2016’s celebrity deaths are not abating, but the crossword world matches each with a tribute puzzle
Victoria Wood’s luxury on Desert Island Discs was “a bumper book of sudoku with blank pages and pens”. Lionel Blair, Trevor Brooking, Birgit Nilsson, Thomas Keneally and Simon Russell Beale each preferred the kind of puzzle where you write in letters, not digits, but the gallant world of crosswording has not held that against Wood.
9d Band fared badly with randy couple in song (5,3,5)
[ anagram (‘badly’) of BAND FARED RANDY ]
8d Musical article featuring my old pieces (5,8)
[ grammatical article around (‘featuring’) synonym for expression of surprise (‘my’) + synonym for ‘old pieces’ ]
[ AN around COR + ANTIQUES ]
13ac Norwegian band covering record by live act finally leading to letters (8)
[ AHA (‘Norwegian band’) surrounding LP (‘record’) + BE (‘live’) + T (final letter of ACT ]
[ A + LP + HA + BE + T ]
15ac Way Oscar-winning actress steered clear of Last Tango (6)
[ STREE (STREEP - its last letter) + T (‘Tango’ in Nato alphabet) ]
[ STREE + T ]
25ac Pour ale all round insect (2,6)
[ synonym for ‘ale’ surrounding an insect ]
[ BEER around MOTH ]