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Childhood conceptions of musicians (Strawberry fears forever)

Started by Greg Torso, May 22, 2022, 11:22:48 AM

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willbo

as a kid I was pretty much scared of all musicians and cultural figures from my parents and their siblings posters/records that were strewn around my grandparent's house. My Dad's siblings are all kind of immature (they're all in their 60s now, this is when they were in their 30s and 40s) and were constantly getting divorced/breaking up with partners and coming back to live with my gran, so they basically had their teenage bedrooms set up ready all the time.

Anyway pretty much all of their old records and posters scared me. Anyone from Cher to AC DC or members of hippie jam bands. I think it's cause they all had unnatural intense expressions and were portrayed in weird ways. Photographed in weird light, holding snakes, messy hair, wild eyes, druggy expressions, etc. Like they're part of some mystical weird world.

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on May 23, 2022, 03:54:47 PMWhen I fist saw Bad Manners on TOTP, I thought Buster Bloodvessel and Winston Bazoomies (curly haired harmonica bloke on percussion) had genuinely been let out of a high security psychiatric unit for the day. Loved'em ever since. The sad thing is, Winston AKA Alan Sayag did suffer hugely from MH issues and was eventually sectioned for a while or so I believe. I had heard he'd died some years ago but no info online.

http://www.badmannersontour.com/home/winston_bazoomies



You genuinely thought that? Weren't you, like, 14 years old at the time?

SteveDave

Quote from: beanheadmcginty on May 23, 2022, 09:22:44 PMI thought Chevy Chase was Paul Simon.

I fell out with a friend in primary school because of this. His reasoning was "HE'S SINGING THE SONG! THE SONG IS BY PAUL SIMON! HE IS PAUL SIMON!" and me, being cultured as fuck, said "PAUL SIMON IS THE LITTLE FELLA!"

Bernice

My older brother got really into Nick Drake while we were sharing a room. Nothing wrong with that, at first – the melodies were uncomplicatedly lovely, the lyrics signposted their own poetry in a way that might draw scorn from the older and more cynical, but to my young ears had a depth I could only glimpse into and just enough whimsy to make me want to peek. And anyway, pompous little pre-teen that I was, I considered it a mark of my own sophistication to enjoy Old Music.

But then I found out that this young man from the past hadn't gone all gnarly and brown like Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones. No, he'd written his soft little songs and then he'd overdosed on pills because he was too sad to live. The pale fingers that moved up and down that fretboard reached for a handful of something white and bitter and then they had twitched their last.

I wasn't squeamish about death, particularly – there'd been a fair bit of it about – but something about suicide horrified me. Maybe it was the Catholic upbringing, I don't know. What I do know is that after finding this out, the music of Nick Drake began to absolutely terrify me. Even now, I can't listen to 'Cello Song without seeing the pale face of a young man from The Past, my senior then, younger than me now, beckoning me towards death with one of those long, pale fingers.

gilbertharding

I once saw a clip on Nationwide (I think) which I later realised was from The Great Rock n Roll Swindle which convinced me that Sid Vicious had literally pulled a revolver on stage mid-song and started shooting the audience to death.

I mean, I knew that in drama the actors sometimes pretended to shoot each other - and I was fine with that, but I also knew that Top of the Pops was real and pop stars weren't actors.

A few years before that I was confused and traumatised being in the room alone watching a film about a school sports day on a railway line, which was definitely a documentary. Because no-one else was with me, and I didn't have the capacity to talk to anyone about it afterwards, I internalised that fear for ages.

willbo

Was that the public service film? I saw that a couple of years ago. I remember 2 PSAs - one about people getting sucked into escalators and one with a foot stepping on dog poo - that no-one seems to talk about. And all the rabies ones.

gilbertharding

Quote from: willbo on May 24, 2022, 12:36:03 PMWas that the public service film? I saw that a couple of years ago.

Oh aye - I've seen it since - but this is off topic. Sid Vicious killed all those people at that concert and no-one stopped him.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Lisa Jesusandmarychain on May 24, 2022, 07:45:21 AMYou genuinely thought that? Weren't you, like, 14 years old at the time?

Yes, I had just turned 14. It was only as I was watching it play out that I believed for a minute they were actual crazed lunatics. You have to remember I'd never seen a sweaty, fat skinhead with a massive tongue (who looked like he was having an episode during the sax solo) on telly before. 1980 was a different time, Lisa.  Buster also reminded me of the scary inmate, Heslop from Porridge played by Brian Glover.

wrec

Quote from: Greg Torso on May 22, 2022, 11:22:48 AMGerogerigegege Harrison

Nice.

I thought all artists had to start out in bands before graduating to solo careers. I asked my older sister what band David Bowie had been in, and she said he hadn't been in a band (not being aware of the Konrad's!) which was an eye-opener.

The idea of sex and drugs was so shocking to me that I couldn't imagine any specific musicians I was aware of having anything to do with either.

In my grief at the sudden and premature death of my goldfish, I briefly believed that Alison Moyet was partially responsible, by somehow disseminating negative vibes. 

beanheadmcginty

Used to think that Billy Ocean owned the Ocean computer game publisher. I think my simple and slightly racist child's brain thought he was somehow related to Daley Thompson, and that's why Ocean had made his decathlon game.

daf

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on May 24, 2022, 04:38:29 PMBuster also reminded me of the scary inmate, Heslop from Porridge played by Brian Glover.

I read a book once . . .

Green it was.

daf

Quote from: wrec on May 24, 2022, 10:42:03 PMI thought all artists had to start out in bands before graduating to solo careers. I asked my older sister what band David Bowie had been in, and she said he hadn't been in a band (not being aware of the Konrad's!) which was an eye-opener.

Your original instinct was pretty much right - Not only was he in The Konrads, but also  . . .
The Mannish Boys,
The King Bees,
The Lower Third,
The Buzz,
Turquoise,
Feathers,
and
The Arnold Corns!

famethrowa

Quote from: wrec on May 24, 2022, 10:42:03 PMNice.

I thought all artists had to start out in bands before graduating to solo careers.

But I guess that was pretty much true, at least for the 20th century? You'd be hard pressed finding any singer who hadn't been in a local band in their young years. Unlike now, thanks to TV shows they go straight from the bedroom to the solo contract.

daf

I think the only ones I can think of that weren't members of bands would be the lot coming from cabaret clubs like Englebert Humperdink, Shirley Bassey and Cilla Black.

Actually, Gilbert O'Sullivan was never in a band either. Same manager as Englebert too!

famethrowa

Quote from: daf on May 25, 2022, 12:19:33 AMActually, Gilbert O'Sullivan was never in a band either.

Nah he was in a band with the Supertramp guy!

daf

Oh that's right! I even covered it in the Claire post!

QuoteHe attended St Joseph's Catholic College before studying at Swindon College, specialising in graphic design. Here, he played with several semi-professional bands including The Doodles, The Prefects and was most notably drummer in a band called Rick's Blues, along with Rick Davies, who later founded Supertramp, and taught O'Sullivan how to play both drums and piano. O'Sullivan's drumming informed his style of piano-playing, which often utilises a distinct, percussive piano pattern.

willbo

I think as a kid I thought Michael Jackson was a lot younger than he was. I had a rough timeline that the Jackson 5/kid stuff was around late 70s-1980, Off the Wall was early 80s, Thriller would have been like 1988 and Bad a year later, and he was about 25 in the mid 90s. I was shocked to find he was my Dad's age.