Goodness gracious great balls of fire ☄️

I never realised what a horrible person he was!

BlueBelle

If that was the case Chestnut Gary glitter wouldn’t be in prison and Jimmy Saville would still be an icon …. since when does talent excuse behaviour ?
It’s upsetting that someone can live such an abusive life but people excuse the behaviour because they are ‘talented’

I m sorry you feel I ve spoilt your thread for you nankate but these things should never be swept under the carpet
A person is not defined by their talent alone but by the whole way they live their life surely and in this man’s case it wasn’t just a one off mistake

It's up to people who knew him or knew what he did to question and challenge his private life that’s just it chestnut people don’t because often the talent overrides the behaviour in peoples minds, it then becomes an excuse

I m not sorry I ve brought this up it’s needs talking about, it needs being out in the open, talent can never override abuse

No-one is excusing his abuse!! For goodness sake, as others have pointed out, many creative people were flawed and we have to be careful not to destroy the past entirely.

This relates directly to the programme on Channel 4 the other night Jimmy Carr Destroys Art which needs a thread of its own so I will create one. The debate over whether there is ever a case for art to be destroyed.

NanKate you haven't caused offence except where people are looking to be offended.

.

Great musician and performer. Completely screwed up private life. The 13 year old he married has managed to write her own account of what happened. He grew up in a culture where early marriage was common (he was 16 when he first married). Different times, different values.

Just read his Obituary in The Times.. Crikey that was an eye opener?
I didn't know anything about him.
Or tbh his Music..
It also said Elvis was going out with Priscilla when she was 14..
Bloody hell!!

NotSpaghetti

I think you can, Blondiescot.

You will always see the person differently though and look twice at say, lyrics, images, etc. Gaugin, Jackson and Picasso spring to mind. What about Carravagio, Golding, Hopper, Dahl, Salinger...

The list of despicable people is quite long.
Some were deeply racist, some physically abusive, some emotionally so.

Where do we stop... even Enid Blyton was apparently emotionally crippled and incapable of love, tried to destroy her husband and neglected her children.

I get that. And, concentrating on the musical point of view, I also get that things went on in the 70s, 80s, 90s which were just seen as "that's how it was" at the time. But attitudes change, and now we look at these things from a different perspective. I think you can possibly still enjoy the music in its own right - but the taint will still cling to it...

Gary Glitter is another whose music has been silenced. Understandably.

However, it was used, rather brilliantly, in the scene where Joaquin was dancing down the stairs in clown gear

www.nme.com/news/film/joker-steps-scene-gary-glitter-song-choice-explained-2605433

I think you can, Blondiescot.

You will always see the person differently though and look twice at say, lyrics, images, etc. Gaugin, Jackson and Picasso spring to mind. What about Carravagio, Golding, Hopper, Dahl, Salinger...

The list of despicable people is quite long.
Some were deeply racist, some physically abusive, some emotionally so.

Where do we stop... even Enid Blyton was apparently emotionally crippled and incapable of love, tried to destroy her husband and neglected her children.

I always thought the more unsavoury side of his life was common knowledge? But how do you separate the two? As BlueBelle has pointed out, talent can never override abuse. Yes, you can argue that the man had musical talent - that's not in question. But how can you separate that from the rest of his life? You can't.

NanKate

Thank you to those who understood that I didn’t mean to cause offence. ?

You didn’t cause offence at all NanKate it was JLL who did that. The truth is never offensive.💐

To go off topic slightly, I recently saw the new Elvis film. It was great! Obviously a dramatised version but very interesting about the early days of roll n roll.

You didn't cause offence, Nankate

The 13 year old was called Myra.
One if his wives (think there were 7, some bigamous) was the ex-wife of Myra's brother!

Don’t worry ? I am sure we all know that NanKate.

Thank you to those who understood that I didn’t mean to cause offence. ?

If that was the case Chestnut Gary glitter wouldn’t be in prison and Jimmy Saville would still be an icon …. since when does talent excuse behaviour ?
It’s upsetting that someone can live such an abusive life but people excuse the behaviour because they are ‘talented’

I m sorry you feel I ve spoilt your thread for you nankate but these things should never be swept under the carpet
A person is not defined by their talent alone but by the whole way they live their life surely and in this man’s case it wasn’t just a one off mistake

It's up to people who knew him or knew what he did to question and challenge his private life that’s just it chestnut people don’t because often the talent overrides the behaviour in peoples minds, it then becomes an excuse

I m not sorry I ve brought this up it’s needs talking about, it needs being out in the open, talent can never override abuse

Granniesunite

Chestnut

Both Elvis and John Lennon recognised his musical talent and that's good enough for me. His private life is not relevant to that.

These opinions are how how so many abusers get away with abusing. Thankfully these opinions are questioned now . Still a way way to go it seems though. Being talented and clever doesn’t excuse you being abusive.
.

No-one is excusing him being abusive. My comment related to his musical talent and nothing else. It's up to people who knew him or knew what he did to question and challenge his private life.

Chestnut

Both Elvis and John Lennon recognised his musical talent and that's good enough for me. His private life is not relevant to that.

These opinions are how how so many abusers get away with abusing. Thankfully these opinions are questioned now . Still a way way to go it seems though. Being talented and clever doesn’t excuse you being abusive.
.

Good musician, though. I never knew all that nasty stuff and I am glad about that.

Both Elvis and John Lennon recognised his musical talent and that's good enough for me. His private life is not relevant to that.

NanKate

I wish I hadn’t started this thread

NanKate your thread title brought back a very funny (to me) memory from an English Literature class at grammar school. We were ‘dissecting’ Withering Heights. One sentence read ‘Well! But why, Mr. Earnshaw?’.

The teacher said the housekeeper was using ‘Well’ to express surprise and asked for a modern day example. My friend in the desk behind me piped up ‘Great balls of fire Mr. Earnshaw!’

Collapse of 20 little girls in fits of giggles

Thank you for the memory NanKate

MerylStreep

He had to cut short a tour in the uk because of this story.

www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jerry-lee-lewis-drops-a-bombshell-in-london

I remember that, MerylStreep and being horrified because I was 13 at the time.

NanKate

I wish I hadn’t started this thread

Oh dear.

Never mind, thanks for telling us NanKate

No never regret opening the door to the truth.

I wish I hadn’t started this thread

He had to cut short a tour in the uk because of this story.

www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jerry-lee-lewis-drops-a-bombshell-in-london