Dyan Birch obit

RIP Dyan Birch, loved by all the Kokomo family

 She was not on the list.

From Frank Collins, 11 October 2020:

It’s with the deepest sadness I’m here to announce the passing of my lifelong friend the incredibly beautiful Dyan Birch who passed peacefully in her sleep yesterday morning after suffering for many years with the respiratory condition known as C.O.P.D.

Most people will know Dy from the bands ‘Arrival’ and ‘Kokomo’ . Dy was loved and adored by her many fans and by everyone who had the pleasure and privilege of knowing her.

I adored her from the moment I met her when she worked in ‘Nems’ record store in Liverpool, our home town, when I would rush down to Nems every lunch hour to hear the latest records … I was ‘Motown’ mad (still am) when I saw this most strikingly beautiful girl behind the counter who instantly attracted me .. one day she just said to me ‘go into the listening booth and listen to this’ … it was ‘Aretha’s’ I Never Loved A Man … I melted on the spot… that was the beginning of a very special friendship which I will cherish for all my days and beyond.

Everyone who knew Dy loved her and what was not to love … the purest most honest spirit who’s inner beauty dazzled … her stunningly beautiful voice and her light that for me will shine forever… sleep in heavenly peace my dear dear friend.. words can’t express my sadness except to say each tear is filled with the deepest love …

Born in Liverpool, Birch worked as a teenager in Brian Epstein's NEMS record shop in the city. In 1969, she and her friends formed the band Arrival, and moved to London. The group had two UK chart hits in 1970, "Friends" and "I Will Survive", both featuring Birch, and played at the Isle of Wight Festival that year. The group later expanded and changed style, becoming Kokomo, who were successful in London pubs and clubs in the mid-1970s. Several members of the band became respected session musicians, and Birch became a backing singer on records by Bryan Ferry, Gloria Gaynor, Frankie Miller, Marianne Faithfull, Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Alvin Lee.

She was the younger sister of the late Pamela Birch of the Liverbirds.