Gene Pitney dies during UK tour

American singer Gene Pitney, who shot to fame in the 1960s with hits including 24 hours from Tulsa, has died while on tour in Britain, his agent says.
Jene Levy said Pitney, 65, died this morning in the Welsh capital Cardiff where he had given a concert the day before.
There was no immediate word on the cause of death.
South Wales police said they had been called to a hotel at 0850 GMT this morning (1850 AEST) and the death was not being treated as suspicious.
His agent said his wife, Lynne, had been told of his death. Pitney also left three sons, David, Todd, and Chris.
Born on February 17, 1941 in Hartford, Connecticut, Gene Francis Alan Pitney initially had no real ambition to be a singer. According to his official website, as a boy he was more at home collecting stamps and coins, trapping mink and muskrat and experimenting with electronics.
But music gradually began to take over his life and he formed a band while a student at Rockville High School.
After high school, Pitney teamed up with singer Ginny Arnell and recorded for Decca as Jamie & June.
His career began by writing hit songs for others, such as He's A Rebel for The Crystals, Today's Teardrops for Roy Orbison and Hello Mary Lou for Ricky Nelson.
In 1961, he began a collaboration with songwriter Burt Bacharach and Hal David that resulted in the recording of his first hit single I Wanna Love My Life Away, followed by Town Without Pity which won a Golden Globe award for Best Song in a Motion Picture and was nominated for an Academy award.
His 1963 hit, Mecca is thought to be a precursor to psychedelia in its use of Indian musical influences, two years before the Beatles began incorporating these influences in their songs.
But it was the 1963 release of 24 hours from Tulsa that brought him worldwide fame.
In late 1962, he began a month-long tour of Britain and Europe, which included Italy and Germany, where he sang in their native languages.
In America he found it difficult to withstand the "invasion" of British pop artists but he was, by this time, becoming a much bigger star in Britain, making the British Top Ten six times in 1965-66.
He could also depend on a faithful international audience throughout Europe, particularly in Italy where he was hugely popular.
In 1966 he became one of the first artists to reach success with Randy Newman compositions, taking Nobody Needs Your Love and Just One Smile into the British Top Ten.
He remained a prolific recording artist, putting out many albums a year in America in the mid-sixties. His last chart hit in America was 1969, but he continued to hit the British charts until 1974.
Since the mid-seventies, Pitney reduced his touring schedule as he became increasingly involved in real estate and stock market investments.
Although he toured the United States infrequently, he continued to work elsewhere in the world. In 1988, a remake of Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart went to Number One in Britain. Five years later, he returned to the US concert stage for the first time in almost 20 years with a sold-out appearance at Carnegie Hall.
He divided his time between touring and his business interests, which included the Crystal Lake Beach and Boat Club in Connecticut, where he worked as a youth.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.