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Outlook: The song that helped me grieve

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Jayson and Greta (credit: Joni Greene)

29/05/2019 GMT

The song that helped me grieve

BBC World Service - Outlook, The song that helped me grieve

Music journalist Jayson Greene kept a grief journal after the death of his daughter

When Jayson Greene lost his two-year-old daughter in a freak accident, he struggled to go on. But he found solace in music and keeping a journal of his grief.

New Yorkers Jayson and Stacy Greene were enchanted with their little girl, Greta. But when Greta was two, she was killed in a freak accident. She and her grandmother were sitting on a bench in Manhattan when a lump of masonry fell on Greta’s head. Surgery couldn’t save her and she died in hospital the next day with her parents by her side. Jayson is a writer and began keeping a journal following Greta’s death. He tells Jo Fidgen about his attempts to heal after the loss of their daughter. Jayson’s memoir is called Once More We Saw Stars.

Adrian Street grew up in a mining town in South Wales, but he always loved dressing up. When he was a teenager he started working down the mines but his dream was to become a wrestler. He was ridiculed by the other miners, but in the 1950s he moved to London to pursue his dream. With bleached blond hair, dressed in sequins and a feather boa he created a haughty androgynous character who would strut about the stage blowing kisses at the audience who would hurl abuse at him.  He called himself "Exotic Adrian Street" and before long he became a star. A film has been made about his life - called You May Be Pretty But I Am Beautiful: The Adrian Street Story.

Image: Jayson and Greta
Credit: Joni Greene

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