Gemcom Whittle

First ever appearance on CD for this 1985 session led by the British jazz saxophonists Alan Barnes and Tommy Whittle, alongside a stellar group that includes bassist Alec Dankworth, pianist Mick Pyne and drummer Alan Jackson. 'Straight Eight' was the first album to be released on the new Miles Music label in 1985, and the pairing of the established Tommy Whittle with the young Alan Barnes, who was rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the bright new talents on the jazz scene, would not have been immediately obvious.

Lesley Whittle was just 17 when she was snatched by Donald Neilson. He was a builder turned career criminal, responsible for four murders and more than 400 burglaries.

Lesley Whittle was just 17 when she was snatched by Donald Neilson. He was a builder turned career criminal, responsible for four murders and more than 400 burglaries.

Tells the story of the kidnapping and murder of the 17-year-old in 1975, one of the most infamous crimes of the decade, carried out by career criminal Donald Neilson. Lesley's ordeal began at her home in Shropshire on 14 January, when her mother Dorothy went to wake her daughter and found an empty bed. In the lounge, there were three ransom notes demanding ?50,000 and a warning not to involve the police. Seven weeks later, Lesley was found hanging from a wire at the bottom of the drainage shaft where Neilson had tethered her.