Police, a part this artist was surely born to play ... it is almost like hearing it for the first time." Many of Brannigan's favourite North Country songs were recorded on disc; he also made light music comedy recordings such as A Little Nonsense (nursery rhymes sung in humorously operatic style) with the Pro Arte Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, which was recorded in 1962. Later years and legacy In 1964, Queen Elizabeth II named Brannigan an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Brannigan was in a serious car crash in 1972, from which he never fully recovered. He died of pneumonia in 1973, aged 65, and is buried in the churchyard of St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church at Annitsford. Brannigan married Mary née Ashley. Their daughter Maureen died in childhood from diphtheria, and their son, also called Owen, died in 1981 (aged 40) after being electrocuted in an accident. The opera singer Graeme Danby presented a series of tributes to Brannigan on television and in concert in 2008 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Brannigan's birth. His tribute, including recordings of Brannigan, as well as singing by Danby and interviews of people who knew Brannigan, was published as a DVD documentary. Notes References Ayre, Leslie. The Wit of Music, Leslie Frewin, London, 1966 Brook, Donald Singers of Today, 2nd Edition (Rockliff, London 1958), pp. 38–42 March, Ivan (ed). The Penguin Guide to Opera on CD, Penguin Books, London, 1993 Sackville-West, Edward, and Desmond Shawe-Taylor, The Record Guide'',Collins, London, 1955 External links Brannigan at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Photo and profile of Brannigan Another photo and profile of Brannigan Brannigan folk songs disc 1908 births 1973 deaths Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Operatic basses Officers of the Order of the British Empire Geordie songwriters 20th-century British male opera singers People from the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Musicians from Tyne and Wear Deaths from pneumonia in England