If the greats who died had lived...

RocknRollDave

The Manics might not have made so many poor records with drivel masquerading as lyrics

RocknRollDave

T-Rex would have been more or less forgotten about

Bucket

RocknRollDave said:

The Manics might not have made so many poor records with drivel masquerading as lyrics

Another good point.

Bucket

Philly_Q said:

Point taken, it's a sad story.  But I'm not going to spend literally two minutes on Wikipedia to check I'm not being callous or talking out of my arse before I say anything about anything.

FTFY

NickL

I guess there's a fair chance that someone would have released a slightly desperate disco album in the late 70s, some over-produced pop with too many synths and a drum machine in the 80s, got upstaged by Queen at Live Aid, spent most of the 90s in rehab/semi-retirement/Vegas with a forgettable album featuring some phoned-in guest rapping, then eventually got together with Rick Rubin to do a covers album heralded as a return to form, a surprisingly decent Sunday Glastonbury set, then into the studio with T Bone Burnett to do the rootsy country-tinged gospel album that was the only music they ever really wanted to make.

Better to burn out than fade away?

Philly_Q

Bucket said:

Philly_Q said:

Point taken, it's a sad story.  But I'm not going to spend literally two minutes on Wikipedia to check I'm not being callous or talking out of my arse before I say anything about anything.

FTFY

Yeah, yeah, I get it.  I'm the bad guy.  I'm going to hell, I'm sure.

FelineGuitars

What would Freddie Mercury be doing - pursuing light Opera that seemed to give him the most pleasure? - like his collaboration with Montserrat Caballé

Teetonetal

ICBM said:

Teetonetal said:

So few guitar players have been able to genuinely stay relevant for a long period. Music is too fickle for that. To be a true star, you gotta be Neil Young

Fixed.

Who?

Skipped

Hendrix would be playing actual Left Handed Custom Shop Strats after discovering that they are "not shit".

Bucket

Philly_Q said:

Yeah, yeah, I get it.  I'm the bad guy.  I'm going to hell, I'm sure.

My alteration was semi tongue-in-cheek but yeah, you probably are

holnrew

What about artists who'd be more revered had they died? Elton John before he became a massive wig wearing diva

A5D5E5

Obviously his death came later, but if Syd had stayed off the drugs, Pink Floyd would probably have faded away into irrelevance.  On the other hand Waters & Gilmour managed to create a few great albums in the late 70s once the former left the wreckage of PF.

A5D5E5

holnrew said:

What about artists who'd be more revered had they died? Elton John before he became a massive wig wearing diva

If it was McCartney on his way into the Dakota building rather than Lenon then the popular perceptions of both may well be reversed.

Bidley

Bucket said:

Speaking of which - Chuck Schuldiner from Death, who lost a long fight with a brain tumour in 2001 due to being unable to pay his medical bills - despite numerous high-profile fund-raising gigs etc. I think the total of the bills was $70,000, and he couldn't get health insurance. 

He was only 34.

He really was a tragic loss - I think we could have seen plenty more amazing stuff from him had he lived.

Came here to post about Evil Chuck. His passing is all the more sad as (IMO) he'd started doing his best work toward the end.

thecolourbox

If the greats who died had lived...

They'd probably have died by now

zepp76

If Peter Green hadn't "died" inside I'm sure he would have been destined for bigger things, but then again he always struggled with fame so maybe not. When I saw him a few years ago it was a pleasure to be in the legends vicinity but to be honest he was like an empty shell just going through the motions. Such a shame.

DLM

octatonic said:

DLM said:

@Philly_Q No one expects you to. But pretty much anyone who knows of Lane's existence will also know that he was ill, and not "just fat". He's that sort of artist. Niche, for niche people. I was taking issue with James, really, who I am positive knows a fair bit about Lane's story.

Yeah, fair enough
Sorry- didn't mean to offend.

@octatonic I'm actually not offended, I'm not really a fan of Lane's at all, though I can see he was a great talent. It had more to do with my being disappointed in you, to whom I look up. I, too, hope to be nudged by the community if I overstep the mark. We all have to keep each other on the rails.

axisus

Seems a lot of pompous posturing over Shawn Lane. It was just a throwaway joke. People who find that offensive really shouldn't browse forums without holding someone's hand. Yes, not all humour is in good taste.