Former independent record retailer and chair of the British Association Of Record Dealers, Richard Wootton, died at the weekend, seemingly rather suddenly. Wooton ran independent store Ainley's in Leicester with his wife Liz, whose father had founded the shop.
He was chair of BARD between 1995 and 1998, during which time he helped re-negotiate the way the music charts worked with the BPI, leading to the creation of the Official Charts Company.
Paying tribute, a spokesman for the Entertainment Retailer's Association, the current incarnation of BARD, told Music Week: "Richard was a great inspiration for and supporter of BARD - the former name of ERA - for many years. We would like to express the sincere condolences of everyone at ERA to Liz and the rest of Richard's family".