hello. you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 2: 0h, oh, my god. i didn't! oh, my god. ididn‘t! —— oh, my god. i didn't! —— i did it! that a level moment: teenagers have been getting their results in england, wales and northern ireland — the number with as or a stars is the highest for six years. really proud of myself and what i have achieved. it has been a really difficult yearfor me have achieved. it has been a really difficult year for me and i achieved eight b, a c, and hd. it wasjust such a relief to get the results. rescue workers in italy say there's no hope of finding any more survivors of the genoa bridge collapse — up to 20 people are missing. it has really hit home to everyone how much worse this disaster could still get. in trouble again — the england rugby star danny sipriani pleads guilty to common assault and resisting arrest — at a nightclub injersey. coming up on afternoon live: all the sport.

that is with will perry. a very good afternoon to you. coming up, we will have more on danny cipriani and his future in an england shirt and we will hear from trevor bayliss on why ben stokes is back in the squad for the third test against india after being acquitted of affray. thank you. and if you want to know what is at the end of the rainbow, there he is. thanks, simon. a bit of a mixed bag today. we have rain, sunshine and shower with the rainbows. the signs of it warming up towards the weekend, but i will have the details later on. also coming up — a recipe that's not to everyone's taste — scientists reveal the original ancient egyptian ingredients used for embalming — first used to preserve bodies with mummification. hello, everyone.

this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. teenagers in england, wales and northern ireland have been getting their a level results today. the proportion of pupils getting the top grades is the highest for six years. more than one in four students got either an a or an a star. our education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. two years of hard work for a life changing moment. for many, the wait was over. for some, the waiting had just begun. i got b,b,c and unfortunately i needed to get three as but at the end of the day it is what it is, and hopefully i can try to get into my insurance which is manchester met. there have been major changes in a—levels in england with a move away from coursework and as—levels no longer contributing to final marks.

we were basically on a new specification so there was that possibility examiners can be particularly harsh or lenient. this man came to england from syria at the age of 12, today his future will be studying medicine. he was given an unconditional offer and other incentives to study at the university of central lancashire. the university offered me £1,000 if i do get the grades, and i got them so that's an extra thing to be happy about. universities are keen to attract students, but there has been criticism of the record number of unconditional offers that have been made. i think unconditional offers are a bit of a national shame. halfway through the course you get a letter on your doormat on the university saying it doesn't matter how hard you work any more, you can still come to this university. what signal is it sending out in terms of values?

it has been the highest proportion of people awarded an a or a star in six years. meanwhile, one in 12 entries scored an a star grade this year. and boys lead girls for the top grades of the second year running, the proportion of boys who got a or higher was 0.4 percentage points higher than girls. we make sure the system is fair to students to reflect what is the appropriate level of skill and knowledge that students are demonstrating, but they also make sure that is in line with other years. there has been a further improvement in welsh students‘ performance in the top grades at a—level. in northern ireland results are similar to last year. a—levels have gone old school in england, with more emphasis on final exams.

despite the changes, there has been little movement in overall results. 0ur correspondent andy moore is at ucas headquarters in cheltenham. and that whole procedure of clearing. yes, incredibly busy day here at ucas, the biggest day of the year. there are about 50 staff here and they will communicate with ten. thousands of students. 0ver there is the social media team and they will be communicating via social media, not just responding to be communicating via social media, notjust responding to direct calls but listening to conversations in the public domain and interrupting that conversation saying, hey, we are ucas. we have got information. can we help? on the other side of the room, they are taking phone calls over there. they are a broker. they are bidding in touch the tens of thousands of students who didn't get the grades and can't get to the

they wanted in touch with those universities who still have lots and lots of places available, something like places on at least 30,000 courses. the students are in a very good position this year, something ofa good position this year, something of a buyer's market. there are a few—year—olds, but there are still plenty of university courses available, some of them at very prestigious universities, some of those universities offering cash incentives, so the advice this year as always to those students who may be very stressed about not getting the grades they wanted is just to ta ke the grades they wanted is just to take time with the process here, talked to parents, talk to teachers, doctor who ucas staff year, talk universities, and does make a calm, considered decision. you don't have to make it today. there is plenty of time. just take the time to find the right university and the right course for you. thank you very much. joining me now from our westminster

studio isjon andrews, deputy head of research at the independent education policy think tank the education policy institute. is there anything that you have seen in the figures released today that comes as a surprise? i don't think it's a surprise as such. we have seen the forms of the a—levels over the last couple of years and we have seen the results from the new a—levels, particularly in geography and modern foreign languages out today, and we have seen some of the trends that we have seen over recent yea rs trends that we have seen over recent years continue, so we have seen a decline in people taking subjects such as french and german, down by 8% and i6%, and also this year a decline in the number of pupils taking geography. geography is still one of the most popular subjects but it is down by 10% this year. one of the most popular subjects but it is down by 1096 this year. that's decline in languages, that is a shame, isn't it? because these are subjects that are going to be very important. they are life important

subjects. are we seeing is a correlation, if you like, the rise in some subjects that people frankly say are worthless? well, i don't think that's fair, but certainly modern foreign—language is are declining. we have had additional funding for language teaching in secondary schools to boost the number of pupils taking gcses and a—levels, is wooded concerning that thatis a—levels, is wooded concerning that that is continuing to fall and they make upa that is continuing to fall and they make up a very small proportion of the total number of entries at a—level. the total number of entries at a-level. what about this right in the number of unconditional offers. does this devalue a university place? in report shows that there has been a big increase over the last five years. in 2013, the number of unconditional offers made to 18—year—olds was around 2000, and this year we have seen that go up to 40,000, soa this year we have seen that go up to 40,000, so a 40% increase in the last year alone, and the concern was that that would lead to a dip in student results because they would

ta ke student results because they would take their foot off the pedal and wouldn't strive for those very highest grades. that may have happened in some circumstances, but what we see from the national results is that actually they have held up very well for the proportion of pupils getting a stars and eight is pretty much the same. the cynics are going to say that the unconditional places help the universities because it gets bums on seats and that is money for them suck it up there is the competition for universities to try and get people in and that may be one of the reasons we are seeing those increases, but it does mean that stu d e nts increases, but it does mean that students have a bit more choice in the market. they are able to choose what particular courses and universities interest them in a way that they perhaps weren't able to a couple of years ago. just looking at wales, where the reintroduction of maintenance grants. i know some of the big universities in england would like maintenance grants reintroduced. would that have widespread backing? well, i think if you look at the entries on to

university, actually the proportion of stu d e nts university, actually the proportion of students going from england is increasing all the time, so it's not necessarily that students are being put off by the funding arrangements that are in place in england at the moment. and what about the reform of a—levels in england? less coursework, more pressure on that exa m coursework, more pressure on that exam on the day? is that making a huge difference? at the moment, we're not seeing a big difference in the overall results, but what we are seeing is some of the entries are falling and we don't know whether that's because of the reforms to a—levels, but in particular in geography we have seen that that is the first time it would have been one of the reformed a—levels actually seen a big decline in the number of students taking it and we don't know why that is but it might be because they don't want to take their a—levels in these subjects. that's interesting. good to talk to you. you can find all the background to the new style exams and advice on how to go through clearing on the bbc news

website — the address is on your screen. rescue workers in italy fear there's little hope of finding any more survivors of the bridge collapse in genoa. 38 people have been confirmed dead but up to twenty are unaccounted for. a state funeral for the victims of the distater will be held on saturday. caroline davies reports. piece by piece, the parts of this disaster are being pulled apart. rescuers continue to hunt through the rubble, but two days on, the hope that they will find any life under the blocks of concrete is fading. we did not recover any person this night. we are recovering parts of vehicles. we are trying to understand how many vehicles are still under the rubble, and we are working on rough estimates of the vehicles and the number of vehicles

which were on the bridge. with every day, new stories of those who escaped. the driver of this truck stopped metres from the collapse. he told an italian newspaper that moments before, he had slowed down when a car overtook him. seconds later, the bridge shook and the car disappeared over the edge in front of him. underneath the bridge, the fallen concrete turned this truck into mangled metal. the driver, luciano goccia, was inside. he passed out but was rescued, escaping with a broken arm. today he returned to collect his belongings, saying it was a miracle he had survived. the authorities are trying to reassure the people of genoa. more than 400 were evacuated from the area. there are concerns that the bridge could be a risk to their homes. translation: we have had an update on those who were displaced by the disaster, and we have made plans so that they have somewhere

safe and peaceful to stay and are able to cope with this tragedy. the government have blamed the motorway operator autostrada. shares in the company dropped sharply. autostrada has said it checked the bridge every three months. but today the deputy prime minister attacked the company for caring more about losing revenue than the victims. this is so shameful. could they spare a word on the victims? on a day like today, of all days, they are still thinking of their profits and numbers on the stock market. there are still many questions about how this could have happened. work here to clear the site continues while others search for answers. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is at the scene in genoa. he told us that the company who runs italy's motor ways is being widely lamed for the tragedy. well, the political ramifications are getting

more and angry and bitter and senior politicians right up to the top, the prime minister, are placing the blame fairly and squarely on the company responsible for italy's waterway network, autostrada. there are claims that the company has put profits before maintenance, that it has been charging the highest tolls in europe while paying low taxes and basing itself in luxembourg. there are basing itself in luxembourg. there a re calls basing itself in luxembourg. there are calls for the company executives to reside in the government says it will publish the state contracts that autostrada holds in italy so that autostrada holds in italy so that everyone can see on what basis that everyone can see on what basis that company has been operating. now, the company itself says it is too early to make any moves or make any conclusions because investigation work hasn't even begun here. they are still in a recovery phase, trying to dig through the rubble to find the rest of the people who are missing, and that has really hit home to everyone how much worse this disaster could still get with news from the prosecutor's offers that as many as 20 people are still unaccounted for. if they are all in there and all dead, it means

the death toll for this disaster could rise beyond 50, probably up to 60 people, so serious recriminations and a lot of investigation work to go on but politicians already seeminglyjumping go on but politicians already seemingly jumping to conclusions about who was responsible and they wa nt about who was responsible and they want the company to be held to account. the england rugby star danny cipriani, has been fined, after pleading guilty to charges of common assault and resisting arrest at a hotel in jersey. magistrates ordered him to pay £2,000 and a further £250 in compensation. the incident happened when sipriani was on a pre season tour with his club gloucester. from jersey, robert hall reports. images of a night out with friends. danny cipriani enjoying a meal in st helier. the incident, which left mr cipriani in police cells, took place later that evening

when on his own admission he had had too much to drink. it began with an altercation outside a seafront hotel, during which mr cipriani is said to have attempted to take a doorman's body camera. he then resisted efforts by a female police officer to detain him, grabbing at her shirt collar. his barrister said his client was mortified at his actions and had offered sincere apologies. fined £2000, mr cipriani left with other squad members without comment. in a statement, gloucester rugby club said danny cipriani knows his responsibilities and is aware of the impact of this type of incident on the club. however, he is a gloucester player and will receive our full support as we focus on the exciting season ahead. inevitably this incident will raise questions over his career with the england squad. the rfu have yet to give their reaction to this latest lapse in behaviour. robert hall, bbc news, jersey. you're watching afternoon live. these are our headlines:

a—level students have been awarded the highest proportion of a's and a—stars since 2012. but the proportion getting c has fallen. rescue workers in italy say there's no hope of finding any more survivors of the genoa bridge collapse — up to 20 people are missing. danny cipriani has been fined two thousand pounds after an assault in a jersey nightclub. the england rugby international pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest. she has sold millions of records and is really not in the headlines. a two day madonna celebrates her 60th birthday. we will be speaking to someone who calls themselves a super fun. trevor bayliss claims his decision to include ben stokes in his squad was for his well—being. carlos sykes has signed a deal to

replace fernando alonso at mclaren. the twice world champion announced on tuesday that he will retire from f1 at the end of the year. i will be back with more stories at 230. see you then. more now on the hundreds of thousands of a—level students who have been receiving their exam results today. in wales, performances for the top grades are the best since 2009 — with 26% of students getting a* and a grades. although the number of a—level entries in wales has continued to fall overall. joining me now from cardiff is kirsty williams, the wales education secretary. good afternoon to you. good afternoon. we should make the point that wales still has a system where coursework has a bearing. do you think the results that you are seeing today reflect some would say the fact that it's a bit easier? no, not at all. there is a system in

place developed by independent regulators that benchmarks welsh qualifications alongside those of england and northern ireland, so we can be assured that the qualifications that welsh students are sitting in welsh schools and colleges are of the very highest standard and are perfectly comparable with those in other parts of the united kingdom. what the results today show is the result of ha rd results today show is the result of hard work and effort by our students and our teaching staff. and improvement of 1.3% and think in terms of a star and a grades. after several years terms of a star and a grades. after several yea rs of terms of a star and a grades. after several years of lagging behind. what do you think is behind that? well, we have here in wales the development of a new suite of qualifications made in wales, developed for wales, that we feel bestie equips our young people to move on to higher education or into the world of work, and schools and colleges have responded very positively to those, and the results today i think our an encouragement

today i think our an encouragement to others as we carry on our imported education reform journey here in wales while we look to raise standards for all of our students and ensure that we have an education system in our nation that enjoys public confidence and easy source of national pride. you are replacing the tuition grant. why? well, we have listened very carefully to stu d e nts have listened very carefully to students about the kind of support that they need to go on to university, especially for those stu d e nts university, especially for those students who come from a less well off background, and it is very clear from all of the research that it is the upfront and living costs that are potentially... those concerns are potentially... those concerns are what is putting people off from going to university, therefore what we will be introducing in wales is the most progressive system of student support in the united kingdom. indeed, unique in western europe, in that we will be providing a small grant to every student that goes on to university from wales, but for those from our most deprived background, they will have a non—payable grant equivalent to the burning wage while they study and we

believe that the average welsh stu d e nts believe that the average welsh students from an average income household in wales will receive a grant of approximately £7,000, and thatis grant of approximately £7,000, and that is there to help them pay for their accommodation and their resources , their accommodation and their resources, because it is the upfront living costs, how you survive day to day while you are at university that is potentially putting people off and it is not the prospect of paying back a loan once you have graduated and once you are working. and of course, our system is also available for those studying part—time. again, thatis for those studying part—time. again, that is unique. we recognise that maybe there are people who are coming back into education and had to balance setting with caring responsibilities are working responsibilities are working responsibilities and it is also available for postgraduate study because we recognise also that if you want to grow our economy, we need to look at developing even higher skills, so well students from september it will be the first heard that they are entitled to this package of student support. paid for by better of students. well, what it means is that there is a

progression. all students in wales, regardless of their background, will receive a grant from the welsh government of £1000, because we recognise that going into higher education is a benefit to those individual students. there are is also a benefit to us as a nation. but let's be clear. living across the border in england, you would be entitled to absolutely nothing, not a penny in a grant. my understanding is that at best in scotland he would get a is that at best in scotland he would geta grant is that at best in scotland he would get a grant of £500. here in wales, the average will student will receive a non—repayable grant of £7,000 to pay for their upfront living costs, and what we see in wales today is a record number of well students applying to go to higher education. my point being that better of students in wales who have now had a certain level of gra nts have now had a certain level of grants will not get that and will be worse off. they will be hit in the pocket by this. well, there will be sent students under the old regime who would have received a tuition fee grant, but it is not the tuition

fees that are the problem for the vast majority of students. this is what the national union of students tell us, which is why they are very supportive of the changes we are making in wales, and that is why readers of universities in england are urging the westminster government to look at our system because it is those grounds that help you pay, as i said, for your accommodation and your resources and your day to day living expenses. that is where students need the help the most. they need the help at the beginning of their studies, during their studies, and they don't need their studies, and they don't need the subsidy for tuition fees which they have to pay back and they are a certain amount of money. and that is why as i said people across the border in england are looking to our system as an answer to some of issues around equality of access to education, especially for those stu d e nts education, especially for those students who may be put off from going to higher education if they are from a nontraditional background or because they are worried about how they are going to afford to live ona how they are going to afford to live on a day—to—day basis and haven't got pa re nts on a day—to—day basis and haven't got parents who can subsidise them. i don't want to be an old grump.

some students have done very well today, haven't they? yes, indeed. we have seen a record high in the number of students achieving the top level here in wales and that is very encouraging to us as we take forward our journey of encouraging to us as we take forward ourjourney of educational reform here in wales, and i want to wish all of those students the very best and thank their teachers, their lecturers, and their families who have supported them along the way. thank you very much for your time this afternoon. politicians across the divide in northern ireland have condemned a crowd in londonderry for gloating about the murder of four police and prison officers and putting their names on a bonfire. police say they're investigating it as a hate crime. the son of one of those named — the murdered prison officer david black — says he's sickened by what happened. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. a towering inferno in the bogside area of londonderry.

bonfires are a tradition in some parts of northern ireland on the 15th of august to mark the catholic feast of the assumption. but the celebrations are often marred in sectarian controversy. last night, the name of murdered officer stephen carroll was placed on the bonfire along with three others. his widow told the bbc she was sickened. i am absolutely shocked and disappointed that in londonderry, a city that hosted the city of culture so eloquently, could allow people to take such a backward step into the past. the mayor of derry said this bonfire had been built against the wishes of the organisers of a community festival, which was being held nearby. no one wants to see that in our community and people have worked very hard and diligently in an attempt to convince those who were responsible for building the other bonfire here in bogside to stop that because it's really not sending out a message that is reflective in any way

of the attitudes and opinions of people in bogside or in the city generally. bonfires have been a source of community tension in northern ireland for decades. injuly, unionist communities light large fires to mark the protestant celebration of the battle of the boyne. the burning of controversial emblems is regularly condemned each year at these celebrations too. the police service of northern ireland describe last night's bonfire in derry is offensive and distasteful. it's now being investigated as a hate crime. emma vardy, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. that looks like the outer hebrides, is it? well, it is because i do

still do. it is indeed. if you notice the green there, that is the northern lights. some lucky places had some clear spells and we have some magnetic activity from the sun at the moment so it was a perfect opportunity for places in the north to see it. scotland is always the best place to see it. unless you happen to be on a plane, and you we re happen to be on a plane, and you were on a plane, and what did you see? i was on a plane over canada and it was amazing, much brighter than this. but this is still pretty good. there is a chance tonight, although the magnetic activity won't be quite as strong. perhaps across the northern isles. so that was the best photo at what you would be interested in, but where we have had the clear spells in scotland, we have had the best of the sunshine. look at this photo from east lothian. nice boats there. i got absolutely soaked this morning. anyone in the south but absolutely drenched. i am starting northern going south. look at this lovely

rainbow. that is what you commented on there being a pot of gold at the bottom. i didn't say you were the pot of gold, ijust bottom. i didn't say you were the pot of gold, i just said bottom. i didn't say you were the pot of gold, ijust said you were at the bottom. you can read into that as you want. it has been thundering across the west, so not dry everywhere. this was in the midlands this morning. a thorough soaking for parts of the east midlands as well. as you said, you got soaked in the london area. into surrey there and parts of east anglia two. this is a cold front that is introducing some cold front that is introducing some cold air two. as it continues to work its way south, we see some heavy persistent rain. much—needed rain as well for the gardens and farmers. there are all of the heavy showers spreading into scotland and northern ireland. through the afternoon, there will be a good slice of sunshine. but much of wales, the midlands, into northern england will see the sunshine. blustery. particularly for scotland and northern ireland. quite dusty.

temperature wise, pretty disappointing for august. 17—20dc. we have not had that in the south—east for quite a while, so it will be a fairly cool end to the day. bright with some sunshine. into this evening and overnight, many places will be clear and dry. if you wa nt to places will be clear and dry. if you want to look for the northern lights. temperatures dipping into mid—single digits in some rural areas, particularly across central and eastern parts of the country. friday will start on a chilly note. then the next weather system will come off the atlantic bringing cloud and increasing wind and rain to northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland and then to england as well. the south—east should hold onto some sunny spells, despite the clu b onto some sunny spells, despite the club building up. temperature is recovering a little bit, back to the low 20s. further north, again it is the high teens, so feeling quite cool the high teens, so feeling quite cool. for the weekend, the high teens, so feeling quite cool. forthe weekend, high the high teens, so feeling quite cool. for the weekend, high pressure is with us on saturday, so saturday

probably the best day of the weekend, and then this feature comes in sunday, for a bit of uncertainty to where it is going to bring rain, soi to where it is going to bring rain, so i think the main messages saturday is probably looking like your day to be out and about in the dry weather. if you showers for central scotland to northern ireland, and those temperatures are little better across the border. feeling quite humid in the south—east. as we head on into sunday, this is the picture we think at the moment. read through central and northern areas. so there could bea and northern areas. so there could be a bit ofa and northern areas. so there could be a bit of a disappointing day if you have any outdoor plans. quite warm in the south—east again, given some sunny spells, but looking cloudier across the board. that is your latest weather. this is bbc news.

our latest headlines: hundreds of thousands of a—level students have been receiving their results across england, wales and northern ireland. official figures show the proportion of entries awarded either a or a—star grades is the highest since 2012. a state funeral will be held in the italian city of genoa on saturday, to honour the 38 people, known to have died when a motorway bridge collapsed. rescue workers say there's no hope of finding any more survivors. the england rugby union player danny cipriani has been fined £2000 and ordered to pay £250 compensation after pleading guilty to common assault and resisting arrest, following an incident at a nightclub injersey. —— outside a hotel. around 100 whales have become trapped in a fjord in iceland. police helped them

get out of the fjord in the west of the country. but less than 24 hours later they were back again, and needed more help. how's this for a special brew — scientists reveal what was in the recipe the ancient egyptians used for making mummies. sport now on afternoon live with will perry. and not for the first time recently we are talking about an england player in some discomfort and questions about his future. we've been hearing all day about danny cipriani after that charge for common assault. he has been on tour with the team he justjoined in the summerand with the team he justjoined in the summer and has been working hard to get back into the england max. in

south africa he produced this wonder kick which had many saying that it would get him to be the starting ten for england ahead of a huge world cup year next year, benton play south africa in november at twickenham and many thought danny cipriani would be there, but eddie jones has in the past gone out of his way to say danny cipriani has been on the front pages of newspapers too many times and he only wants to be there for his run be. danny cipriani is still in jersey hoping to play for them in their game against ulster so we will have to wait if he has a future in an england shirt. and ben stokes, what has been happening with him? head coach trevor bayliss says the decision to include ben stokes in the england squad for the third

test against india on saturday was taken for the all—rounder‘s wellbeing. here he isjoining up with his england team mates at trent bridge earlier today. bayliss says he will take time before deciding whether stokes will play. this all comes after he was involved in a fracas in bristol last september but was found not guilty of affray on tuesday. former england captain michael vaughan doen't think he deserves a warm reception from the fans but thinks the selectors have a nice dilemna on their hands. it's a great position to be in because he is outstanding. they will make way for somebody. i don't think it should be pope. he got that number four position. you could look at jos buttler, two test matches against india. if the pitch is going to be the same as we have seen at edgbaston, it could swing around and you will need a spinner. there are still a few things we have

to look at this week. in terms of a cricketing sense, the captain will be delighted to have the all—round expertise of ben stokes back available. carlos sainz has signed a deal to become the replacement at mclaren for fellow spaniard fernando alonso. the 23—year—old is currentlky on loan at renault from red bull and has signed what mclaren descibe as a "multi—year" deal. sainz, who's currently 11th in the f1 championship, says it was a childhood dream tojoin mclaren. alonso announced on tuesday that he was stepping down from the team at the end of the season. and team sky riders geraint thomas and chris froome have confirmed that they will take part in the tour of britain. thomas says he knew he wanted to be involved in the race as soon as he'd won the tour de france. the tour of britain starts in wales on september second. that's all the sport for now. we will see you again in the next bar. the us president donald trump has revoked the security clearance of the former director of the cia, john brennan. mr brennan has regularly been critical of the president, and the white house claims mr brennan has been

using his access to sensitive information to undermine him. mr brennan says it's part of a broader effort by president trump to suppress freedom of speech and punish his critics. peter bowes reports. good afternoon. the announcement came out of the blue at a previously unscheduled media briefing at the white house. historically, top officials keep their security credentials once they have left the job in case they are called upon to advise the current administration. but donald trump says john brennan will no longer have access to classified information. any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with mr brennan are now outweighed by the risk posed by his erratic conduct and behaviour. second, that conduct and behaviour has tested and far exceeded the limits of any professional courtesy that may have been due to him. mr brennan has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility. john brennan has been a strong critic of donald trump, calling him treasonous after his meeting with

russia's president putin. the former cia chief hit back at mr trump in a tweet. the white house says others could face the same treatment. they include james comey, the former director of the fbi, sacked by donald trump, who has called the president morally unfit to lead. dramatic footage has emerged of about a hundred pilot whales who got stuck in a fjord in iceland. the whales were guided out by experts, but they then seemed to lose their way again and were found back in the same spot a day later. lebo diseko has the story. this is a rescue operation in action, the second in as many

days for this pod of around 100 whales. they got stuck after swimming into a fjord that's opening is both into a fjord thats opening is both narrow and shallow, making it hard to get out. police helped guide them into more open waters, and it was hoped they'd go back to sea. but the next day, they were back once again. cue rescue effort number two. translation: 13 of them went all the way to the shore, and we had to deal with them, push them out by hand, and that went very well. one of the whales even got stuck up on the shore, and needed a kayaker to help get free. it's not clear why the group keep going back, but locals say they may be using the incoming tide to help them, and they've certainly attracted quite an audience. translation: naturally this is interesting to see, for both foreigners and icelanders, to view and experience this in nature.

you can't see this in an aquarium. this is pure nature, which makes it more interesting. the group was eventually guided even further out, in the hope that they'd find their way to the ocean. that seems to have done the trick. but if they do return, rescue teams will be on hand once again to help them find their way. lebo diseko, bbc news. for thousands of years, mummifying loved ones and pharaohs alike was common practice among ancient egyptians, who believed that it allowed the spirit to enter the afterlife. now, new forensic examination techniques have discovered how the embalming was done — and it turns out that it's a lot simpler than previously thought. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill, has been finding out more at bolton museum. a warehouse on an industrial estate might not be somewhere you would think would be hiding

the secrets of ancient egypt, but actually, the first chemical clues about what was in this embalming recipe thousands of years old came from tiny pieces of fabric housed in this very building, and they are here with someone who knows all about the secrets that these bits of fabric contain. dr stephen buckley from the university of york. thank you forjoining us. tell us what you discovered in these little fragments of fabric. they don't seem much to look at, but actually, they are impregnated with complex recipes of natural products. so, a mixture of resin, plant gum, plant oil, and an aromatic plant extract, so complex recipes, and crucially, they have got antibacterial ingredients that would have served to preserve the bodies, the mummies, these prehistoric mummies, so what is exciting is that mummification of the pharaohs, the iconic part of egyptian culture that we know so well, these fabrics are actually showing that the origins of mummification go back over 1500 years earlier than we thought.

these are fragments of linen that actually wrapped those mummies, much older than the egyptian pharaohs, and they have revealed this recipe. what does that mean for our understanding of ancient egypt? it's painting a different picture. absolutely. what is crucial is that these recipes on these prehistoric textiles are essentially the same as those used 2500 years later, when the embalmer‘s art was at its best, so it is showing that connection that they were experimenting with mummification far earlier. what is in that recipe? we have oil, gum, plant resin. could you make it at home? yes, i think you could. the pine resin and the aromatic plants are

antibacterial so they are very much helping to preserve these mummies way back in ancient history, before the iconic mummies we know about. the antibacterial property is crucial, isn't it, to stop that body decaying and maintain it as a vessel for the soul? is that what the egyptians believed? the survival of the body was absolutely vital for immortality in the afterlife. their essence, their soul, their spirit couldn't survive without the body being intact, so bodily preservation was absolutely central to ancient egyptian culture, so pushing it back by over 1000 years is really quite exciting. it is fascinating to talk to you about it. thank you, dr buckley. they don't look like much, as you say, but it goes to show what secrets you can find if you search through the drawers of some of these warehouses in rather innocuous places. we will keep on looking and see what else we can find. look what i have dug up a! ben bland

has the business news in a minute. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. a—level students have been awarded the highest proportion of as and a—stars since 2012. over a quarter of entries have been awarded the top grades this year. rescue workers in italy say there's no hope of finding any more survivors of the genoa bridge collapse. up to 20 people are missing. danny cipriani has been fined 2000 pounds after an incident in a jersey nightclub. the england rugby international pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. promotional discounts and an increase in online shopping help retail sales rise more than expected last month. they were up by 0.7% injuly despite no pick—up on the high street. a 40% jump in online sales helps walmart boost sales to just over £100 billion in the three months april to june. the markets liked the news, with walmart‘s share up over 10% in early trading.

the summer heatwave gives kingfisher‘s profits a boost. the owner of b&q said its like—for—like sales rose by 1.6% in the second quarter — however its sales in europe remained a concern. we were talking about tesla briefly on the programme yesterday. just briefly towards the end of the afternoon. shares since we last spoke have felt for percent on reports that us investors want to question executives for more details on the privatisation ‘s plans. this is after fox news tweeted that the us securities and exchange regulator had subpoenaed tesla executives. the

boss, elon moss, had tweeted that he planned to take it private but they and the regulator have declined to comment more on these reports. paul blake, our north america business reporter, joins us now. the regulator here is notoriously tight—lipped but the speculation here is that this represents an escalation of this investigation, it is now our formal investigation rather than a small inquiry, that week wasjust rather than a small inquiry, that week was just nine rather than a small inquiry, that week wasjust nine words but eelon musk said funding was secured and that seems to be the key bit, whether he had funding to take it has whether he had funding to take it ha 5 love d whether he had funding to take it has loved private. he has said since then that he has had a number of

conversations with a saudi wealth fund and that led him to believe he could take tesla private. the company appears to be hiring advisers and legal counsel to head towards privatisation, at least that is the reporting in new york. have we had more details about how he will fund this plan? it's all in the press now, we note he said he has hired companies to advise him on how to go ahead. he sleeps to beat pinning a lot of hopes on this saudi sovereign wealth fund, he said he had conversations with them about whether they would back that move. he has shared some details about his vision for taking it private and how he hopes other investors would maintain oursteak and he hopes other investors would maintain our steak and hold shares in the company even if they were not

publicly traded, so now it's all playing out in —— behind closed doors. where does this go next? the interesting question is what sort of trouble could eelon musk get in with the security and exchange commission. under donald trump the sec has moved away from punishing corporations and more individuals they believe to be doing something wrong. you are allowed to share market moving news on social media but not to mislead investors, so the investigation is into that week and he could potentially face a fine but experts believe it would be small, especially for a billionaire like eelon musk, maybe 200 million us dollars, so not that much of a punishment. thank you, paul blake.

now, we could talk about the believe good retail sector but some news today bucking the figures. uk retail sales increased by 0.7% injuly, ahead of expectations. the office for national statistics figures also showed that retail sales rose by 3.5% in the year tojuly. the boost has come from several retail promotions and online sales. if you compare sales injuly for the year before, they are up 3.5% and on the three—month measure from me to june, it was up 2.1%, the strongest three—month period since 2015.|j think retailers are still battling

the online competition and consumers, there has been little improvement in purchasing power so we would be wary of placing too much weight on these figures, indeed it may be just that the strength in retail sales is offset by weaker spending away from the high street, as was the case earlier in the year, and given that retailers only sustained this growth given the discounts, this is unlikely to be sustained so we would not be surprised to see some reversal in august. let's look at the markets. the ftse100 edging higher, led by a strong rise in what had been mining shares that were done. i thought kingfisher had good results today. sometimes the share

price doesn't do what you expect, but they had good news in europe and investors are taking that on board, being queue had a strong performance in the uk but some concern in europe. the pound, you would have expected to be strengthened but it is down slightly against the euro and was hovering around $1.27 a short while ago. what's going on? interesting times, in the summer trade is thin, people are away so all it takes is less movement by fewer people to have a big impact. more analysis later on. thank you. palestinian postal workers are sorting through a mountain of mail that israel has finally delivered to the occupied west bank, after blocking it for years. ten tonnes of parcels and envelopes

have been building up injordan for almost a decade. israel is now allowing the mail through as part of confidence building measures between the two sides. here's our middle east correspondent tom bateman. palestinian postal staff are working overtime in this depot in the occupied west bank. israel controls the border with neighbouring jordan, where the mail was being held. it agreed nearly a decade ago that some international post for palestinians could be flown intojordan and brought here. a deal that is taking as long to deliver as these parcels. thousands of people are still waiting, says the man in charge here. we're doing the best we can to deliver those in a very short time, but let me say that it's better to come later than never to come at all. there's 10.5 tonnes of mail here, it's come from all over the world, i can see a bag from china, there's one here that has come from saudi arabia.

there doesn't seem to be much in that. the workers are saying it's going to take at least two weeks to process all this, to get it to the people it has been addressed to, but they say because it's been held injordan for up to eight years it's in a pretty terrible condition. there is a bundle of letters here, a letter addressed to a charity in the city of hebron in the west bank and something else that has come from greece and they're saying look at the state of that, somebody is going to be getting that through the letterbox. this wheelchair was destined for gaza. it was sent from turkey, three years ago, but the manager says the problem is the label has fallen off so they don't know who was supposed to get this. they say they are in touch with the authorities in turkey to try and find out so it can be delivered. this is one of the oldest items they found here, a high—definition television which has been sent to somebody in the west bank who was expecting it six years ago. the label says it was posted in 2012. israel says the deal

to deliver foreign mail to the west bank via jordan is still being worked through. they described this transfer as a one—off gesture. palestinians continue to wait in a part of a world where even the post is political. tom bateman, bbc news, jericho. she's sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide , and in the uk she's sold more singles than any other performer. today, madonna, is celebrating her 60th birthday. time goes by so slowly... the queen of pop became a global star back in 1983, with herfirst big hit — holiday — and is now seen as one of the most influential women in the world. she's likely to be celebrating her birthday in portugal, where she recently moved to so her youngest son, david, can attend a football academy. we can speak now to matt,

who descrbes himself as a ‘superfan' — he's also a member of madonna's ukfan club. i think ithinka i think a lifetime legacy fan is someone who has been around since he came out on the radio. i was too young to buy my own records when she first had holiday, lucky star, borderline, but i have been a massive madonna fan and collector ever since, i have about 40,000 cds and record singles. back in 1983, i did buy one of her records. she has sold more number one albums than any other female artist. what has she got so right for so long?|j other female artist. what has she got so right for so long? i think she has redefined the art of being a

rock star, she has proven age is irrelevant, she can still make fantastic music, she has boundless energy, she came out of the new york underground art scene, which i think really informed her early work and she has just really informed her early work and she hasjust got really informed her early work and she has just got that determination that's inspiring and so many female p0p that's inspiring and so many female pop stars have come in her wake and all owe a debt to madonna. she has that knack of reinvention. absolutely, one of the most exciting things is how she can reinvent herself between two singles, when she did like a prayer and then the next single was express yourself, and back in new york in the gay bars, the excitement around a madonna released, you could feel the energy each time. is there an age at

which she could perhaps then, i've done well, and put her feet up?” get a bit tired of hearing that question but i think she decided when she stops. i believe in not retiring until you feel like it and she still has something to say and can still produce great music and will keep going. sherrock is quite a few years older than her and she's still going, so i see no reason madonna shouldn't keep going as long as us fans are willing to buy her records, please keep going, mads. i've been told we will get hate mail to the bbc after what ijust i've been told we will get hate mail to the bbc after what i just said. what do you treasure? this is specifically a uk item, the erotica at your desk for the first single

from the erotica album, there are believed to be only 50 in existence, this is the original because it has the inscription on the inner circle and that is not worth between £2000 and that is not worth between £2000 and £2500. race —— recently i have this box set of celebration,, which asa this box set of celebration,, which as a pop—up of her entire career, images which i love, then the four discs in there. that's quite a valuable item. if she's watching now, what's the message? thank you for producing the most amazing music and the love you have shown your fa ns and the love you have shown your fans and the gay community, all your tireless work for children in africa

and against aids, you have done so much more than just your music but please keep going, we love you and i'm a writer—director myself so one day i would love to work on a music video. matt, look at your door. nice try. it was worth a try! we will all celebrate a happy birthday to madonna today. my friend david robson is hosting a huge... no, you can't, but it was worth a try. matt jesse, thank you very much. we'll deal with that in a minute. stav has the weather. hello. 0vernight, skies will be clear for

many, winds falling light, a chilly night for many of us, temperatures down into mid—single digits out of towns and cities, so tomorrow it sta rts towns and cities, so tomorrow it starts off chilly, some early brightness before rain and cloud piled in, from the word go for a northern ireland and western scotland, sunshine diminishing but it will stay dry across many central southern and eastern areas, that rain continuing to push east. a little bit of a recovery in the south—east, 23 the high, then on saturday most places fine and right before more wind and rain pushes into western areas on sunday. hello. you're watching afternoon live —

i'm simon mccoy. today at 3: oh, my god! i got it! that a level moment: teenagers have been getting their results in england wales and northern ireland — the number with as or a stars is the highest for six years. really proud of myself and what i have achieved. it has been a really difficult year for me and i achieved ab,ac,andad. it was just such a relief to get the three as that i needed to get into oxford. rescue workers in italy say there's no hope of finding any more survivors of the genoa bridge collapse — up to 20 people are thought to be missing. they are still in a recovery phase, trying to dig through the rubble to find those who are missing. that has really hit home to everyone how much worse this disaster could still get. in trouble again —

the england rugby star danny sipriani pleads guilty to common assault and resisting arrest — at a nightclub injersey. coming up on afternoon live: all the sport. coming up, does danny cipriani still have an england future after his latest controversy? we will hear from ben stokes and y years back in the england test squad for his own well—being and also bring you news of england's rise up the fee for world rankings. also i have to tell you you have spilled a little bit of sweetcorn on your ties. thanks, will. it's fashion. something you know nothing about. also coming up, the weather. we have a mixture of sunshine and showers but there are signs of it warming up a little bit as we go into the weekend. join me later for as we go into the weekend. join me laterfor all as we go into the weekend. join me later for all the details. thanks. also coming up — after a successful run in the west end — the play duet for one begins a nationwide tour at the end of this month — we'll be joined by two of the stars — belinda lang and jonathan coy. hello, everyone.

this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. teenagers in england, wales and northern ireland have been getting their a level results today. the proportion of pupils getting a and a star grades is the highest for six years. but the percentage of those getting a c or above fell slightly from last year. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. two years of hard work for a life changing moment. for many, the wait was over. for some, the waiting had just begun. i got b,b,c and unfortunately i needed to get three as but at the end of the day it is what it is, and hopefully i can try to get into my insurance which is manchester met. there have been major changes in a—levels in england with a move away from coursework and as—levels

no longer contributing to final marks. we were basically on a new specification so there was that possibility examiners can be particularly harsh or lenient. this man came to england from syria at the age of 12, today his future will be studying medicine. he was given an unconditional offer and other incentives to study at the university of central lancashire. the university offered me £1,000 if i do get the grades, and i got them so that's an extra thing to be happy about. universities are keen to attract students, but there has been criticism of the record number of unconditional offers that have been made. i think unconditional offers are a bit of a national shame. halfway through the course you get a letter on your doormat on the university saying it doesn't matter how hard you work any more, you can still come to this university. what signal is it sending out in terms of values?

it has been the highest proportion of people awarded an a or a star in six years. meanwhile, one in 12 entries scored an a star grade this year. and boys lead girls for the top grades of the second year running, the proportion of boys who got a or higher was 0.4 percentage points higher than girls. we make sure the system is fair to students to reflect what is the appropriate level of skill and knowledge that students are demonstrating, but they also make sure that is in line with other years. there has been a further improvement in welsh students' performance in the top grades at a—level. in northern ireland results are similar to last year. a—levels have gone old school in england, with more

emphasis on final exams. despite the changes, there has been little movement in overall results. 0ur correspondent andy moore is at ucas headquarters in cheltenham, where he told me staff are hard at work, on what is the busiest day of the yearfor them. there are about 50 staff working behind me. they will communicate today with tens of thousands of students. 0ver today with tens of thousands of students. over here is the social media team so they will be communicating via the social media channels, not just responding communicating via the social media channels, notjust responding to direct calls but listening to conversations in the public domain and interrupting that conversation saying, hey, we are ucas, we have some information, can we help? on the other side of the room, they are taking phone calls over there. ucas todayis taking phone calls over there. ucas today is a broker. they are putting in touch those tens of thousands of stu d e nts in touch those tens of thousands of students who didn't get the grades

they wanted, you can't get to the universities they wanted. we are breaking into that report to bring you the news that's aretha franklin, the queen of soul, has died at the age of 76. she has been ill for some time. she had cancelled concerts earlier this year due to health concerns and had been ordered to rest by doctors. she was surrounded by herfamily rest by doctors. she was surrounded by her family and rest by doctors. she was surrounded by herfamily and we can rest by doctors. she was surrounded by her family and we can confirm that in the last few minutes, the death of aretha franklin has been confirmed. she performed at president barack 0bama's inauguration in 2009, when you may remember she moved the president to tea rs, remember she moved the president to tears, and has had a string of hits including respect. aretha franklin has died at the age of 76. let's have a look back at her life. here is the queen of the blues, aretha franklin! here she is.

# looking out on the morning rain. # aretha franklin. back in the 60s, a chicago dj declared her the queen of soul. the title which stock for good reason. # and when i had to face another day # and when i had to face another day # lord it made me feel so tired. # # lord it made me feel so tired. # # but # lord it made me feel so tired. # #but| # lord it made me feel so tired. # # but i wake up # but i wake up #0h|put on my # but i wake up # oh i put on my make up # oh i put on my make up # i # oh i put on my make up #isay # oh i put on my make up # i say as little prayer for you # i say as little prayer for you #oh # i say as little prayer for you # oh yes! # i say as little prayer for you # oh yes i do # oh yes i do # respect # respect # find out what it means to me # find out what it means to me # respect. # there were many hits, but this was the song that this kind —— that defied her place in history.

aretha franklin. respect, she commanded it. some men, it depends on the man, i think. commanded it. some men, it depends on the man, ithink. i have always maintained that a real man is not going to be intimidated by me. some men can rise to the occasion and others cannot. her legacy, moments such as these at the funeral of martin luther king. # and here, the inauguration of the first black american president. this is music that helped define the pivotal moments in history, and the emotional charge came from her childhood within the church, listening to her father's

childhood within the church, listening to herfather‘s preaching. it certainly served as a testing ground for me as a singer as well as many other good things came from the church. # you're no good # you're no good # heartbreaker # heartbreaker # you're a liar # you're a liar # and you're a cheat. # but there was also another side to her, one of her producers described it as a mysterious sorrow. she had at the age of ten lost mother. she had had two children by the age of 16. her private life was but in public... # hey baby. # she always projected strength, and after a career dip in the 70s, she bounced back in the 80s. # the river was the # the river was the # i didn't falter. # but it would be wrong to measure her by awards. that

here perhaps captures it. this was soul music, hardship and sorrow turned into beauty and hope. aretha franklin, the queen of soul. so that news confirmed in the last few minutes that aretha franklin has died at home and destroyed. she was surrounded by friends and family. reports last year that she was suffering from cancer, but cause of death has not been given, but as i say, she had been ill for some time. she straddled the centuries in terms of bringing that queen of soul sound to music. she also won the usa's

highest civilian honour, the presidential medal of freedom, a multi—grammy award winner. she won the best gospel performance for never going to break my faith. it was that gospel sound and vocal style which made herfamous. # and so my prayer # and so my prayer # answer my prayer # answer my prayer #oh # answer my prayer # oh yeah # oh yeah # answer my prayer # answer my prayer # respect # respect # find out what it means to me # find out what it means to me # respect # respect # you're no good. # so, as well as

the songs she made her own, during her career she covered many of the big hits, and one of her very last cds was a compilation of covers including songs by, adele, and of course she covered aretha —— i will survive and also she performed at the inaugural concert for barack 0bama andjihad hints the inaugural concert for barack 0bama and jihad hints reduced to tea rs 0bama and jihad hints reduced to tears with her rendition of a carol king song —— she had him reduced to tea rs king song —— she had him reduced to tears at her rendition of a carol king song. if you are just tears at her rendition of a carol king song. if you arejustjoining us, aretha franklin, the queen of soul, has died at the age of 76. she had been ill and in her last few days, herfamily had been ill and in her last few days, her family had had been ill and in her last few days, herfamily had been at her bedside with one particular interview at her local radio station speaking to her on the phone in the last couple of weeks and saying that

she did not have long to go. she has been resting at home and, as i say, surrounded by her family. been resting at home and, as i say, surrounded by herfamily. that been resting at home and, as i say, surrounded by her family. that news coming in that she has died. well, let's just bring you a little montage of some of the hits of aretha franklin. she sang with some of the best producers of the 20s and 20 composers. including burt bacharach, who wrote say a little prayer, which was a song for her in the 70s. let's just remind you of some of the musical magic of the queen of soul. we have problems with that, but we

will go to our entertainment correspondent and the impact aretha franklin had on music. # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # find out what it means to me # find out what it means to me # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # r—e—s—p—e—c—t #a # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # a little respect # a little respect # ever ever stay in my heart # ever ever stay in my heart # and # ever ever stay in my heart #andl # ever ever stay in my heart # and i will love you # and i will love you # for everand ever # for everand ever #to # for everand ever # to gather that's how it must be # to gather that's how it must be #to # to gather that's how it must be # to live with out you # to live with out you # would only be a heartbreak for me

# would only be a heartbreak for me #he # would only be a heartbreak for me # he makes me # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel like # you make me feel like a # you make me feel like a natural # you make me feel like a natural like a natural woman. # you make me feel like a natural woman. # well, that was a montage of aretha franklin over the years and you would have seen in one of those clips the singer and composer carol king, and that was one of the moments that i want to play to you a little later. that is where barack 0bama was in tears, but i think we canjoin misha 0bama was in tears, but i think we can join misha paris. 0bama was in tears, but i think we canjoin misha paris. first of all, your reaction because she is probably one of the most recognised voices in the world. 0h, absolutely.

she is the voice of gospel, isn't she? she is the one that had that style. and she is the only one who sounds like she does. that is why she is the queen of soul. a huge influence on you, clearly. actually, to be honest, the influence comes from the same thing, the gospel church, but my influence was mostly the hawkins family, who are very similar, an american gospel family. we have a very similar history in that our fathers were ministers, but i wasn't really allowed to listen to secular music when i was a kid. i got into aretha when i was about 16. better late than never. she is still the best advice of god knows how many years. she is the voice. you talk about a great gospel voice or a

great voice. what is it? is it the passion? it is the gospel. it is the gospel vocals. it doesn't really matter, when you hear her voice, you are completely transported. it's a spiritual voice. it touches the soul. that's why it she's the queen of soul. that could come from being raised in the church. but she was able to sing the ballads with the same power as those real kick out performances. this is the power of the boys, isn't it? it wasn't so much about what style of song she sang, she always had that gospel voice, whatever she touched. what was your favourite song of hers? my favourite song of hers was... there's so many. say a little prayer was great. also r—e—s—p—e—c—t,

amazing. ain't no way, that's another great song that you can. she is the go to singer when you want to bea is the go to singer when you want to be a great singer. if you look at all of the singers over the years, she has influenced so many vocalists because she was such an amazing singer. so it is a big loss to the music world and to the world. thank you very much, mica. that is mica paris talking about the death announced in the past few moments of aretha franklin. 0ur entertainment correspondentjoins me now in the studio. she has been ill for some time. yes, this news first emerged last week that she was being treated in hospital and that close relatives we re in hospital and that close relatives were saying that she was gravely ill was the term being used. we had reports of some of the people from

her life, stevie wonder, others, visiting her and giving indications again that perhaps today's sad news was inevitable and coming more quickly than people would have hoped, and this newsjust quickly than people would have hoped, and this news just breaking in the last few minutes about the sad death of genuinely one of the giants of music. we often talk about the legacy that people have and the importance that they have and with aretha franklin, frankly there can be no dispute that she is genuinely one of the great musical figures of the 20th and 21st century and her passing is very sad news for music fa ns eve n passing is very sad news for music fans even though many of us had been expecting it. you touched on it there, it was the 20th and the 21st century. it was her longevity. she reinvented herself. absolutely, decade by decade. the key thing about her, not only was she so beautifully musically talented, she meant something, she represented something beyond the pure music,

beyond the purity of the notes that she sang. her legacy, without her whitney houston we wouldn't have had, maryj blige, people like that, the explosion of salt with these modern artists, and also she represented such a huge thing from everything from civil rights to female empowerment. she was a musician who went beyond the art of musician who went beyond the art of music and actually went into social conscience and power of community. that is equally what she will be remembered for as one of the great black figures of the last hundred yea rs. black figures of the last hundred years. you mention whitney houston and her mother, other singers, dionne warwick comes to mind, they all had that gospel background, and that has been crucial, hasn't it? absolutely. if it were a moral framework and give a wonderful musical training and that kind of musical training and that kind of musical style was evident throughout so much of the music that she did and so many of the great singers came from that background. that is

not a coincidence, and of course she will be mourned across america, across the world churches will be saying prayers for her and have been for the last few days because she was such an influential figure to so many different styles of music, but particularly that gospel background meant so much and still means so much to people. she will be particularly mist by communities everywhere. and her legacy is not just musical. presidents, as we will see ina just musical. presidents, as we will see in a moment, were moved by her. yes, we had bill clinton speaking about her being in his thoughts a few days ago. she performed at barack 0bama's inauguration, when he first became president, and those are the kind of coveted slots that you think any singer would absolutely you think any singer would a bsolutely love you think any singer would absolutely love to do, but in the case of aretha franklin i am sure it was probably the other way around, in that barack 0bama was probably hoping that aretha would agree and

would want to perform. that is the kind of power that she had. america's first black president and assuredly did want somebody like are not just for assuredly did want somebody like are notjust for her assuredly did want somebody like are not just for her music assuredly did want somebody like are notjust for her music but for what she represented, to be performing on that incredible day when he first became president, and so few musicians, so few artists can have that kind of influence at all levels, not just of that kind of influence at all levels, notjust of music and society bottle politics, of course. 0k. don't go away. i want to bring in the us soul singer alexandra o'neill in the us soul singer alexandra 0'neill who joins in the us soul singer alexandra 0'neill whojoins me now on in the us soul singer alexandra 0'neill who joins me now on what history willjudge a very sad day for music everywhere. yeah, definitely. i think aretha franklin being lost is a big loss for the music industry definitely today. i didn't expect this today. what was her influence on musicians like you? 0h, her influence on musicians like you? oh, why —— oh, wow. she was a great

influence. especially being a sudden artist. —— sudden artist. and also representing the barriers that we can overcome of race and everything else and during that time when she became such an icon and she was such an influence on my career. what where the standout songs for you? 0bviously where the standout songs for you? obviously i would have to say respect was the biggest one that comes to mind because growing up in mississippi, we have a wealth of great artists and we have all of the great artists and we have all of the great people from the stax record

company. she had an amazing singing voice, that was a given. she was the queen of soul, but it was a voice that would listen to in the political arena as well. she was hugely influential. definitely. that was more in a really subdued kind of quiet way. she was so involved with the civil right movement, coming up in the 60s, and i remember because i was involved with it as well. so a great loss to date. some people talk about a sadness, a darker side to aretha franklin which very few people probably ever really knew. everybody has a darkness and it has something in it, so i kind of take on the best of people and not the shortcomings because we all have

that. when you are talking about just the music, it was all of the people she inspired like myself and all of the artist before me and that would come after me. she isjust such an icon. it isjust would come after me. she isjust such an icon. it is just amazing. just explain what it was like to work with her and that musical magic. i never got the chance to get ina studio magic. i never got the chance to get in a studio and work with her, but it seems like we worked around some of the same people and some of the same things and all of the stories i have ever gotten about aretha franklin was that she knew what she wa nted franklin was that she knew what she wanted when she went in the studio and she pretty much demanded it from everybody that she worked with. she was truly the queen of soul. everybody that she worked with. she was truly the queen of soulm everybody that she worked with. she was truly the queen of soul. it is good of you to join us. was truly the queen of soul. it is good of you tojoin us. thank was truly the queen of soul. it is good of you to join us. thank you very much. the news that aretha

franklin has died at the age of 76. looking at pictures, this is the performance at the kennedy awards and this was in front of president barack 0bama in 2015, just seeing their is a family statement which is coming through. i will read it to you now. it is a long statement. in recent yea rs, you now. it is a long statement. in recent years, it says, she had suffered from ill health. she was forced to cancel in a of shows —— to cancel a number of shows, and the statement says this, it is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the passing of aretha franklin, the queen of soul. she passed away this morning at 9:50am at her home in detroit, surrounded by family at her home in detroit, surrounded

byfamily and at her home in detroit, surrounded by family and loved ones, and the official cause of death was due to advanced pancreatic cancer. that has been confirmed by doctors. and the statement goes on, in one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. we have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. the love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins knew no bounds, and the statement said, we have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. and the statement concludes, thank you for your compassion and prayers. we have felt your love for aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on as we grieve we ask that you respect or procedure in this difficult time. that is a statement from aretha franklin's family. annie lennox has issued a

statement on social media. it says, as the one and only queen of soul, aretha franklin was simply peerless. she has reigned supreme and will a lwa ys she has reigned supreme and will always be held in the highest filament of stars alnwicks as one of the most exceptional musical artists in the world. superlatives are a lwa ys in the world. superlatives are always used to describe astonishing artists, but in my view even superlatives seem inefficient. everyone will be grateful for the musical life force that has enriched our lives. she concludes by saying that her voice will soar forever. aretha franklin has died at the age of 76, the undisputed queen of soul with a career spanning seven decades, and that anthem, the feminist anthem, respect, decades, and that anthem, the feministanthem, respect, considered by many to be one of the greatest

songs of all time. we are just hearing liam gallagher has tweeted, or ip aretha franklin, what a voice. tony blackburn is so sorry to hear about the death of aretha franklin. i have been playing her record since the 60s and got her music was wonderful. sir elton john the 60s and got her music was wonderful. sir eltonjohn has paid tribute in the last few moments on social media. he says, the loss of aretha franklin is a blow for everybody who loves real music, music from the heart, the soul, and the church. her voice, music from the heart, the soul, and the church. hervoice, he music from the heart, the soul, and the church. her voice, he said, was unique, eight underrated piano player. she was one of my favourite pianists and i was fortunate to spend time with her and raise money for the eltonjohn spend time with her and raise money for the elton john foundation. spend time with her and raise money for the eltonjohn foundation. he says, she was obviously on well and i was not sure she could perform but she did and she raised the roof. she sang and performed magnificently and we all wet. i adored her and

worshipped her talent. god bless. a statement from elton john. more tributes coming in now. barbara streisand has shared a picture of herself with franklin, taken six yea rs herself with franklin, taken six years ago, she said this was a photo, she performed at the celebration for their friend margaret hamlisch and it's difficult to conceive of a world without her. not only was she a brilliant singer but her commitment to human rights made an impact around the world. tributes coming in to aretha franklin. four years of you just joining, let'sjust remind you of the power, the magic and the music

of aretha franklin. david sillitoe looks back at her life. the queen of the blues, are resat franklin! -- the queen of the blues, are resat franklin! —— aretha franklin. the queen of the blues, are resat franklin! -- aretha franklin. aretha franklin, back in the 60s a chicago dj declared her the queen of soul and the title stuck, for good reason. i had to face another day, lord, it made me feel so tired... whenever i wake up before i put on my make up... i say a little prayer for you... # res pct... there were many heads

but this was the song that defined her place in history. aretha franklin didn't ask for respect, she commanded it. a lot of men are intimidated by you? a lot of men? some men. it depends on the man. i have always maintained that a real man is not going to be intimidated by me. some men can rise to the occasion and others cannot. her legacy, moments such as these, at the funeral of martin luther king. # 0ur king. # our country, it is of the...

king. # our country, it is of the. .. and here at the inauguration of the first black american president. this is music that helped define pivotal moments in history and the emotional charge came from her childhood in the church listening to her father preaching. it served as a testing ground for me as a singer, as well as many other good things came from the church. #, you're no good, hard breaker, you're a liar... but there was another side to her. one of her producers described it as a mysterious sorrow. she lost her mother at the age of ten, and she had two children by the time she was 16. her private life was turbulent but in public... she always projected strength, and after a

careerdip in the projected strength, and after a career dip in the 1970s, she bounced backin career dip in the 1970s, she bounced back in the 1980s. # when the river was deep i didn't falter... but it would be wrong to measure her by awards for sales. that tear perhaps captures it. this was soul music, hardship and sorrow turned into beauty and hope. aretha franklin, the queen of soul. you make me feel... the death of aretha franklin, confirmed in the last half—hour and ina confirmed in the last half—hour and in a statement issued by her family, they said, we have lost the matriarch and rock of our family.

the love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins knew no bounds. they say they have been touched by the outpouring of love and support they have received. the voice of a musical legend, a powerful voice in the world of politics with former presidents bill clinton and barack 0bama among those who admired her. this was her performance at barack 0bama's inauguration. # 0ur 0bama's inauguration. # our country, it is of the, spirit of liberty... so the undisputed

queen of soul, a career spanning seven decades, she sold more than 75 million records worldwide, she has been awarded 18 grammys. she was the first woman inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame back in 1987. born aretha louise franklin in memphis, tennessee in march 1942, her father was a baptist preacher, her father was a baptist preacher, her mother barbara unaccomplished singer and a pianist, and eltonjohn has paid tribute to her brilliance at the shallow, saying she was an underrated pianist, he always thought she was amongst the best —— an accomplished singer. her parents separated and she moved with her brother to buffalo but would frequently visit her children in

detroit. barbara died weeks before franklin's tenth birthday. her childhood home was frequented by celebrities including martin luther king junior, the singer sam cooke and the gospel singer mahalia jackson helped to take care of franklin and her siblings following her mother's death. the former president bill clinton and his wife hillary have sent a message to say they mourn the loss of aretha franklin, one of america's greatest treasures, for more than 50 years she stirred for souls. she was elegant, graceful and uncompromising in her artistry. herfirst musical school was the church and her performances were powered by what she learned there. bill clinton says he will always be grateful for her

support, including her performance at his inauguration and also his chance to be there for what turned out to be her last performance in november. he says she will always be the queen of soul and his heart goes out to her family and countless friends, and still with me, lizo mzimba, our entertainments correspondence, and warmth of these tributes reflecting how big a this is. over the last few days since this news broke that she was terminally ill, social media has been full of people remembering the power of what she meant to them but now that this sad news has happened in the last bar, a great outpouring of people because she was more than a musician too many people, she was

somebody who portrayed through her music and her art like kind of things that happened in their lives. she wasn't put on a pedestal of having a perfect life, she had problems but she used that the way great artists do to enhance her music and make it more relevant so when she was singing you felt she was singing about things that meant something to you, and we have heard from so many people, a statement from so many people, a statement from herfamily from so many people, a statement from her family says from so many people, a statement from herfamily says it from so many people, a statement from her family says it all, from so many people, a statement from herfamily says it all, we have been touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support from close friends and supporters and fa ns a cross close friends and supporters and fans across the world. they have close friends and supporters but nothing could have prepared them for the tens of thousands of people who have been saying on social media how important she was to them, people she never met but everybody felt

they knew her because when she sang, she wasn't just they knew her because when she sang, she wasn'tjust singing about yourself but about all of us. her family said thank you for all your compassion and prayers on a sad day for music fans and particularly for her close friends and family, the fa ct her close friends and family, the fact she is remembered so fondly, i'm sure, makes this terrible news just slightly easier to deal with but a very sad day for them. thank you for that. let's talk to sinitta, whojoins us on you for that. let's talk to sinitta, who joins us on the phone. you for that. let's talk to sinitta, whojoins us on the phone. even though this was expected, it's a huge shock. i would say aretha was probably the first musical artist i heard growing up. there has always been a reset in my life. what more

is it about that voice?|j been a reset in my life. what more is it about that voice? i think she was queen of soul, singing gospel but also just representing so many people in the state ‘s growing up, before we moved here it was like, her voice had church in it for us and we trusted her and she was like the original gospel singer as well, soa the original gospel singer as well, so a lot of the music was spiritual and almost like church music for us, but then she took it over, she crossed over and spoke to everyone. those songs, respect, say a little prayer, she chose well, didn't she? yes, showing her heart, i don't think there was ever compromise in

her integrity and then she did amazingly, she was relevant every decade, duetting with george michael andi decade, duetting with george michael and i think she put him on the map, as an incredible vocal artist as well, but she always sang from her heart and from her soul. it touched everybody. that voice notjust in the musical world, in the political world it carried weight. yes, and all these things going on in detroit, the fact she stayed living there, in one of the most affluent areas and that is where she stayed and just a real role model and example of integrity and influence, power, she was incredible, and

incredible looking woman and she never lost her voice, she could a lwa ys never lost her voice, she could always sing and was always singing. the musicianship, is that something only another musician can appreciate? i think so because when someone has a mixture of a god—given gift that then also a lot of technical expertise, you can't sustain that kind of voice without also being a professional and having also being a professional and having a lot of technical expertise as well, so i do think so, even though she touched everyone, we were also really aware that this was someone who had learned her craft as well. how inspirational washy when you we re how inspirational washy when you were listening to her years ago? it's hard to describe but you know

when you feel like you were hearing the truth, that every word she is saying, you believe, it felt like the truth and you just followed her and even as a young child, ifelt like i was being spoken to. and that vocal range, you think she's gone to one level and then there is a whole other level. unstoppable range and power but what was great was the sweetness to it, her voice was never harsh, no matter how loud or high, there was never a shrillness to it, it was just so weak and soaring. there's never been another voice like it. if there was one song to you that epitomised aretha franklin,

what would it be? gosh, obviously respect is the one we know, but oh, my gosh... i'm putting you on the spot. there's so many and now i cannot think of them all but i think respect comes to mind because there is that think of a mother queen of song and she was number one, probably the first black female artist to really transcend so many decades and generations and whose career never ended, so i think respect is appropriate. sinitta, it's good of you to give us your time on what is a difficult moment for many people because the queen of soul thing, it doesn't get bigger than this. it doesn't come and i

know my mum, i will now have to make that call and she will be devastated because she was a young girl in detroit, standing outside her house and worshipping, but that girl fan who was just completely besotted so it's going to be a hard day for her. it's good of you to join us. thank you. let's talk now to eliot kennedy, who wrote the song that won aretha franklin her last grammy, never going to break my faith. first of all, your reaction. it's tragic. i heard the other day that she was not very well and i was dreading the worst. i thought yesterday it was

good we hadn't heard anything and then tragic news today, a terrible situation. what was it about her? i think she was one of a kind, i don't know if there will be another voice like that as powerful as hers that carried as much emotion, she was literally one of a kind, it's hard to encapsulate exactly what she was able to do but she represented not only her race and her culture but it felt like a whole era was identifiable because of her voice. i'm guessing for a composer, if you would be asked to you would like to sing a song of yours, she would be top of your list. she was always top of my list, you could spend a whole career wishing to work with a voice like that and i was lucky enough to

write a song she sang. she said the lyrics we refer that song was the best she had read for 20 years and i said that would go on my gravestone because it's the highlight of my career, and there is nothing that ever topped that. when you write a song, you have a rough idea of how it may turn out and then she sings it, what happens? it's like it belongs to someone else and it was quite surreal. ryan adams and i wrote this song for the movie robbie, it was the end title song —— bobby. it was an incredibly passionate story and it was the most honest song i have been a part of in terms of recognising how i feel, and my relationship with music and

history and it was a difficult song to write and then we heard her vocal for the first time and it was quite surreal to note first of all that the legend i have loved all my life was singing a song i had written that she took this song somewhere else. thankfully it has become an important song to a lot of gospel choirs, she won a grammy with it, and incredible performance at the grammy awards and just to be a part of that is an honour but to have her sing one of my songs is the highlight of my career. the songs you didn't write that she made famous, is there a standard for you? i remember through the 1980s and all the pop star she did, but i think that fantastic scene with think in the blues brothers film has to go up there on the list but who can top

natural woman,, her there on the list but who can top naturalwoman,, hervocal there on the list but who can top natural woman,, her vocal on that beautiful song for an entire generation, she was quite literally the queen of soul and those kind of names are given to easily and she deserved every part of that name. it's good of you to join us on a sad day in the world of music, eliot kennedy, thank you. many more tributes have been coming in. yes, america isjust tributes have been coming in. yes, america is just waking tributes have been coming in. yes, america isjust waking up tributes have been coming in. yes, america is just waking up to this terribly sad news that wasn't entirely unexpected but that date singer, a musician and artist who meant so much to millions of americans, that she has passed away,

and they will be remembering their favourite songs, what she meant to them, very touching reports on social media of the songs they enjoyed, so much giving thoughts and prayers to her close friends and family, people who will be missing her, we miss her terribly but for a close friends and family this is a terrible day. bette midler hasjust tweeted that the greatest voice in american music has been stilled, she was a musical lighthouse, guiding and inspiring with every note. goodbye, queen of soul, reacting to the news that aretha franklin has died at the age of 76. lets look back now that one of those standout performances, her performance at the

comedy awards in front of president barack 0bama and this was aretha franklin in 2015. # looking out on the morning rain # looking out on the morning rain # i used to feel so inspired # i used to feel so inspired # when i knew i had to face another day # 0h, day # oh, it made me think sometimes # oh, it made me think sometimes # before the day i met you

# before the day i met you # life was so unkind # you # you are # you are the # you are the key # you are the key to # you are the key to my # you are the key to my peace # you are the key to my peace of # you are the key to my peace of you are the key mind # and you make me feel, you make me feel # you make me feel like a natural woman # when your soul is in the last and found # i didn't knowjust what to found # i didn't know just what to feel # until # until les # until les kiss, # until les kiss, helped # until les kiss, helped me # until les kiss, helped me but, # until les kiss, helped me but, until les kiss, h!

baby # now i'm no longer doubtful of what i'm living for and if i make you happy, i don't need to do no more # you make me feel, you make me feel # you make me feel, you make me feel # you make me feel like a natural woman, yes # 0h, babe, what you have done to me # 0h, babe, what you have done to me # you make me feel so, so, so good inside # and inside #andl inside # and ijust want inside # and i just want to inside # and ijust want to be # and ijust want to be # i want to be so close to you # i want to be so close to you # you make me feel so alive # you make me feel so alive # you make me feel so alive # you make me feel, you make me feel # you make me feel, you make me feel

# you make me feel like a natural woman # you make me feel, you make me feel # you make me feel, you make me feel # you make me feel like a natural woman # you make me feel, you make me feel, i feel like, without # you make me feel, you make me feel, ifeel like, without you i'm nothing, a woman, a woman #a nothing, a woman, a woman # awoman, nothing, a woman, a woman # a woman, a woman # a woman, a woman #a # a woman, a woman # awoman, # a woman, a woman # a woman, oh, a woman, yeah! 0h, yeah! applause

aretha franklin who has died at the age of 76, three years ago in front ofan age of 76, three years ago in front of an audience including carole king, who has said what a life, what a legacy, so much love, respect and gratitude, and a tribute from sir paul mccartney who says let's all give thanks for the beautiful life of aretha franklin who inspired us for many years. the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us forever. aretha franklin who has died at the age of 76 and we will pay more tributes to her in the next are here on bbc news, where it's now time to have a look at the weather. hello. although much of the country to date saw sunshine, a few showers. it was quite a wet one

across the south—east corner of the country, a weather front moving through introducing cooler air. tonight, apart from a few showers in the north and west, it will be a dry, clear and chilly night. these are the weather fronts bringing the rain across the south—east. cooler air is flooding in behind them. it will be a fine end to the day for many, with some sunshine. a few showers continuing across the north—west corner of the country, rain clearing away from the south—east. most places will be clear and dry overnight, and it will be quite chilly, temperatures just making double figures in towns and cities, out of town perhaps the low to mid single digits. into friday, we are in between weather systems, another one arriving across western areas through the day. this ridge of high pressure should keep things largely fine and dry across southern and eastern parts. friday starts on a chilly note, but there will be sunshine around. the winds will pick up in the west as this weather system begins to move into northern ireland and western scotland. it will turn wetter as the day progresses. across the south and east, apart from cloud building up into the afternoon, it should stay largely dry.

there will be some sunshine around, probably the best in east anglia and the south—east. further north, a windier picture, with outbreaks of rain for northern ireland pushing into north and west wales and the northwest england and western scotland. a little bit of shelter, some brightness across the north—east of scotland. it will be a blustery day, particularly across the north—west corner of the country. those temperatures still quite cool across the north, high teens celsius, a bit of a recovery in the south—east with sunshine, probably low 20s celsius. saturday looks fine, but then there's this area of low—pressure which could bring rain for some on sunday. this is the picture for saturday, thanks to a ridge of high pressure, lighter winds across central southern areas with some sunshine. there will be some sunshine across eastern scotland too. later, cloud thickens across northern ireland, with outbreaks of rain here. it will be warmer, temperatures getting up to 25 celsius in the south—east. it will feel increasingly humid as well. more cloud around on sunday, more wind, too, and rain in the north—west of the country

but still fairly warm in the south—east. hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 4pm. # i'll say a little prayer # foryou — oh yes i do forever and ever. the queen of soul — aretha franklin — has died at her home in detroit at the age of 76 — after being ill with cancer from some time. she had more than 20 us number ones including hits like respect and ‘say a little prayer‘ over her career which spanned several dacades. in other news — the number of pupils getting top grades in their a levels is at its highest level for six years. i'm really proud of myself and what i've achieved. it's been a really difficult year for me and i achieved ab,acandad. it was just such a relief when i saw those three as that i needed to get into oxford.

rescue workers in italy say there's no hope of finding any more survivors of the genoa bridge collapse — up to 20 people are thought to be missing. they are still in a recovery phase trying to dig through the rubble to find the rest of the people who are missing, and that has really hit home to everyone how much worse this disaster could still get. in trouble again — the england rugby star danny cipriani pleads guilty to common assault and resisting arrest — at a nightclub injersey. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. coming up, more on the danny cipriani story and his future in an england shirt and we will hear from the england cricket coach on why ben stokes is back in the squad for the third test against india for his own well—being after being acquitted of affray. all of that to come. thanks for a much. and the weather. we have had a mixed bag, some rain, sunshine and heavy showers. it is

quite cool. there are signs of it warming upfor quite cool. there are signs of it warming up for some of us heading into the weekend. i will have more details for you coming up. also coming up on afternoon live. a recipe that's not to everyone's taste — scientists reveal the original ancient egyptian ingredients used for embalming — first used to preserve bodies with mummification. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. the woman known as the queen of soul — singer aretha franklin — has died at the age of 76 at her home in detroit. in a career spanning seven decades, she sold some 75 million records worldwide — including hits like respect, think, i say a little prayer and you make me feel a natural woman. she topped the us r&b charts 20 times — and in 1987, became the first woman to be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame.

david silitto looks back at her life. here is the queen of the blues, aretha franklin! there she is. # looking out on the morning rain...# aretha franklin. back in the 60s, a chicago dj declared her the queen of soul. a title which stuck for good reason. # and when i knew i had to face another day # lord it made me feel so tired # but i wake up # oh i put on my make up # i say a little prayer for you # oh yes i do...# # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # find out what it means to me # r-e-s-p-e-c-t...# there were many hits, but this was the song that

that defied her place in history. aretha franklin. she didn't ask for respect. she commended it. i've been intimidated by some men. it depends on the man. i have always maintained that a real man is not going to be intimidated by me. some men can rise to the occasion and others cannot. her legacy are moments such as these at the funeral of martin luther king. and here, the inauguration of the first black american president. this is music that helped define the pivotal moments in history, and the

emotional charge came from her childhood in gospel within the church, listening to herfather‘s preaching. it certainly served as a testing ground for me as a singer as well as many other good things came from the church. # you're no good # heartbreaker # you're a liar # and you're a cheat #. but there was also another side to her. one of her producers described it as a mysterious sorrow. she had aged ten lost her mother. she had had two children by the age of 16. her private life was turbulent but in public... # hey baby #. ..she always projected strength, and after a career dip in the 70s, she bounced back in the 80s. # the river was deep

# i didn't falter #. but it would be wrong to measure her by awards or sales. that tear perhaps captures it. this was soul music — hardship and sorrow turned into beauty and hope. aretha franklin, the queen of soul. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba is here. every moment now huge names from the world of show business are paying tribute underlining just how magical this woman was. yes, notjust tribute underlining just how magical this woman was. yes, not just from the world of showbiz but some of the world's biggest musicians, sir paul

mccartney said, let's take a moment to give thanks for the life of aretha franklin, the queen of ourselves, who inspired us all for many years. she will be missed but the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us for ever, love, paul. that from sir paul mccartney, his fellow these issues ringo star, god bless aretha franklin, the queen of soul, love and peace and herfamily. sir eltonjohn said, the whole world will miss herbert always rejoice mark lobel —— will miss her but always rejoice in her remarkable legacy. bette midler, actress and singer, tweeted: the greatest voice in american popular music has been still. alba lovett aretha franklin has gone. for me she was a musical white house guiding and inspiring with every note. —— are a lovett aretha

franklin. it's not just note. —— are a lovett aretha franklin. it's notjust the kind of musicians you would expect. liam gallagher has said: rest in peace, aretha franklin, what a voice. and outside the world of music. former president bill clinton and his wife hillary issued a statement saying: hillary issued a statement saying: hillary and! hillary issued a statement saying: hillary and i mourn the loss of our friend aretha franklin, one of america bosna greatest national treasures, for more than 50 years she stirred our souls. she was elegant, graceful and uncompromising. her first musical school was the and her performances we re school was the and her performances were powered by what she learned there. i will always be grateful for her kindness and support including her kindness and support including her performances at both of my inaugural celebrations and for the chance to be there for what sadly turned out to be herfinal performance last november at a benefit supporting the fight against hiv and aids. she will forever be the queen of soul and so much more to all who knew her personally and through her music. 0ur to all who knew her personally and through her music. our hearts go out to herfamily

through her music. our hearts go out to her family her countless fans. that sums up. presidents, knighted musicians, the likes of liam gallagher. she is somebody who spend everybody you could think of musically and beyond. that was the kind of respect, for want of a better word, but it is the perfect word to describe how she was regarded, and more than that, the cli nto ns regarded, and more than that, the clintons picked out, it wasn't they just respected her as a musician, they respected her probably more importantly as a person. she had a difficult upbringing and the church was very important throughout her life. but of course, that gospel legacy that she brought to music is perhaps part of that legacy. legacy that she brought to music is perhaps part of that legacym absolutely shone through. 0ne perhaps part of that legacym absolutely shone through. one of the great joys of absolutely shone through. one of the greatjoys of gospel music is the way it particularly brings people, brings communities together and in a sense she took that and expanded it to people that may not have shared the same faith as her, particularly, but she brought them all together with that brand of music, with that

feeling of togetherness in a way that so few other musicians have really been able to do. that was one of her great powers as a musician. everyone singing along with those songs. we have all summer long to an aretha franklin song at some time in our life. it was because she did have that way of making you feel that you were part of what she was singing, part of her community. for wa nt of singing, part of her community. for want of a better phrase. she had obstacles want of a better phrase. she had o bsta cles in want of a better phrase. she had obstacles in her life, she had problems and difficulties, but like so many great artists she tried not to let them defeat her and actually translated back into the way she sang. it enabled us to genuinely feel that when she was singing she was doing something that was releva nt to was doing something that was relevant to us and our lives. we didn't put her on a pedestal as a perfect human being who had had a perfect human being who had had a perfect life and perfect existence. she was somebody who managed to

translate all of those positive and negative experiences that every human being experiences into music and that really is the art of genuinely great, notjust musician, but great artist. it is soul. you have summed it up better than i could! 0ur correspondent aleem maqbool is at the new bethel baptist church in detroit. detroit is going to be a town in mourning. it was her home. it absolutely was. this was the church we re absolutely was. this was the church were her father was a absolutely was. this was the church were herfather was a preacher, where she was the star singer. this is the city where she has performed sunday times, this is where vigils have been held over recent days. we had heard just over an hour ago that she had passed away, they confirmed it was pancreatic cancer that took her and we knew that she had been

ill for several years. she stopped touring so much from about 2010 but she never really talked about her illness, she never really talked about the cancer. it was clear in the fact she lost so much weight, she appeared weak at times, she had cancelled so many concerts over the last seven or eight years because of ill health. but she kept going and when she did perform she was still extraordinary. her last performance was on stage with eltonjohn towards the end of last year and eltonjohn has talked in a statement he has given about how people cried and how he cried because she gave it her all even though people knew she wasn't well. she is somebody who people think of as an african—american woman who was successful in the 60s who changed the industry. but really she is much, much more than that. as many people consider her she is a

national treasure and somebody who changed the face of this country. people here are in mourning but around the country as well. and in recent days her family have been a her side. this hasn't come as a huge surprise that there is still huge shock, obviously. yes, that's right. there was not a lot of information as to precisely what her condition was but we knew it was serious. her family ina was but we knew it was serious. her family in a statement have talked about how this was one of the darkest parts of their lives, they have lost a matriarch and rock of theirfamily. we have lost a matriarch and rock of their family. we have have lost a matriarch and rock of theirfamily. we have already have lost a matriarch and rock of their family. we have already had tributes from so many others around the country about what they feel they have lost. bill and hillary clinton have released a statement talking about how aretha franklin had stirred our souls for more than 50 yea rs. had stirred our souls for more than 50 years. a lot of people here felt that. there was something about aretha franklin, not just that. there was something about aretha franklin, notjust in the power of her voice, but the power of her voice was something

extraordinary and anybody who has experienced it will understand what imean and experienced it will understand what i mean and i did fortunately managed to see her live. there was something about the power of her voice that brought out the emotions and why even at the concert i went to i looked around and people were in tea rs left, looked around and people were in tears left, right and centre. but it was also about her range. she went from gospel, and it was a gospel album that was her best selling album that was her best selling album but she sang the blues, jazz, p0p album but she sang the blues, jazz, pop with george michael as we know, and came back with success in the 80s and 90s. so it was her range, the strength of her vocals and also the strength of her vocals and also the emotions she brought with it. something from deep within that clearly affected so many around the world and why so many will feel that loss now. aleem maqbool in detroit, thank you for that. we're now joined by debbie and kim sledge — singers from the group sister sledge. thank you forjoining us. this is a

very sad day. yes it is. yes it is. what was it about aretha franklin that influenced so many people? yyc dan maguire why was she so special? she was a believer in jesus why was she so special? she was a believer injesus christ. the heart and soul and spirit of god that poured out over audiences was infectious. it was life transforming. she healed, she identified, and when she sang it wasn't just identified, and when she sang it wasn'tjust singing, it identified, and when she sang it wasn't just singing, it was identified, and when she sang it wasn'tjust singing, it was deep from within her soul. how much of an influence was she on new? as kim said and as the gentlemanjust speaking said she had a power that touched your soul. hey didn't know that word and 19, but that was the word that came to both of us,

because it's something beyond yourself, it is also a supernatural strength that comes through your music and her talent because of the love that she had in her voice. as well as experiences people may have in their lives. which people never knew much about with aretha franklin. she had a difficult upbringing. that gospel sound, she had it. yes, she did, and i think it was from generations as well. when you experience things you can really talk about something because you can give exactly how you felt and it is transformed through your music and that certainly is what she did. you did tribute concerts, sister sledge have done for aretha franklin, which on the fist of it must be one of the most challenging things to do, to try and get even near what she did. no, what you do is you just know the person. you just know her music. you

pour your love into it. that's the best way to even approach. she is just an enormous talent. an enormous person. there is one word that comes up, thatis there is one word that comes up, that is soul. that's it, and she is the queen. as a singer she had a range where you thought she had got to the limit and... she took it further. she had a power to her voice and it was the power of not only that talent, the physical power, but it was also like i put it asa power, but it was also like i put it as a supernatural power, that power that goes beyond... you know, it is something that god added to her. that goes beyond... you know, it is something that god added to herlj think with this song try a little tenderness although it was a sad song you could feel it in here, even

the words and the way she expressed them. what was the influence on disco, the 70s and 80s, because she also managed in some ways to reinvent herself at various times, didn't she? yes, i think it's because she had been gifted with something so special that it didn't matter where she sang, it was all about the spirit on the music more so than the kind of music. she could have signed mary had a little lamb and it would have been all aretha. she was a great writer of songs. she gave us so many beautiful songs that helped bring us through the things we we re helped bring us through the things we were going through. right. there was encouragement there. described that. when you are at home and grew up that. when you are at home and grew up listening to her? she had a relationship with her sisters that

was relationship with her sisters that was special. it really spoke to us as sisters. we used to sing her songs and the sisters used to sing her songs with her and so we sing many of the songs she recorded and it was just something so special about the tightness, the fabric of the music and the fabric of the voices as sisters. the challenge of the harmonies, the beautiful harmonies that she has. # daydreaming harmonies that she has. # dayd reaming that harmonies that she has. # daydreaming that i'm thinking of you # daydreaming you # dayd reaming that you # daydreaming that i'm thinking of you # daydreaming you # dayd reaming that you # daydreaming that i'm thinking of you # look at my mind # look at my mind # floating away. that takes me back. it is sheer gospel, isn't it? yes, it is. it is the heart of god

pouring out of the words. she was a mean pianist, people sometimes forget. eltonjohn mean pianist, people sometimes forget. elton john has mean pianist, people sometimes forget. eltonjohn has insane she perhaps didn't get the recognition for that but she was the whole deal. the whole package, yes, she was. i think her life experiences brought life to what she was singing as well. even if there were hard times you have to be able to convey something. you can best express something. you can best express something when you have been through it so that's why i think when she sang she painted the story. she really painted the picture of what she was saying. and as black women growing up in the united states there was a voice there that also got listened to in other places. yes, it was, and it was her voice. she spoke for our heart, she spoke for our plights. i particularly admirejust the for our plights. i particularly admire just the grace and the class and the poise that she carried knowing the things that she may have had to carry, that she came through

that. that is such an example, such encouragement. it is so funny because i think of the fire and fight and she had that too, that was all of aretha, the whole package, like you said. when you see her performing for a president, there is an audience that, say, 30 or 40 yea rs an audience that, say, 30 or 40 years ago perhaps wouldn't have listened but she changed things. she did change things. this past year we we re did change things. this past year we were with her at festival families and she was performing for the pope, just the fact she was on the same stage, aretha is here? did you get to talk to her? there were so many people there because of the security for the pope so everyone was pretty much isolated but we were i tuwai. what about the songs she sang? a great singer can turn a rubbish song

into something but she seemed also to pick some pretty good songs. —— eye to eye. she sang songs with meaning. that is why i said she was such a great writer. she sang songs that were relevant, and relevant to her and relevant to her life. they spoke to our lives. what is it? why don't you try a little tenderness wearing that same old shabby dress. try a little tenderness. when she is saying that, she sang that song, you could see the whole picture and you knew that transformed women who were in that particular state, that this is about as! it is good. the influences, one thinks of whitney houston, dionne warwick, sinners who had that same background had that same soul. the influence was huge, wasn't it? it was huge and i believe that was an historical thing as well

bix if you look at the history of soul music, coming out of even generations back from slavery days trying to be happy despite of the situations behind dummigan randy ludlow reaching deeper than your circumstances to bring something to bring life to people and bring hope and encouragement, she could turn a song into a new transformation for someone else just because it was a song but it was a life song. what did you put on at home and listen if you wanted to hear aretha you better think, think about what you're trying to do to me # think about what you're trying to do to me. stop, this is an incredible tribute. we wa nt incredible tribute. we want to take this opportunity to send our deepest condolences to the family. of course. we are sending

our love. immediately when we heard the sad news we just had to stop and pray and just lift up the family. yes. we have lost some of the very special. we have, the queen of soul, but she will always be with us. special. we have, the queen of soul, but she will always be with usm is very good of you to come and share your thoughts, debbie and kim sledge. let's take a look back at aretha franklin — and some of her finest moments. # r—e—s—p—e—c—t # find out what it means to me # for ever and ever you'll stay in my heart # and my heart #andl my heart # and i will love you # and i will love you

# together # together #to # together # to live without you # to live without you # would only mean heartbreak for me. # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel like # you make me feel like like # you make me feel like # you make me feel like # you make me feel like a # you make me feel like a natural # you make me feel like a natural a natural woman # you make me feel like a natural woman # the blonde lady going like that throughout that was carole king and she has just issued a statement. she said ina she has just issued a statement. she said in a video that de michael watt a legacy, so much respect and gratitude. rip aretha franklin. what a life. sur mick jagger commented:

very sad the news about aretha franklin. so inspiring and whether you were she always brought you to church. echoing very much what we we re church. echoing very much what we were hearing there. that the influence of gospel music on aretha franklin and her subsequent influence on music was huge. that news coming injust in the influence on music was huge. that news coming in just in the last two hours. a number of tributes have been paid since by people from all walks of life. sir paul mccartney says: let's take to give thanks for the beautiful life of aretha franklin, the queen of soul, the queen of our souls, who inspired us for many, many years. she will be missed. the memory of her greatness asa missed. the memory of her greatness as a musician and a fine human being will live with us for ever. annie lennox says cullen she has reigned supreme and will always be held in the highest firmament of stars as an

exceptional vocalist performer and recording artist the world has ever been privileged to witness. annie lengths. michael lennox says superlatives are often used to describe astonishing artists but in my opinion superlatives are insufficient. aretha franklin, the queen of soul, known for hits like respect and i say a little prayer died in detroit, after being diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and announced last year she was retiring from music, died surrounded by members of her family, from music, died surrounded by members of herfamily, the queen of soul. plenty more to come on bbc news this afternoon. time for a look at the weather. i want to show you the pressure chart from what we expect this weekend, high—pressure on saturday

so it looks like it will be the better day of the two. this feature contains the remnants of subtropical ernesto out in the atlantic for five days ago and the remnants will mix with this area of low pressure and potentially bring a wet, warm and windy dates are a bit of uncertainty as to where the rain will be so will have to wait and see. this is the headline chart i did for saturday that tells you it will be the better day for most of us throughout the first half of the weekend, and then there is the rain to watch out for on sunday. it could be quite heavy as well. it was pouring into the south this morning. has the summer gone? no, could be dry and brighterfor much of england and wales next week, high—pressure moving into after this system high—pressure moving into after this syste m o n high—pressure moving into after this system on sunday. not all doom and gloom, quite warming places. basta we can. motherly spells of sunshine up—and—down the country despite the fa ct up—and—down the country despite the fact it has been blustery and showery in the north—west and the heavy rain across the south—east.

the rain has been pretty heavy across the south—east of england. here is the scene from the river thames, leaden skies and misty and murky conditions but most of that is clearing away, in fact, because this weather front which is a cold front has pretty much exited the very south—east of links —— east anglia but it has left cooler air as a cold front does. loss of showers across the north and west of the country but in between a good slice of dry and brighter weather. so for the end of the afternoon many places having a fine end to the day, motherly spells of sunshine, those heavy, maybe thundery showers continue in the north—west where they will be blustery because of the strong wind but in the south—east the remnants of the weather front just about clearing away. it will do early on this evening to leave some late sunshine if you are lucky. 0vernight

misplaces dry and clear, showers pushing into the north—west, some of them quite heavy. you will notice is going to be a chilly night, widely making double figures in towns and cities but out of town and in rural spots would be looking at the low to mid single digits. we start friday ona mid single digits. we start friday on a chilly note but bright with sunshine. the clouds will increase through the day has another weather system pushes into northern ireland, western scotland and irish sea coasts. lighter winds and two bridges responding a bit better further south. 21—23d here. further north and west it is on the cool side because of the wind and cloud, temperatures reaching the high teens. saturday looks the better of the two because of high pressure, warm and humid air moving up from the southwest associated with the of low pressure containing the remnants of subtropical ernesto so we could have heavy rain in places on sunday. this is the picture on saturday, a good day to be out and about, feeling warm, breezy day, variable

cloud, sunny spells, temperatures up across the board but we could make 2425 across england and wales had stomach and it will feel quite humid. 0n stomach and it will feel quite humid. on sunday, outbreaks of rain, heavyin humid. on sunday, outbreaks of rain, heavy in central and northern and western areas, could be further north or south but where you get brightness in the south—east it will feel warm and humid, 24, 20 5 degrees. further north and west, not too cold but not as warm as it will be further south. —— 25 degrees. that's your latest. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. # respect find out what it means to me...#. aretha franklin, the "queen of soul" who became the first woman inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame, has died in detroit at the age of 76. the proportion of a—level students in england, wales and northern ireland achieving a and a—star grades is at its highest level since 2012. england rugby player

danny cipriani has apologised to his teammates, supporters and the police after pleading guilty to common assault and resisting arrest, following an incident at a nightclub injersey. sport now on afternoon live with will perry. will — more on that story about rugby star danny cipriani story. yes, the big question is, does he have a feature in an england shirt? he's only just have a feature in an england shirt? he's onlyjustjoined gloucester from wasps, he had a spell at sale sharks, he is arguably one of the best fly halves, one of the best players in that position, that is what eddiejones players in that position, that is what eddie jones thought, players in that position, that is what eddiejones thought, calling him upfor what eddiejones thought, calling him up for that test series injune when he had that great opportunity and that this kick into the corner forjonny may to score. that potentially nailed his place in the autumn internationals which are to come against south africa. eddie jones has said in the past that he

does not want to see danny cipriani on the front of the newspapers if it is not to do with rugby. and once more the player will be on the front pages tomorrow. he has apologised but he has an anxious wait to see if he has a future in an england shirt. we move on to cricket. and ben stokes is back in the fold, what's been going on? head coach trevor bayliss said the decision to include stokes for saturday was taken for the well—being of the allrounder. here he is with his team—mates at trent bridge earlier. trevor bayliss says he will take time deciding whether ben stokes will play, this has happened after he was involved ina has happened after he was involved in a fracas outside a nightclub in bristol. former england captain michael vaughan does not believe he deserves a warm reception. he says the fans will give him one but doesn't think he deserves it and he thinks the selectors have a cleverley della mona ha ns. thinks the selectors have a cleverley della monahans. what about

stokes, how does he feel? will find that out in the next couple of days. i haven't actually spoken to him since. i'm sure he's had plenty of phone calls. we've got the next couple of days to assess where he is t, couple of days to assess where he is apt, whether he plays not, we've got some guys in form, it will be a difficult decision to make, whoever will miss out, whether him or someone else, it's a position we'd been trying to get into for a while. one—day team is a difficult team to select. it has been difficult for other reasons, the test team but we are getting some good young players coming in which makes the job of the selectors difficult. also today totte n ha m selectors difficult. also today tottenham boss mauricio pochettino says he is disappointed in the delay of moving into the club's new stadium, they had talked to play a match in the new ground against liverpool next month, problems mean they won't move in until october at

they won't move in until october at the earliest that some fans who have bought tickets for the grant will see the games at wembley instead. bought tickets for the grant will see the games at wembley insteadm course i understand problems about the money and everything, and ifeel sorry for them, i want to say thank you and i apologise and we will try to reward them by winning games, in the way that only we can. major changes announced to the format of the davis cup in tennis. the competition in which andy murray let great britain to victory two years ago traditionally spans most of the calendar year with the final in november, the tennis federation ‘s today approved plans to turn it into an18 today approved plans to turn it into an 18 teams season—ending event. the lawn tennis association of great britain was among those to oppose the move. fernando alonso could be

replaced, carlos sainz who is mentally 11th in the championship says it was a childhood dream to john mclaren. a man so announced this week that he was stepping down from the team —— alonso announced that he was stepping down from the team. we'll have more sports news for you later, see you later. thank you, will perry. teenagers in england, wales and northern ireland have been getting their a level results today. the proportion of pupils getting a and a star grades is the highest for six years. but the percentage of those getting a c or above fell slightly from last year. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley reports. two years of hard work for a life changing moment. for many, the wait was over. for some, the waiting had just begun. i got b,b,c and unfortunately i needed to get three as but at the end of the day

it is what it is, and hopefully i can try to get into my insurance which is manchester met. there have been major changes in a—levels in england with a move away from coursework and as—levels no longer contributing to final marks. we are basically on a new specification, so there was that possibility the examiners can be either particularly harsh or lenient. this student came to england from syria at the age of 12, today his future will be studying medicine. he was given an unconditional offer and other incentives to study at the university of central lancashire. the university offered me £1,000 if i do get the grades, and i got them so that's an extra thing to be happy about. universities are keen to attract students but there has been criticism of the record number of unconditional offers that have been made. i think unconditional offers are a bit of a national shame. halfway through because you get a letter on your doormat on the university saying it doesn't

matter how hard you work any more, you can still come this to university. what signal is it sending out? more than one in a—levels gotten a start this year. 26.4% of entries got one of the two top grades, upon 2017. meanwhile, one in 12 entries scored an a star grade this year. and boys lead girls for the top grades for the second year running, the proportion of boys who got a or higher was 0.4 percentage points higher than girls. we make sure the system is fair to students to reflect what is the appropriate level of skill and knowledge students are demonstrating, but they also make sure that is in line with other years. there has been a further improvement in welsh students' performance in the top grades at a—level.

in northern ireland results are similar to last year. a—levels have gone old school in england, with more emphasis on final exams. despite the changes, there has been little movement in overall results. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in birkenhead. while some have been finding out whether they have got into the university of their choice, not all will be successful — which is why one university in london claims to have made clearing easier than ever. here to explain more is professorjohn brewer, pro vice—chancellor of global engagement at st mary's university, twickenham. welcome to the programme. good afternoon. so you click on five questions and off the back of that you would have a clear idea what other courses may suit people better? what are the five questions? firstly it is important that stu d e nts firstly it is important that students choose a course that is right for them. that's what we've done, created a simple model that

uses social media in the way stu d e nts uses social media in the way students communicate asking them questions like what is their favourite youtube channel, their favourite youtube channel, their favourite celebrity, their favoured and books, so we can look at their a nswe rs and books, so we can look at their answers and identify the type of course that might suit them. so you already have the model depending on their answers. what do learn from what youtube channel is someone's favourite? for instance if it focuses on sport they might be more suited to a sport related a health—related course. if it perhaps focuses more on celebrity, lifestyle and so on it is something else they can be diverted towards. it is ensuring students make the choice right for them. i think when we started today some students did not get the grades they were hoping for and there can be a bit of a panic to go to universities, it is a buyers”s market, many universities offering incentive for students. we

wa nt to offering incentive for students. we want to make sure that they take time and have help support to make sure that all—importa nt life changing decision is the right one for them. both the right university and the right course. you talk about the panic of today and clearing, what am i going to do. we have heard about some courses, tiddlywinks that do nothing, serve no purpose, that if you do two years of that at least it isa if you do two years of that at least it is a degree. this gives you an idea of courses that are matched to you but they serious courses? absolutely, most courses but an emphasis on employability, we've got high employability rate, students have a very good chance of getting a job. as a parent myself of daughters who have been to university i'm adamant that we must provide courses that ensure that when students graduate they've got a good chance of getting level jobs graduate they've got a good chance of getting leveljobs that will earn them a good income because of course they go to university accruing debt,

they go to university accruing debt, they need to pay off that debt and they need to pay off that debt and they will only do that if they get good jobs. that's absolutely critical. this is new, what feedback are you getting? we had over 25,000 visits to the site since we launched last week. a lot of them today. the feedback from the students who have subsequently telephoned lidl is that it has helped them raise awareness of what degree programmes are there because i think sometimes students only think of a relatively narrow range of degree courses and suddenly something pops up that they haven't thought about before, that gives them an insight into an area they could study. also the feedback has been that it helped them to make that critical decision. it's all about making sure it is the right decision and that they don't much into it. is it open to everybody? you can go on it yourself! it's on the saint mary ‘s website, click on the saint mary ‘s website, click on the link and it takes you to the quiz. john, great to talk to you,

thank you. you are watching afternoon live. let's get more now on the death of aretha franklin — there have been many tributes on social media. hilary clinton's said of aretha: she deserves not only our respect but also our lasting gratitude for opening our eyes, ears and hearts. paul mccartney wrote: let's all take a moment to give thanks for the beautiful life of aretha franklin, the queen of our souls. actress danielle brooks said: thank you aretha franklin for leaving such an incredible legacy for generations among generations to stand on. dame kelly holmes led with: shine bright in the sky and some shine bright on this earth aretha franklin queen of soul led the way for others to glow and carole king said: what a life. what a legacy! so much love, respect and gratitude. r.i.p. @arethafranklin we can talk now to simon dunmore — he's founder and owner of one of the longest running independent

record labels — defected — which has showcased house music and legendary voices such as aretha for nearly 20 years. the thing about this voice is, it works whatever you do with it, doesn't it? absolutely, music is a very personal thing to everybody, whether you feel sad or have been romancing or dancing are having a great time you have been influenced by aretha franklin numerous times. it is an incredibly sad moment but we should take time to celebrate people's lives when they pass, when they have made such a huge contribution to everything we do. so yes, that is what i want to do at this moment, celebrate aretha franklin's life rather than her passing. we've been doing that because anyone who listens to one of those songs, immediately there is a smile on the face, most people start

to move, i know you do a lot of work in ibiza and work with more modern sounds. yet this voice transcends that and can be used anywhere. absolutely. dance music is influenced by soul music and great music from back in the day, people to cover versions music from back in the day, people to cover versions of a sample records. sometimes legitimately, you hear those records on the radio, and often not. her voice is so iconic. and so identifiable, that you will hear it on dance floors in ibiza, in london, in croatia where we have just had a festival. her presence is everywhere. it's not even the up—tempo records that get sampled, sometimes it is the ballads, that sound equally great on a

contemporary dance track. what you do to contemporary dance track. what you dotoa contemporary dance track. what you do to a traditional track, we all have our favourite aretha franklin songs, what do you do to them, what do you use of her voice that makes it so work on a dance floor, even now? just talking for myself, personally, i can remember growing up personally, i can remember growing up as soul music fan, as a record collector, as a label owner, and whether it be the records she put out in the early 1980s, whether it be the sparkle soundtrack which en vogue covered, it is a record i courted my wife too, it is very personal to us. she also covered i'm

every woman which is known for being a record by chaka khan and it was a kid. people loved her voice. if you love music it is something you are drawn towards. and it is universal, her contribution to music, she is known as a solo artist, a soul singer, but her contribution to music is universal. it is notjust about soul, it is about pop and dance. i was interested because i wa nted dance. i was interested because i wanted to know how people felt about her in the modern world. i went on to streaming websites and looked at some of the numbers and are astronomical. this is before people we re astronomical. this is before people were aware that she was ill and fortu nately were aware that she was ill and fortunately know she has passed. it's the love for aretha franklin, it is universal. it transcends every genre of music. you are going to get home tonight, what are you going to

listen to? i'm going to listen to give him something that he can feel which as i have said is a very personal record to me and my wife. their discography is absolutely incredible. there could be any of 200, maybe a thousand records that you could pick and i am sure everybody will be doing something similarto everybody will be doing something similar to celebrate an incredible artist. simon, great to talk to you. that's simon dunmore defected records. joining me now is heather small, who was lead singer in the band m people. i have just been i havejust been reading i have just been reading that she was a huge influence on you. yes, for sure. it is more than iconic, it is the voice, in any kind of genre,

if you ever heard her sing ave maria she could have done opera. it inspired in me a passion for singing. iwas inspired in me a passion for singing. i was young and i couldn't afford vocal lessons so i listened to my aretha franklin albums like, you know, they were the bible. for any singer. this wealth of experience, wealth of talent, she brought that gospel element and that passion that made you understand that you could sing with all of your heart about any subject and bring a soulful, gospel tinged to it. and when he was a soulful, women, you could bring your whole self. there was nothing embarrassing about singing from your heart, from your soul about any subject. if it moved you you had to infuse it with

passion, let people know it meant something to you, otherwise it could not mean anything to anyone else. what did that mean for you personally, growing up, listening to that music, making that mark, and affect your performances?” that music, making that mark, and affect your performances? i think that with aretha there was that very organic, whole thing. because she was also a civil rights leader, fighting for her people. and she fought also for her place in the music industry. because the first time she came out of the gates they wa nted time she came out of the gates they wanted to put her in doo—wop brands and she had no success and went on to do something that was in her heart. so she always made me think that you've got to stay true to yourself, remember where you came from, everything that you do, you do with passion and integrity, and with dignity. heather, what is the song that you will put on tonight? i've

been listening to a few of the songs all day, from this morning. and the same thing, something he can feel is an absolute masterclass. i also have an absolute masterclass. i also have a soft spot for rock steady because my sister and i used to dance to it in the 70s, so i will put on a few songs that show the whole range, from respect to something reel to rock steady. heather, it is an awful day but a day when we do look back on the life of something amazing. i am really grateful... we take a life and we move forward, notjust for singers like me but for the up—and—coming singers. she will a lwa ys up—and—coming singers. she will always be known. that is their legacy. she will be known for

greatness and perfection and you can't ask for more than that in life. heather small, thank you for joining us. tributes pouring in. this one from american president donald trump, who has written on twitter, aretha franklin and the queen of soul is dead, she was a great 0rmond with a wonderful gift from god, her voice, she will be missed. and from the british singer adele who says she is absolutely heartbroken by the death ofa absolutely heartbroken by the death of a river franklin. she has posted on instagram and says she can't remember a day of her life without the music of aretha franklin filling her heart with so much joy and sadness. heartbroken and she has gone, what a woman. thank you for everything, the melodies and the movements. tributes keep pouring in following the news that aretha franklin has died, in detroit. she had been ill for some time. she was 76. she was of course known as the

queen of soul. 21 us number one records, a career spanning seven decades, awarded the presidential medal of freedom by george w bush in 2005 and saluted for capturing the hearts of millions of americans. ten years later she reduced president barack 0bama to tears when she sang (you make me feel like) a natural woman at a kennedy center honours ceremony, having previously performed at his inauguration. let's take a look. # looking out on the morning rain

# looking out on the morning rain # are used to feel so uninspired # are used to feel so uninspired # when i knew i had to face another day # lord, it made me feel so tired # lord, it made me feel so tired # before the day i met you # before the day i met you # life was so unkind # life was so unkind # you're the key to my peace of mind # you're the key to my peace of mind # you're the key to my peace of mind # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel like # you make me feel like a # you make me feel like a natural # you make me feel like a natural like a natural woman # when my soul was in the lost and found # you came along to claim it

# you came along to claim it # i didn't knowjust what was wrong with me # till # till your # till your peers # till your peers helped # till your peers helped me # till your peers helped me name # till your peers helped me name it # till your peers helped me name it till your peers # till your peers helped me name it # now i'm no longer doubtful of what i'm living for # and if i'm living for #and if! i'm living for # and if i make you happy, i don't need to do more # cause you make me feel # cause you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel like # you make me feel like like # you make me feel like #a # you make me feel like # a natural woman # a natural woman # 0h, # a natural woman # oh, baby, what you've done to me # oh, baby, what you've done to me # you make me feel so good inside # you make me feel so good inside # and

# you make me feel so good inside #andl # you make me feel so good inside # and ijust want # you make me feel so good inside # and i just want to # you make me feel so good inside # and ijust want to be # and ijust want to be # i want to be close to you # i want to be close to you # you make me feel so alive # you make me feel so alive # you make me feel so alive # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel like # you make me feel like a # you make me feel like a natural # you make me feel like a natural like a natural woman # you make me feel # you make me feel # you make me feel like # you make me feel like a # you make me feel like a natural # you make me feel like a natural like a natural woman. # you make me feel like a natural woman. #. #a

# awoman! # awoman! #a # awoman! # awoman! #a # awoman! # a woman! #. #. cheering aretha franklin who has died at the age of 76. no one had the title queen of cup next soul before her, no one will inherit it either. hello, declared and the brain across the southeast will clear this evening but overnight, blustery showers continuing into the north—west. going to be a chilly night for many of us, temperatures

down into mid—single digits out of towns and cities. tomorrow starts chilly, some early brightness around before cloud present western areas, almost from the beginning in scotla nd almost from the beginning in scotland and northern ireland, it will stay dry across many central, southern and eastern areas without rain continuing to push eastwards. temperatures again in the high teens to the north, a bit of recovery in the southeast, 23 should be the high. into saturday most places should be fine and dry before we seek more wind and rain pushing into northern and western areas by sunday. today at 5pm.

the queen of soul aretha franklin has died at the age of 76. the legendary american singer singer sold more than 75 million records with hits like ‘respect‘ and ‘say a little prayer‘ some of the biggest names in the world of music and politics have been paying tribute to the singer who want 18 grammy awards. the heart and the soul and the spirit of god that she poured out over audiences was. . .