The world of funk and soul was forever altered on September 23, 1974, when the vibrant rhythm of Dundee’s Robbie McIntosh, the extraordinary drummer and founding member of the Average White Band, was tragically silenced. At just 24 years old, Robbie’s life was cut short in an accidental heroin overdose that left fans and fellow musicians reeling from the sudden loss of such a bright, promising talent. For Didi Dundee, the widow of Robbie McIntosh, the 50th anniversary of her husband’s death is not just a milestone – it’s a deeply personal journey of love, loss, and remembrance.
But in an exclusive interview with The Courier as she arrived in Dundee to lay flowers on his grave ahead of the 50th anniversary of his death, the now 76-year-old, who hid away for 40 years to escape the trauma of what happened, says she would do it all again. “Robbie was like this flower that was about to bloom and was cut before it happened,” she says when asked what she thought Robbie’s legacy was, 50 years on. “I touched heaven and hell in a very short space of time.
“But if I had to live my life again, I’d want the same thing again.” Born Edith St Louis, Didi, whose parents were part of the , now uses her artist name, a moniker her late husband affectionately used. She reminisces about their passionate and tumultuous relationship, which began in the most unconventional way at the Starlight Ballroom in Wembley.
“I was 17, and he was 18 months younger,” Didi recalls with.