Jimmy McShane

James Harry McShane (23 May 1957 – 29 March 1995) was a Northern Irish singer who held both British and Italian citizenship.

James Harry McShane was born in Derry on 23 May 1957.

He was raised in a conservative household and was faced with rejection when he came out as gay to his family.

He was hired as a stage dancer and backing singer, touring Europe with Dee D. Jackson and her band.

During a visit to Italy with the band, he was attracted to the country's underground dance scene, which inspired him to relocate to Milan in 1984.

He achieved recognition as the lead singer of the Italian new wave band Baltimora, most notably with their 1985 hit song "Tarzan Boy".

The act found success with its most popular single, "Tarzan Boy", released in 1985.

In America, McShane was overwhelmed by the success of the song.

Some sources state that the lead vocals were performed by Bassi while McShane provided backing vocals, but this still remains uncertain, and McShane appears as the vocalist in the song's music video rather than Bassi.

He told Dick Clark on American Bandstand in 1986 that he fell in love with Italy from that moment, and would later become fluent in Italian and acquire Italian citizenship.

Having initially made his debut playing in small clubs in Derry without success, McShane instead went to work as an emergency medical technician for the Red Cross until meeting Italian record producer and keyboardist Maurizio Bassi, with whom he created the band Baltimora.

He is buried in Derry City Cemetery next to his father, who died three years prior in 1992.

There is a commemorative plaque in his honour in Derry.

McShane was diagnosed with AIDS in 1994.

A few months later, he left Milan to spend his remaining time in his hometown of Derry, where he died on 29 March 1995 at the age of 37.

A family spokesman said that he "faced his illness with courage and died with great dignity".