Kurt Cobain was one of the most powerful and influential musicians, songwriters and performers of his generation, who’s lasting legacy still permeates the sounds and attitudes of artists from all genres today. As the lead singer of Nirvana, he fronted their own brand of groundbreaking emotion-laden, guitar-heavy music into the mainstream, defining a new genre with a scream of such naked vulnerability and authenticity that it tore through the listener, perhaps reflecting the trapped feelings of a generation. The scream of a butterfly.
But this came at a cost. As well as sharing his pain through music, Kurt Cobain lived it. Was this simply a life of magazine cover, paint by numbers, rock’n roll excess? Or the tragic story of someone with an enormous talent for expressing their pain, desperately trying to paint it in any way he could?
This week, Chula takes the lead for the first time to talk about one of his favourite ever musicians – from a band who inspired him to become a drummer in the 1990s. But far from discussing the same tired, cliched ‘tortured artist’ myths that now surround Cobain after his death in 1994, Chula helps us to examine his story through a modern and empathetic mental health lens. This is a moving discussion that looks at Cobain’s life and in doing so identifies some truly universal themes.
From the Wham Rap to Careless Whisper, Club Tropicana and Faith… Wham! and George Michael’s discographies represent some of the best pop music to come out of the 1980s, the 1990’s and beyond. George’s iconic look and sound influenced the world and won him fans in their millions. But behind the stylish, cool exterior was a man battling with inner struggles. The social constructs of the time, the death of a partner and parent, the difficulty in separating George Michael the artist from Georgios ‘Yog’ Panayiotou the man – all contributed to George’s often troubled state of mind. These factors would haunt him throughout his life, exacerbating his substance use and perhaps bringing an end to his precious life too soon.
Samantha Parker tells us his story from the joint space of a George Michael superfan and mental health practitioner. From discovering him in her teens to mourning his death in adulthood, she discusses how despite winning so many devoted fans around the world, early life events and relationships combined with fame and media scrutiny to create an inner fragility that few people saw. As George himself said “sometimes the clothes do not make the man.”
Brian Jones was a founding member of The Rolling Stones. Not only that, he originally brought the band together and was instrumental in forging their unique sound. But these days, he is probably remembered more for his erratic behaviour, drug use, and death than for his vision and talent. In our first episode, Matt Thomas takes the lead to tell us Brian’s story with the sensitivity of a modern mental wellbeing perspective. From his difficult childhood to friction with bandmates and management, troubled relationships, issues with fame and identity, to his escalating substance use and out of control behaviour, his story is retold not as a rock’n roll casualty, but as someone who was in desperate need of help that simply wasn’t available. This first episode opens up a Pandora's box of themes which we’ll discuss again and again across the series.
If you have been affected by the issues discussed in this podcast and are looking for support, you may find some onf the following resources helpful. If you are experiencing a crisis don't hesitate to call the emergency services or visit your local A&E.
