On the 5th of October 2011, the music industry saw the loss of a person to whom it owes a great deal. Someone without whom the way many of us listen to music would be immeasurably different today, though most wouldn’t even think it. After all, such iconic musicians as Johnny Marr, Paul Simon and Neil Young cite Bert Jansch as a major influence to their work. Our own Lisa Hannigan even performs a cover of Jansch’s ‘Courting Blues’. In a career spanning 46 years, during which he obtained two BBC Radio 2 Folk Lifetime Achievement Awards (in 2001 for his solo career and in 2007 for work with folk band Pentangle), Jansch has left behind quite a legacy with a hugely influential back-catalogue. Even though the music industry saw this loss, many of the fans did not. In the week after his death, a Google search of his name yielded no news results whatsoever. On mentioning his passing in conversation, fans without fail responded with complete surprise and sadness. From a search through websites such as www.dead-celebs.com and other celebrity obituary websites, I found that there was nothing to find on Jansch’s death on any of them.
While
on the sites, I decided to peruse the lists further only to find more saddening
omissions. One of which was Poly Styrene, lead singer of the punk band
X-Ray Spex. Another battle with cancer, the punk-pioneer died at the age of 53,
unnoticed to many pop culture subscribers. X-Ray Spex were known for their
outlandish, colourful style not conforming to the stereotype of punk that had
already developed by their 1978 debut album Germfree Adolescents. Poly
was one of the forerunners of the idea that punk is about personal identity,
not safety pins and raggy clothes. X-Ray Spex were also unique in their concern
for the environment, unusal for the late 70’s, particularly with the single The
Day the World Turned Day-Glo.
Just
like Poly, there have been many tragedies in the last year gone largely unheard
of. For myself, the most tragic came December 2010: the loss of Don Van Vliet;
better known as Captain Beefheart, pioneer of avant-garde psychedelia.
Possibly most shockingly obscured, in August just gone, Jerry Leiber
died of a heart-attack. Just before Facebook was littered with memorials to Amy
Winehouse, the writer of some of the most recognisable pop hits in history,
such as Hound Dog and Stand By Me, wasn’t even the top trending
topic on Twitter the day he died.
After
a long battle with cancer, Scottish folk singer and guitarist Bert Jansch
died at the age of 67, the same day as Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Both tragic
losses to the industry.
http://issuu.com/MSUVPSEC/docs/the_print_volume_3_issue_3/15
http://issuu.com/MSUVPSEC/docs/the_print_volume_3_issue_3/15
