Ex-Wham record label boss fell to death in Newcastle

Aug 28 2011 by Tom Mullen, Sunday Sun

TORMENTED former music tycoon Shamsi Ahmed threw himself to his death in despair from a tower block after his life spiralled out of control.

Tortured by memories of killing a teenager in a road smash and haunted by the ending of his once-glittering career, 50-year-old Shamsi decided to end it all.

As a one-time music mogul Shamsi was credited with launching the record label behind 1980s pop giants Wham!, essentially spearheading the sparking careers of singing duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

Yet an inquest last week revealed how he plunged from an upper storey of a 10-floor tower block in Newcastle’s West End, having battled mental health problems.

The inquest, held in Newcastle, revealed told how his life unraveled in a haze of booze which ultimately led to him being jailed after he mowed down and killed a teenager in his alcohol fuddled madness.

It had all seemed so different when, as a young man, he had founded the London-based Innervision record label in 1981, the same label that signed Wham! that year.

The pair went on to become household names after recording hits such as Young Guns, Wham Rap, Club Tropicana and Bad Boys.

Shamsi also spent time working as a City trader, one of a series of highly-paid jobs – but he eventually returned to his native Newcastle to be with his family.

He already had two convictions for drink-driving at the time his Rover 216 hit and killed 16-year-old David Ross on Christmas Eve, 2003, as he rode his moped in Cramlington, Northumberland.

He was jailed for five-and-a-half years, but on his release struggled emotionally as he battled his bi-polar condition.

And on February 4 this year he threw himself to his death from the top of Cruddas Park House in Newcastle’s West End.