Kenny Lynch death: Actor and singer who became one of Britain's first black pop stars dies aged 81

Entertainer Kenny Lynch, known for roles in Carry On Loving and TV show The Sweeney along with a successful pop career, has died aged 81.

The news was announced on social media by his family, who said that he would be “remembered and missed by many”.

Lynch was born in east London in 1938, to a Barbadian father and a mother of British and Jamaican heritage.

He was one of the UK’s first black pop stars, who toured with The Beatles and achieved two top 10 hits including “Up on the Roof”, which was originally recorded by The Drifters.

He was also the first artist to cover a Beatles song, when he released a version of Lennon and McCartney composition “Misery” in 1963.

Ten years later, he appeared with Paul and Linda McCartney as one of a number of celebrities on the cover of the Wings album Band on the Run.

On TV, Lynch appeared in programmes such as Bullseye, Celebrity Squares and Z-Cars. He also wrote the theme song “Love Crazy” for 1978’s Carry on Emmanuelle.

Broadcaster Danny Baker described him as “one of the key witnesses to the 20th [century] UK music/entertainment scene [who] had a million stories”.

“Yet one of the cagiest interviewees when on air,” he noted. “Wasn’t interested in his ‘place’ in pop culture. He was there.”

Culture Club singer Boy George described him as “[an] absolutely huge part of my 70s life”, while broadcaster Samira Ahmed called Lynch a “hugely important & stylish figure in British culture … proving to kids like me that we belonged”.

Lynch is survived by his two daughters, Amy and Bobby.