Alan Thomson, who had played with John Martyn, was a neighbour, and he would regularly arrived at the Prime household at 8am, drag Prime out of his bed and force him to practice. The US Southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, were the reason that he became a keyboards player; their keyboards player, Billy Powell, was 'outrageously good'. Prime dropped out of college at the age of 20 to join the brilliant guitarist John Martyn's band but, as he told the Deacon Blue biographer, Paul English, he eventually left because he could not stand it. 'There was drink everywhere, paranoia and violence. I was too young to be with these really heavyweight musicians. I left under the guise of joining Altered Images, and eventually ended up on tour with them in America when I was 22. We toured right across America, it was absolutely stunning. People like Blondie and Nile Rodgers came backstage and I ended up with a load of tips on how to be a pop musician'. Returning to Glasgow after the break-up of Altered Images, he got a job in a Southside pub, The Granary. An encounter with the owner of the nearby Park Lane Studios led to a recommendation to contact a Ricky Ross. 'When we met, I immediately thought there was something about this guy', he told English. 'Not only was he writing songs on the piano, but he had gear, and he was dead set. And I fell in love with the idea that he wanted to put keyboards at the centre of his songs'. Prime's career with Deacon Blue spanned world tours, bestselling records and many memorable moments. One early such highlight came at Sir George Martin's AIR Studios in London, during the making of the debut album: the piano he was sitting at turned out to be the same one used by Stevie Wonder to compose his hit song, Superstition. In 1990, at a John Lennon tribute concert in Liverpool, Prime met Yoko Ono, Lennon's son Julian, and the Superman actor, Christopher Reeve. That same year, Deacon Blue headlined the massive Big Day event on Glasgow Green, part of Glasgow's European City of Culture celebrations. Deacon Blue broke up in 1994 and the band went their separate ways before reconvening in 1999. Prime toured with the colourful French singer, Johnny Hallyday, and played in the band that accompanied Bill Bryden's 1994 epic promenade production of a Govan regiment in the Great War. He was also involved in the establishment of a School of Music and Recording Technology in South Ayrshire. Away from Deacon Blue, Jim Prime was also a popular lecturer in music at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). He spoke about his time teaching there, sayinG: 'You can imagine a class with me doesn't come from any book. I try as much as I can now to tell people about the power that their music has for other people, not just writing songs in bedrooms and being on the stage. I do a lot of work with Alzheimer's Scotland, and I've done stuff with special needs and I try to encourage kids to get out there and talk to all people and help them with their memory'.
South Wales Guardian
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Deacon blue keyboard player James Prime dies after short battle with cancer
The Scottish pop-rock band announced the news shortly after Prime, from Kilmarnock, died on Thursday morning. They wrote on social media: 'Dear friends, We announce with great sadness that our brother James Prime passed away this morning after a short struggle with cancer. Dear friends, We announce with great sadness that our brother James Prime passed away this morning after a short struggle with cancer. Thank you so much for the messages of support that you shared over the last two weeks, they meant so much to Jim, his family & us. With love, DBx — Deacon Blue (@deaconbluemusic) June 19, 2025 'Thank you so much for the messages of support that you shared over the last two weeks, they meant so much to Jim, his family & us. With love, DBx.' Founded in 1985, Deacon Blue consist of Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh on vocals, Dougie Vipond on drums, Gregor Philp on guitar, and Lewis Gordon on bass. The group have released 11 studio albums to date, as well as two live albums, eight compilation albums, and an album that features both studio and compilation elements. They are best known for their hit single Dignity, which propelled them to success in their early years. Earlier this month, the band said Prime, who was also a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland, was seriously ill. They wrote on social media on June 11: 'We wanted to share some news with you about our brother, Jim. 'Unfortunately, he is seriously ill and undergoing care in hospital. We would like you to join us in wishing him well and to share your love with him. 'We spoke to Jim yesterday about Deacon Blue's plans for the rest of the year, and he encouraged us to continue with love in our hearts and with his full blessing that the shows go ahead, even if it means replacing the irreplaceable James Miller Prime for the time being. 'Together with Jim's family, we want to thank all the nurses, doctors and ICU staff for their ongoing care, professionalism and compassion.'
