Warning: contains recycled material.
As we have noted on previous occasions, 2016 can go and do one. The year ends without David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, two thirds of Emerson, Lake and Palmer and, well, I’ll leave it there. The list goes on forever. 2017 could not be any worse, could it? Oh yes it could and most likely it will be. And here’s why.
We live in a world where there are more stars than ever. Sixty years or so ago, when rock and roll exploded into life, there were but a few stars. No Tamla Motown, no Beatles and Stones. That era was the starting point for the grim toll of the death of so many stars. It’s the same with TV stars and even movie stars. Add in the new genres of fame, TV presenters, chat show hosts, reality TV stars and the number of celebrities grows higher by the week.
I am not going to name names – there are plenty of sicko websites out there to do that job – but if next year’s loss isn’t the same as this year’s, it will only be because it’s worse.
I don’t know about you, but so many great stars have gone out the year it’s been almost literally depressing. I think about the likes of Bowie and Prince in particular but my God it’s hellishly worse than that. If you loved the Who, half the band is already dead and if you loved the Beach Boys, the official version now tours with no one called Wilson which means it’s not the Beach Boys at all. The original Led Zeppelin can never be together again, nor can Cream and certainly not the Beatles. Losing big stars has always happened, but now it’s happening more often and more quickly.
So I’m trying to not let it all get me down, primarily because there are a million and one other things that can do that already. But if you think 2016 will be the worst year ever, you will be sadly disappointed.
Final note: young people are not thinking this way, just us oldies who are seeing the more frequent changing of the guard. Look around and you might be forgiven for thinking, who’s next?
