UK NEWS

SINGER'S SON PLANS TO END KNIFE CRIME BY TEACHING YOGA TO GANG MEMBERS

Frankie Vaughan

Monday October 27,2008

By Brian Swanson

The son of 1960s crooner Frankie Vaughan has vowed to carry on his father’s work to end knife violence in Glasgow – by teaching yoga to teenage gang members.

The entertainer was so appalled by violence in the notorious Easterhouse area that he donated his fee from concerts at the Glasgow Pavilion to spearhead a campaign to provide better facilities for the area’s youth.

And he even persuaded gangs to hand in their weapons and declare a truce, which failed to last the test of time.

Now David Sye, 48, one of the late entertainer’s three children, who has worked with street gangs in Palestine, will meet community workers to develop a strategy to curb a rising tide of violence.

Mr Sye is used to improbably difficult tasks, having persuaded warring factions to hug following his intervention in the Middle East.

And he had partial success calming singer Amy Winehouse, using his £70-a-session yoga techniques to aid her struggle against drink and Class A drugs.

Sye said: “My dad set the standard in my life - if you contribute something, you will always be happy.”

After accompanying his father to Easterhouse, Sye believes his unique style of therapy will help people feel good.

He said: “I saw the effects of that in the communities dad worked with.

“People in Brixton and the West Bank disarm before they come to my classes, and at the end they’re hugging each other.

“That’s just through humanity for each other, without politicians or the UN. Peace is the absence of war, not the opposite of war.

“If there’s any way I can contribute to Easterhouse, it would be my delight to come up and share what I do.

“When people feel good, they start smiling, and when you give someone a taste of that, they remember that forever.”

Sye, a former journalist whose clients includes Sadie Frost, developed the exercise technique known as Yogabeats – playing James Brown’s tunes to drown out aerial bombing sorties.

Sye contacted Easterhouse activists after learning of a plan to rebuild the Easterhouse Project, originally set up after a Frankie Vaughan concert in 1968 and credited with bringing together gangs and groups from different area into neutral territory.

Richard McShane, chairman of Blairtumnock and Rogerfield Tenants and Residents Association, said: “It’s brilliant. This is big news for this area.

“I could have fallen off my chair when he said who was calling.

“Frankie Vaughan was big news in the 1960s and here’s his son returning 40 years later. For David to take time to come to Easterhouse shows he is committed to people. He saw what his dad did 40 years ago and he wants to continue it on.”

Sye is expected to meet local high school pupils and members of the community after a schedule of events is worked out in advance of his visit.