Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Billy MacKenzie,12 years on

12 years ago Billy MacKenzie took his own life,a combination of self disbelife,depression and heartbreak at the loss of his mother.
Unknown to many Billy along with the Associates made some of the finest songs to come out of Scotland.Very well respected by other artists and much missed by those who knew him.
Tonight I raise a glass and light a candle in his memory as I sit here listening to the music be blessed us with.
R.I.P The Voice of Velvet
forever Groovin' with Mr.MacKenzie

Will

I concur Will Sadly missed Have you read the book "The Glamour Chase"
39 wasn't he ? Like my mother Much too young

On a lighter note , is Alan Rankine still on the music scene North of the border ?

Finest singer that ever lived and a tragic loss of a great talent. I remember my wife rang me at work and told me she had heard the news on the radio. I assumed she had heard wrong but sadly not.Rest in peace Billy where ever you are. I have no firm beliefs on what happens to us after death, if anything, but I hope Billy is the lead in a choir of angels somewhere.

That's really spooky as I put 'Sulk' on last weekend for the first time in ages and have been listening to it all week. What a brilliant album that is..can't even begin to comprehend what's behind it.

I have only just begun my Billy Mackenzie journey (listened to "Beyond The Sun" for the first time this week - very impressive stuff) but I remember well the news of his passing, cannot believe it is 12 years already.

Yes, I miss his golden voice too. I heard that voice for the first time on a Yello record ...

Alan works as a music lecturer at Stow college in Glasgow(and the fecker still has my dvd's of Bono talkin about Billy and A Japanese performance of A Matter of Gender wich he borrowed)
Hey Puddle,enjoy your journey
Highs and lows but always full of wonder

monkey Jive... I was on my way to work when I saw one of those newspaper standees with the words "Pop star kills himself"
Now,at the time I very rarely bought a newspaper but as I saw this I got off the buss several stops before my work and bought the paper......I wrote a poem for billy based on this...

BILLY MACKENZIE. R.I.P.


"Billy is dead!!!"
I read in the paper
Don't know why I bought it
On impulse I guess

Couldn't believe the headline
"Pop star kills himself"
Can't believe the voice of velvet
Won't be heard again


I met him many years ago
A fine lad if I may say
The best voice in the business
With that there was no Doubt

I sit here listening
To the music he once made
And still can't believe
That he has departed this earth

One day I'll look back
And be grateful
Of the contribution he made to my life
And with thanks...I'll salute him.


Have to say that "The Voice of Velvet" tag just came to me that day and I've used it eversince,but moreover I've even seen it in other articles since,and very fitting it is too

If only you'd gotten the phrase copyrighted!

I was a big fan of the Associates (still listen to them a lot) but for some reason I lost track of Billy's solo career and just never really explored it. Around the time I thought to myself that I should be paying it closer attention, he died. That cast a morbid pall on things and I just never went back to make up for the lost time. Wow, 12 years -- hard to believe it's been so long!

I'm under the weather and far too tired to do any research right now, but I seem to recall an interview or article mentioning a connection between John Foxx and Billy -- that JF contributed to a recording, or maybe they were just recording nearby and crossed paths, but I always thought that would have been a marvelous combination. I'm probably mixing up a couple of stories, but does anyone else remember hearing or reading something like that? Or was it just my wishful thinking causing the confusion?

There is a connection,John played guitar on the BEF release.either "Secret life of Arabia" or "it's Over",right now i can't remember sorry