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Tributes flood in for the singer with a big heart
HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to a popular entertainer who died after collapsing at an airport on his way to a concert.
HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to a popular entertainer who died after collapsing at an airport on his way to a concert."Big Man" Greg Lawrence, from Ravensthorpe, Peterborough, was at Luton Airport for a flight to Berlin with daughter Nicole Lawrence when he collapsed in the terminal building.
Airport staff and emergency services rushed to his aid, but attempts to save Mr Lawrence's life failed, and he sadly passed away.
He was 54 years old.
Today, Nicole (30) spoke on behalf of his family and paid tribute to her loving father and popular all-round entertainer.
She said: "I've basically only let the band members know, but both my brother and I have had hundreds of messages on our Facebook pages.
"We've also had people coming round to our home and calls from all over the world. It's just unbelievable and overwhelming."
Born in Surrey, Mr Lawrence joined the army as a youngster and was sent to Germany, where he was stationed in Menden.
And it was there that, in 1977, he met German-born Bettina at a disco. The pair hit it off instantly, and married just six months later.
Nicole added: "Dad was a bit of a smooth dancer, and he whisked her off her feet."
Mr Lawrence left the army five years later and became a lorry driver, where he returned to the UK to transport milk across Cambridgeshire.
Fast forward 10 years and that's where the story of the "Big Man" begins, when Mr Lawrence used to take Nicole to karaoke nights at a Peterborough club.
She added: "He did the karaoke one night and a local music teacher said he would be a great lead singer, and Big Man and his Band was formed in 1994.
"They did all the local pubs and clubs, starting off at Lord Westwood, and it started escalating from there."
Despite later performing across Europe, Mr Lawrence is probably best known for his appearance on Stars in their Eyes in 1996, where he sang Fats Domino's, Blueberry Hill.
Mr Lawrence made it all the way through to the grand final of the show, earning more than 150,000 votes to come in second place.
But Nicole explained: "A lot of people end up doing a tribute show, but my dad didn't want to do that. he wanted to be the Big Man.
"He did a lot of Louis Armstrong and Barry White, too, and he just used to give people a big party."
Mr Lawrence's exploits, however, didn't stop there, as he was also a keen fund-raiser and was a patron of Peterborough-based charity Home Start.
In that capacity, Mr Lawrence used to put on a range of different events, including family days and parties, which he would also perform at.
Hereward FM breakfast show host and ET columnist Kev Lawrence, who worked with Mr Lawrence on many occasions, said he was deeply shocked by the news.
He added: "It is oh, so sad. He was a lovely bloke, who liked to live life to the full.
"He was always a great-value guest and a great talent, who will be sorely missed."
Nicole confirmed that the funeral arrangements for Mr Lawrence, who died on Friday morning, have yet to be made.
He leaves his wife Bettina, son Benjamin and daughter Nicole.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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