And bestriding the list, remembered as we first met them:

The unforgettable, androgynous David Bowie

The surreal sexbomb that was Prince

The outed and proud George Michael

The poet of all our yearning, Leonard Cohen.

Most of you reading this won't need the headline explained.

The grim reaper didn't just take out a huge swathe of the most influential musicians of all time, he also eliminated individuals whose impact on gay attitudes and lifestyles was immeasurable. Not that they had to be gay themselves to qualify as challengers of the taboos by which gays were previously imprisoned. No matter the content of their personal lives, their music probably helped many of us get through a hard time or two.

Which is why, when news reaches us of the recent deaths of older musicians, we're shocked because we think of them as being forever the age they were when we first heard their music. Keith Emerson and Greg Lake of ELP, Leon Russell, Eagles musician Glenn Frey, Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White, “Dead or Alive” singer Pete Burns, the 'Fifth Beatle, George Martin, Rick Parfitt of Status Quo...the list goes on and on. Fortunately, so does their music.

'Outside,' by George Michael

I think I'm done with the sofa
I think I'm done with the hall
I think I'm done with the kitchen table, baby

Let's go outside in the sunshine
I know you want to, but you can't say yes
Let's go outside in the moonshine
Take me to the places that I love best
 

RIP those who are not immortal but whose music is.