Roger Whittaker

[Vicky and Rory]

Here for everyone's benefit is a translation of the article about Roger last week in NEUE POST!

Thank you to Maik Schultz and Rocco Meier for your help!

Roger Whittaker - His grief, his tears

The hurt will never leave his soul

Next year he will celebrate his 75th birthday. He had seen so much, his life was full of good and bad things. But there is one thing that Roger Whittaker will never forget. The cruel indictable offence which his parents fall victim to.

It happened in 1989 in Kenya, where Roger's parents Viola and Edward lived. Many years before, they decided to live there and moved from England to Africa. In 1989 Roger lived in England and that’s the reason why he couldn’t help his parents when they were attacked.

An unbelievable crime: robbers attacked the Whittakers at there house. They shackled and gagged his father who suffocated. His mother survived but her life was destroyed by the murderers anyway.

NEUE POST met the singer for a personal interview in Hamburg. During the talk Roger Whittaker was overwhelmed by his memories. Again he feels all the grief, all the tears and harm. Roger Whittaker: “My mother was hit, she was dipped in ice cold water and again and again she was asked: Where is the money, where is the money? But at their house they hadn't kept any money.

After that horrible occurrence Roger Whittaker brought his mother with him back to England. There she died in 1996 as a refracted woman. The singer said: “My mother has spoken nevermore about this and she had never forgotten. I know about the feelings she had deep inside but as I said until she died she didn’t speak about that terrible day and I myself never asked her about it. I respected her decision.

What the villains had done to his parents – the singer can’t understand until today how people can be so cold and cruel. Could he forgive the murderers, make up to mend his soul? “No” is the answer of Roger Whittaker. By speaking this simple word he is very stern and settled. “But I’ve learned to live with it."

But when he was younger it was different. At that time he wants vengeance. Roger Whittaker: “Implicitly I want to get them. But the culprits were never caught. We don’t know any thing about these villains”.

The fact that the culprits were never identified makes the situation very hard to handle for Roger Whittaker and that’s the reason why the thoughts of what happened to his parents are still alive.

Since then Roger Whittaker has never gone back to Kenya. Even pictures of Africa hurt him. For the last time he visited Kenya was when his father was buried. He won’t be able to follow the FIFA football world championship on TV.

For sure Roger Whittaker was offered a very rich by destiny. He has his wife Natalie, five children and eight grandchildren and a huge success on stage and all this made him a felicitous men. The love of his wife and his family always comforted him and make the pain that he holds in his soul bearable.


Gaby Lentzen
NEUE POST, Nr. 24 - 09.06.2010 (9th June 2010)

Please note: We are unsure of the intended use of the words "refracted" and "felicituous" in the translation process.