Time and tide wait for no man - and that includes some of the big-name rock and pop stars who hail from our region.
Wallsend -born Sting is now 71; Mark Knopfler who was brought up on North Tyneside is two years older; while Washington -born Bryan Ferry was 77 last month. One other venerable North East rocker to add to the list is Brian Johnson, the gravel-throated, flat-capped lead singer with AC/DC who turns 75 this week.
Johnson, like his illustrious regional contemporaries, remains active on the music scene. Only last month, Brian took part in the giant tribute concert for late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins at London's Wembley Stadium, joining the surviving Foo Fighters and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on stage. “This is fantastic,” the singer declared as the musicians launched into a storming version of AC/DC’s Back In Black .
