Desmond O’Connor has created a spot-on send-off to the recently deceased stars.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get this thing called death. Electric word, death. It means forever and that’s a mighty long time. But I’m here to tell you there is something else: a perfect tribute to comedian Victoria Wood and musician Prince who both died this week.

Wood and the Purple One inhabited very different worlds but were pioneers in their fields who displayed an extraordinary breadth of talent in terms of writing and performing. Cabaret often serves to challenge the boundaries of what society deems socially acceptable in the name of entertainment; in their distinct ways, these two brought the bulldozers and demolished the prevailing boundaries of their time, especially around gender and colour.

Neither were particularly inhibited when singing about the sexual side of life so it seems fitting that singer, songwriter and playwright Desmond O’Connor has written his Ballad of Prince and Victoria which imagines what would happen when these two set eyes on each other outside the Pearly Gates. Debuted at the Black Cat’s Rah Rah Revue, the version below was filmed at the Missy Malone and Friends Burlesque Revue in Cheltenham with Sarah Bodalbhai on the piano.

The video was filmed by Lisa Williams of Cherry Bomb Rock Photography and Tony Heath.

If you want more Desmond O’Connor in your life, check out his Youtube channel or stalk him on Twitter.