Been done Mr Fig, although I wish it was under a more impressive product! Here to waste 30 seconds of your valuable time ...
Robert Smith is a genius .... also a nice bloke now . He is highly driven but now has mellowed. lots of people where afraid to Interview him as was deemed a difficult person. In fact he is not .. if you watch him he exudes wit and also makes me laugh as he always comes across shy in an interview .. chatty but bashful oh and the naughty lies he tells .. Clever chap. but in his heavy drink drug days he became dark and difficult . Creatives are often " difficult " because you have to be a bit out there to think that way. Also I think you have to put up a wall as everyone wants a bit of you. so you need to put up that air. Coke can turn the nicest man into to a monster !! I can imagine Bowie in Ziggy days exuding well awesomeness ! It was so out there for its time . now not so sure. I used to like Daniel Ash of Bauhaus and Love and rockets .. Apparently an absolute arsehole. my Stepdad makes cues from all the snooker professionals like Steve Davis , Jimmy White , Ronnie O Sullivan and all the ones. People did not like Ronnie O Sullivan for the same reason .. went off on a mad tangent . my Dad made him a stunning cue and he lost his temper as he wasnt winning and snapped it in half ! The craftsmanship that goes into these cues and love .. ( Paris Cues) my Dad was livid .. ( he gets given cues most of the pros don't pay) My Dad was not fond of him. Now he has mellowed and my Dad says he's now ok and polite to my Dad . Nicks his coffee cup! Fame gets to all .. some ride it well .. They say never meet your Heroes .. Bowie came across a frail drama queen .. heroin Chic He is not or he wouldn't still be here today. most of the real genius troubled ones sadly die of excess or taking own lives. we have lost a lot that way but their music lives on. Can I risk my neck .... I think the Beatles are horrendously over rated! ( gonna burn in hell for that one ).
Also note a lot of successful people be it sports or music have a partner who is in the shadows. wife or whatever... They are often the ones who are there through good and bad and probably why they are still here. The ones that take it all I their stride and exude calm on their difficult creative or successful partner Not a great example I know ... who was stunned when they saw Tom Jones's mrs! John and Oko when he was alive ( although she wasnt placid) Barry Sheene and Stephanie a model but another woman who stuck by him. Robert Smith and Mary Poole. loads you don't even know or see. when your that driven you need that yin yang so you need the calm one to your mad excess. 2 people on a bender is tragedy . Kurt Kobain Courtney Love .. Chaos !! Leading to his death Sid & Nancy ok Drugs and excess .... But 2 crazies is not good
Mel, you are absolutely right... I talked to someone who made instruments for Billy Connolly - this guy hated him because he said he treated the instruments badly ( he can probably afford to these days... ). Back at your "behind every great man..." point - Take Ozzie and Sharron... She is the one that does all the organising and sorting his ( chaotic ) life out. Off at a slight tangent - if you read John Otway's autobiography ( "Cor baby, that's really me!" ) he tells the story of how when Paula yates dumped him he told her she'd never get another chance to marry a rock star ! Lucky escape for Otway, I reckon !
Maybe I should start a "famous people what you have met" thread... Minor celebrity encounters, and what you thought of them...
And, as you mentioned "standing in the shadows" earlier... Hank B Marvin Esq. : met him after a gig in Windsor years ago - what a great bloke... Fantastic guitar player and all-round nice guy
And, whilst I'm on a roll... I'll join you in hell and pour petrol on the flames ! I agree entirely about the Beatles... They caught the imagination of the population and the media at the time, and as such have become an icon of the era - but were they really that much better than everyone else ? Now, I will happily admit that John Lennon wrote some fantastic songs, but Paul Macartney? Do me a favour ! The guy can't sing in tune, or in time ( witness his "performance" at the Olympics ) and his greatest contributions to musical history appear to be "The Frog Song" and "Mull of Kintire" ! Hugely over-rated ! Lennon will always have kudos, as far as I am concerned, for what he said about Ringo Star : "not only is he not the best drummer in the world, he's not even the best drummer in the Beatles !" Now the Rolling Stones, on the other hand - what a GREAT band !
