Monday, January 14, 2008

Charles Bronson Sings Frank Sinatra

Well sort of.....because today we here that Charles Bronson, no, not the actor but the man dubbed ‘Britain’s most dangerous prisoner’ has decided he’s going to record Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ to fund an appeal against his life sentence. The 55-year-old, whose real name is Michael Peterson, has spent the last 30 years in solitary confinement and has cost the taxpayer over £1 million.

According to Mr. Bronson “I am not a murderer and have paid my debt to society. I have not been violent for years. Every time I read stuff about me in the papers it’s like reading about someone else.” He was imprisoned for robbery 33 years ago but once inside he became has assaulted at least 20 officers, caused £500,000 of damage in rooftop protests and taking hostages on ten occasions – he even threatened to eat one of his captives. But in a Pythonesque moment Bronson insists he’s really a changed man “I was a nasty bastard, it’s true. But that’s all behind me now.”

After he’s done his 2,500 press-ups for the day, he plans to croon into his tape recorder. He hopes My Way will become the soundtrack to his freedom. Now just let's hope no one takes him seriously and follows in his footsteps.

Of course the song is well known for upsetting some people, but none quite as much as a 48 year old Filipino man. He stabbed to death a 25-year-old Filipino man who was singing My Way, apparently out of tune, during a birthday party. Police officer Noel Albis said the victim, Casimiro Lagugad, was asked to sing Sinatra's popular song during the party in Manila. "Witnesses said the suspect, Julio Tugas, 48, one of the guests and a neighbour of the victim, got irked because Lagugad was singing out of tune," Officer Albis said. "Tugas suddenly attacked the victim and stabbed him in the neck," he added. Guests rushed Mr. Lagugad to the hospital, but he died while being treated. Tugas surrendered and was later charged with murder.

1 comment:

r morris said...

'My Way' is one of those songs people either love or hate. I love it---but only if Frank Sinatra is singing it. Sure, it's kind of schmaltzy, but so what? Frank Sinatra could sing a page out of the Philadelphia phone book and make it into a classic.