Dave Amitri on It’s been 21 years…….
21 years ago this week Billy MacKenzie took his own life in his Dads shed. It was the end to a sometime glorious, often difficult, sometimes beautiful but ultimately unfulfilled life. For some reason I don’t quite understand Billy affects me more than any other pop star. Something about his ridiculous talent alongside his suffocating vulnerability and self doubt constantly draws me back.
Like most of us he only came to my notice through his appearances on Top of The Pops in the summer of 1982. He laughed and pissed around while performing the still ahead of it’s time “Party Fears Two” and the impossibly catchy “Club Country”. He looked like someone with the world at his feet he had the looks, the swagger and that voice from some otherworldly place like nothing heard before or since. I went a bought “Sulk” expecting 10 more foot tapping pop songs and was left scratching my head at the likes of “Bap de la Bap” and “Nude Spoons”. It still confuses and delights in equal measure.
After that despite insane record company spending and Billy wasting time and money on his whims and fancies only a couple more minor hits followed. Billys self destruct button and self doubt began to devour him. He was sure “Waiting For The Loveboat” was about to shoot him to number one but it bombed. The truly awful cover of “Heart Of Glass” showed that no one, including Billy quite knew what to do with that voice. For any producer it must have been like being given War and Peace and asked to make it suitable for Jackanory. Billy was desperate to be a pop star but the voice was a curse as much as it was a phenomenon.
Much of his solo career while for me being his most consistent period passed without notice. A collaboration with Yello among several highs. “Transmission Imposssible” deserves a place in anyones collection.
It would appear that as his dreams moved further away, his self doubt and hair loss which prompted some hat wearing and eyebrow raising wigs became crippling, he moved further away from fame and more to his beloved whippets and ultimately to his Dads shed. A dreadful loss.
I wholeheartedly recommend “The Glamour Chase” which is a fascinating and detailed insight into his life. Even if as for many Billy MacKenzie was not quite your cup of tea its a great read.
I’ll be binge listening Billy and The Associates for the next couple of weeks and occasionally I’ll wonder what the hell it is that continually draws me towards him. This performance which I’ve posted many times is possibly my favourite and may well have been where Billy belonged. It’s him and a pianist at Ronnie Scotts and performing the stunning “No”.
Beautifully written, sir, and points well made.
Thank you.
Thank you @biggles very kind
20 years ago I was working for a high street retailer that stocked CDs amongst other things. The buyers would be showered with stuff from publishing companies, stationery suppliers, and record labels, all trying to get their product onto high street shelves that would guarantee healthy sales. The stacks of demo CDs were waist high some days. I used to pick up all kinds of stuff on the off-chance, and take it home for a listen. That way I discovered loads of great artists who would otherwise have passed me by. One of the best finds was a little yellow disc, all naked (or rather nude) without even a flimsy plastic sleeve. The disc had the words ‘BILLY MaCKenzIe – BeYonD THe sun’ emblazoned across it. I took it home and discovered a voice to die for.
What a great story. “Beyond The Sun” is beautiful…
Try this link Dave. It’s a 1hr BBC Scotland radio programme about The Associates. They were never of any interest to me(even though one of my pals played with Alan Rankine for a while) but I still found it interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09kgkqr
Thanks @bigstevie that’s one for when I’m out walking the dog tomorrow
That was an hour well spent, thanks
Never really got the Associates, despite the best efforts of the late lamented Mr. Blast, however I was already a Yello fan and consequently really liked this:
As you probably know Billy wrote this. He had to leave the studio when Shirley Bassey came in to do the vocal. Apparently it was the one thing he did that got real recognition from his mum……..
I did not know that, thanks Dave
Fuckin’ tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune
Good shout Dave
My own personal favourite is on Barry Adamson’s Oedipus Schmoedipus / Achieved In The Valley Of Dolls
Thanks, that’s great and I’ve not heard it before
OS is a great album.
I’d never heard Sulk, so I gave it a go. It’s amazing. This is where Scott Walker took off his second career from, surely? Direct line from this to Climate of Hunter.
I can’t comment on Scott Walker but I’m really pleased you enjoyed Sulk
Amazing how plugged in he was on Nite Flights and CoH… then went “fuck it, I’m doing my own thing” for everything thereafter.
At our office Christmas party I had a drunken conversation with a Scottish colleague who was doing Harry Enfield’s “everything’s better in Scotland’ routine. I was praising the Associates, and this 50-year old had never heard of them. “What were they like?” she asked. I just couldn’t convey what they were like without using terms that made me sound like a pretentious English wanker.
Ha! I think the best I’ve heard a few versions of is that it sounds like it was music made by aliens
Until you said “she” and finished the paragraph, I thought maybe you were getting at being at an office party with @ganglesprocket !!
😉
For those unaware, White Label (who include one of Billy’s co-writer Steve Aungle) specialise in taking demo vocals and building new tracks around them. They’ve used a couple of Billy’s vocals to lovely effect, on this track from 2012:
https://soundcloud.com/whitelabelstolenvoices/5-billy?in=whitelabelstolenvoices/sets/white-label-stolen-voices
… and their new album is free to download at Bandcamp (https://whitelabel1.bandcamp.com/) which includes another…
Listening to The Associates today reminded me of this beautiful thread of appreciation. Hope you are ok, @Dave-Amitri.
Yes, where is the lovely old goat?
I’m good thanks chaps. Just taking a break as I seemed to have run out of anything new to say. Still drop in from time to time but as a reader only. Hope you’re all well x
Good to see you, Dave. I thought you might have popped in on the Scottish podcast threads, which are what drew me back to Billy.
I’m well, thanks.
I’ll have to search those out. I put this together recently as a condensed bit of Billy https://open.spotify.com/user/daveamitri-gb/playlist/0h65Q3aLUHmvafuOJamZSx?si=Zs35efPARNW5wLLloGc9Xg
Brilliant! I now have a new phone that can *carry* Spotify. I’ll listen to that on the airport trip later today.
Maybe you could do a review 😆