Shooting For The Stars
Artists feel the need to live on the edge. Van Gogh was a well-known lover of absinthe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was stoked to the hilt on opium and hemp. Peter O’Toole and Richard Harris were famous all-nighter drinking buddies, while the beloved George Best, footballing magician with the snake hips, was not averse to a pint or twenty.
Genius, whatever its manifestation, takes its toll. Planet Rock Profiles showcases the incandescent lives and careers of, among others, Led Zeppelin, Marc Bolan, Elvis Presley and Billy Idol. But for these luminaries of pop and rock and many others, there is a darker side to them. Drugs and alcohol have accompanied rock and roll for the best part of a century now, but are they plague, or muse?
It’s a different sort of pressure that a musician faces, almost akin to that faced by a pro athlete. A conscientious musician who enjoys a fanbase of any sort is under an obligation to please those fans with a constant stream of new material and tours, fulfilling publicity obligations of never-ending radio shows and interviews. They have to perform, often night after night, often under conditions that are barely above slum levels. The legendary tour that Metallica undertook in support of their ‘Black’ album (1991) spanned three years and 300 dates in one single year, leaving all four members shattered. The squalor that the early LA Strip bands like Guns ‘n’ Roses lived in is well-documented, as they lived 5 members to a tiny motel room, spending the money they got from gigs on petrol, cheap alcohol, drugs, and cold instant noodles. Drugs and alcohol were a way to escape the monotony and claustrophobia of the road, and the pressure from fans, press people, family members, and sycophants.
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Genius, whatever its manifestation, takes its toll. Planet Rock Profiles showcases the incandescent lives and careers of, among others, Led Zeppelin, Marc Bolan, Elvis Presley and Billy Idol. But for these luminaries of pop and rock and many others, there is a darker side to them. Drugs and alcohol have accompanied rock and roll for the best part of a century now, but are they plague, or muse?
It’s a different sort of pressure that a musician faces, almost akin to that faced by a pro athlete. A conscientious musician who enjoys a fanbase of any sort is under an obligation to please those fans with a constant stream of new material and tours, fulfilling publicity obligations of never-ending radio shows and interviews. They have to perform, often night after night, often under conditions that are barely above slum levels. The legendary tour that Metallica undertook in support of their ‘Black’ album (1991) spanned three years and 300 dates in one single year, leaving all four members shattered. The squalor that the early LA Strip bands like Guns ‘n’ Roses lived in is well-documented, as they lived 5 members to a tiny motel room, spending the money they got from gigs on petrol, cheap alcohol, drugs, and cold instant noodles. Drugs and alcohol were a way to escape the monotony and claustrophobia of the road, and the pressure from fans, press people, family members, and sycophants.
> Article continues
> Planet Rock Profiles
> Weekly TV Listings
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