leddy Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 This was inspired by the Elvis is not King thread, Where were you when an iconic figure in music,royalty or politics died,or as some have said major events, the moment you were stopped in your tracks. I guess the first is Elvis himself in Aug 1977, I was in my dads old Green Audi in Bournemouth, I was 11yrs old, it was a scorcher of a day and on the radio they announced "The King of Rock'n'Roll" is dead or words very much like that., I knew who he was by the fact they use to play his Song "Way Down" which I liked and was in the charts near to his death or at least it seemed so. Like many of us when we were kids I would watch some of his films. The Next is John Lennon in Dec 1980 ( sorry I just don't recall Bonzo's death). I seem to remember the news going around the school the day after his death , I remember his music being played all the time for days on the radio. Lady Diana Aug 1997, with her it was the sunday morning waking up in my exs place in Manchetser, going into the kitchen, put the radio on then i was going to make tea, hearing them talking, but they didn't say who it was, they were just saying about a tragic crash, so went into the other room and said to my partner to put the telly on as something bad has happened, thats when we realised what had happened. The whole country seemed to mourn that week. George Harrison 31 November 2001, Gee its the radio again, we were wrapping presents at home (I know early but that year we were getting it all done early) . Michael Jackson June 2009, I rememeber we were off to London trhe next day as we were off to see ACDC at Wembley Stadium, they said that at Glastonbury some of the artists were playing some of his songs on stage, I couldn't imagine ACDC doing it , I was right they didn't. Remember thinking this couldn't be right, he is about to come over here and gig, he isn't, but he was dead. Those are the ones that stick in my memory. How about you ?? do you remember when Hendrix died ?? I was only 4 so have no recollection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrophile Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Hendrix -- Wasn't born Elvis -- Wasn't born John Bonham/John Lennon -- Wasn't born Diana, Princess of Wales -- Getting ready for school, and heard it on the radio. Michael Jackson -- Watching TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetleron Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 i remember where i was on 9/11 and when the space shuttle exploded as far as the death of famous people......meh i do recall the announcement on the radio of zep ending after bonhams death though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrophile Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 9/11 I was watching TV, as I had just gotten up and my mother called me frantic, telling me to turn on the television if it wasn't on already. I barely remember the Challenger disaster. I turned 4 that year, but I remember a lot of people coming over to our apartment and sitting around the TV. One of the first memories I have, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 9/11 I was watching TV, as I had just gotten up and my mother called me frantic, telling me to turn on the television if it wasn't on already. I barely remember the Challenger disaster. I turned 4 that year, but I remember a lot of people coming over to our apartment and sitting around the TV. One of the first memories I have, actually. 9/11 was again listening to the radio when news came in that a plane had crashed into oneof the towers, went to switch tv on and then watched live the other tower get hit, it felt strange watching it as had been the the towers less than 8 weeks earlier. CHALLENGER I had just finished work, came in to watch the launch and well, stunned. COLUMBIA that split up on coming back into the atmosphere in about 2003, I remember as it was on my birthday and we awere in the car on the way out when again the good old radio said of the tragic loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Fills the Air Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I'm too young to have any recollection of the death of Lennon. I do remember seeing the Challenger disaster on TV when I was a child and thinking how awful it was. The first famous death I really remember was Princess Diana. It was Sunday morning and I was staying with my dad. We put the TV on and it was on every channel including the music channels. I didn't hear about 9/11 until late in the day. I was collecting my younger sister from school and some of the parents were talking about planes being hijacked in the US. When I got home I switched on the TV and saw what had happened. I remember thinking how surreal it was watching the twin towers fall. I'll never forget that. I remember with 7 July terrorist attacks on London's transport system being in work. In the morning the internet was down on everyone's computer and we wondering if something major had happened. We turned on the radio and heard the news. A lot of my colleagues had relatives who were on different Tube trains commuting to work that morning. I heard Michael Jackson was dead on the radio at home early in the morning. His death wasn't really a shock as I didn't think he'd looked like a healthy man for quite some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrophile Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 The only thing shocking about Jackson's death to me was the timing. When it came down to it, it was a matter of when, not if. I don't think anyone anticipated him dying the same day as Farrah Fawcett, but you knew it was going to happen eventually. A drug addict dying of a drug-related heart attack is not a surprising phenomenon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 i do remember elvis dying. i've never been a fan of his music, but it was still a strong memory. seeing grown adults ( men and women ) crying on the news, it was so sad. he was so young. with bonzos death it wasn't such big news here. i read about it in the newspaper, i think. not very many people that i knew were into zep, so i had nobody to discuss it with. i just felt devastated for the other three, and myself, when i realised there woul be no more zep music. i was 17. john lennon i was working my first job, and heard it on the radio. i just couldn't believe someone would shoot him. so senseless. princess diana i was at a friends house. we were dying eachothers hair as we used to do every few months. it came on the tv that she was involved in the accident, and i remember saying to my friend that if she dies, this will be a huge global event. i think i was right. again, so sad and i guess, preventable. george harrison ( and linda mccartney ) i was really saddened by. i love georges music , he was such a talented songwriter. i remember thinking ( of both deaths ) well, these guys are mega rich, and could afford the best care and treatments, and if they can't be cured then ........ michael jackson, again on the tv, early morning here in oz. i was so stunned. i didn't realise he was so ill, and was looking forward to hearing his new music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austrian_zeppelin Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Hendrix -- Wasn't born Elvis -- Wasn't born John Bonham/John Lennon -- 6 years old so no recollection Diana, Princess of Wales -- in a book shop in Prague. my czech is non existent but the message was clear. very strange how quickly the athmosphere changed in the place. as i am not english either it felt weird to be affected but then again not. Michael Jackson -- at glastonbury festival, first everyone thought it's a joke (there are always rumour about happenings in the outside world), but then eventually it got confirmed and the whole place embraced a sort of instant memorial for the king of pop. bars and food stalls started playing a michael jackson best of 24/7, artists on the various stages paid tribute in all sorts of ways....similar to the diana one very strange but fitting. caught up on all the news when we got back. i was a huge fan in my early teens so i dug out the old vinyl and gave them a proper spin..... 9/11 - in the office when someone heard first rumours, we switched on the telly and just sat there speechless..... 7/7 London bombings - luckily i had a meeting in moorgate so got off the picadilly line in finsbury park to change for a train. the trains weren't working (only found out later that it was due to the aldgate bomb) anymore so i went back on the picadilly line to kings cross. when i got there it looked like a fire happened somewhere, the alarms were ringing and people were being rushed out onto street level. there were people with ash in their faces and i thought fire. i tried to head to euston but the cops said the tube is down. so i walked to the office and only there i found out what really happened. my friends and family tried to call me but no luck as the phone systems were down....the recommendation was to stay in enclosed spaces so we spent a few hours in the office. when the sitiuation became clearer we were sent home. a 2 1/2 walk through london felt utterly surreal, and just how lucky i was i realised when back home i saw the exact timeline of events. would i not have had that little detour at finsbury park, i would most likely have been on THAT picadilly line train at kings cross. the bomb went off after it left kings cross (my usual stop) so i probably would have avoided the worst anyway, but just thinking about the what ifs, and how much closer i could have come, is still frightening.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Surprised to read people here saying Jackson's death wasn't a shock, as it certainly was to the rest of the world . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrophile Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 He'd looked like a corpse for so long, and had so many physical ailments, not to mention the drug abuse......it's hard to be shocked when you hear of someone like that finally dying. It would be like if Lindsay Lohan OD'd tomorrow. Would that be a shock to anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ady Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 John Lennon: I was sitting on the floor in the lounge of the house that I grew up in and I was watching John Craven's Newsround. Phil Lynott: I was lying in bed late at night listening to The Friday Rock Show when Tommy Vance mentioned the sad news. Kurt Cobain: My friend told me just before we went to the pub on the Saturday morning. I was a pretty big fan of Nirvana at the time. 9/11: I came home from work just after 2pm (9am in New York) and put the telly on. Neighbours was on BBC1 and right after it finished there was a news flash. I was glued to the news for the rest of the day and couldn't believe my eyes. I was worried about what else might happen. 7/7: It was my day off and I was watching BBC News 24. Another terrible day. Michael Jackson: Watching late night TV and unconfirmed reports of his death flashing across the screen. Ronnie James Dio: On the internet. I kept on typing his name into google news as I knew he was very ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 i do remember elvis dying. i've never been a fan of his music, but it was still a strong memory. seeing grown adults ( men and women ) crying on the news, it was so sad. he was so young. with bonzos death it wasn't such big news here. i read about it in the newspaper, i think. not very many people that i knew were into zep, so i had nobody to discuss it with. i just felt devastated for the other three, and myself, when i realised there woul be no more zep music. i was 17. john lennon i was working my first job, and heard it on the radio. i just couldn't believe someone would shoot him. so senseless. princess diana i was at a friends house. we were dying eachothers hair as we used to do every few months. it came on the tv that she was involved in the accident, and i remember saying to my friend that if she dies, this will be a huge global event. i think i was right. again, so sad and i guess, preventable. george harrison ( and linda mccartney ) i was really saddened by. i love georges music , he was such a talented songwriter. i remember thinking ( of both deaths ) well, these guys are mega rich, and could afford the best care and treatments, and if they can't be cured then ........ michael jackson, again on the tv, early morning here in oz. i was so stunned. i didn't realise he was so ill, and was looking forward to hearing his new music. Actually now you mention Linda McCartney I do now remember hearing the news, We were driving back from Liverpool to Manchetser after watching YES in concert, I remember because the band did a Beatles bow after every piece of music. Got in the car after a great gig, put the radio on and thats when the news came through. So that would have been 1997. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Actually now you mention Linda McCartney I do now remember hearing the news, We were driving back from Liverpool to Manchetser after watching YES in concert, I remember because the band did a Beatles bow after every piece of music. Got in the car after a great gig, put the radio on and thats when the news came through. So that would have been 1997. i felt so sad for paul and the kids. they were so happy together for all those years. and look what happened to him after he tried to love again ..... i have georges tribute concert on dvd. the one clapton organised. i just love it. his songs were just so wonderful. and underrated, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 i felt so sad for paul and the kids. they were so happy together for all those years. and look what happened to him after he tried to love again ..... i have georges tribute concert on dvd. the one clapton organised. i just love it. his songs were just so wonderful. and underrated, imo. George Harrison IMHO wrote some wonderful stuff, as much as Lennon and Mccartney wrote some well nearly all great great songs, my fave Beatles are "Something" the best Ballad of all time(IMHO) and "Here Comes the Sun" both Harrison songs. To me he had the most musical and nicest voice out of all 4 of them. It must of been difficult being in the band with most prolific songwriters of the Twentieth Century, but near the end he did write some classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. - Wasn't born Jimi Hendrix - Wasn't born John Lennon - Wasn't born Diana, Princess of Wales - I was almost 10 at the time. I remember watching the entire funeral procession on live TV and seeing those horrid images of the wrecked car! Kurt Cobain - I didn't know about his band or who he was at the time of his suicide. Freddie Mercury - I was just 4 at the time. But I do remember my mom and dad expressing their shock over his death when they saw a news item on CNN! Sad day for music! Michael Jackson - I first heard about his death through the internet when I saw the headline "Michael Jackson Dead At 50" on yahoo news! 9/11 - I was a 14 year old school student at the time. I didn't even know what the word "terrorism" meant. I came home to find my mom watching the evening news, just starring at the T.V screen, her mouth agape. I wondered what was going on and then I saw the horrid images of the twin towers collapsing and I just stood there not knowing what to do! 7/7 London Bombings - I saw it as a breaking news item on Sky News while I was just about to have my dinner, that evening! I was just speechless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Fills the Air Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Freddie Mercury - I was just 4 at the time. But I do remember my mom and dad expressing their shock over his death when they saw a news item on CNN! Sad day for music! I do vividly remember this one as well. My brother was doing a paper round early in the morning and he came home and said Freddie Mercury had died, it was on the front page on all the papers. We couldn't believe it. We didn't know he'd had Aids or anything. I remember feeling really sad that day as I really loved Queen's music. The death that probably had the biggest emotional impact on me was Linda McCartney's. I knew that she'd had cancer and that she might die, but I was still shocked to hear that she had died. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness for Paul because I knew how close they were. Also in hindsight had she not died, Paul would never have married that Heather Mills woman! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 The death that probably had the biggest emotional impact on me was Linda McCartney's. I knew that she'd had cancer and that she might die, but I was still shocked to hear that she had died. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness for Paul because I knew how close they were. Also in hindsight had she not died, Paul would never have married that Heather Mills woman! Yes. Linda McCartney was a fine woman indeed! Somehow, I have always admired her! My mom always thought that she and Paul were practically the perfect couple. She was pretty upset when she heard that Linda had died of cancer. And she always terms Heather Mills as a "tramp" and "gold digger"! I think she is rather apt, don't you? Yes, I don't like Heather Mills either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. - Wasn't born Jimi Hendrix - Wasn't born John Lennon - Wasn't born Diana, Princess of Wales - I was almost 10 at the time. I remember watching the entire funeral procession on live TV and seeing those horrid images of the wrecked car! Kurt Cobain - I didn't know about his band or who he was at the time of his suicide. Freddie Mercury - I was just 4 at the time. But I do remember my mom and dad expressing their shock over his death when they saw a news item on CNN! Sad day for music! Michael Jackson - I first heard about his death through the internet when I saw the headline "Michael Jackson Dead At 50" on yahoo news! 9/11 - I was a 14 year old school student at the time. I didn't even know what the word "terrorism" meant. I came home to find my mom watching the evening news, just starring at the T.V screen, her mouth agape. I wondered what was going on and then I saw the horrid images of the twin towers collapsing and I just stood there not knowing what to do! 7/7 London Bombings - I saw it as a breaking news item on Sky News while I was just about to have my dinner, that evening! I was just speechless! This is all jogging the memory banks, With freddie its a strange one, we kind of new unofficially that he was unwell, with Queen not touring after their album "The Miracle" it was like hmmm why ?? then as time went on and they wre again in the studio before he died, then he came onstage at some awards and looked painfully thin. We kinda new hew wasn't long for this world or at least was ill. Then the day before he passed away I remember them saying Freddie has come out and said he had aids, so the next day when he died it wasn't a shock, very sad but it was expected. 7/7 I was at work and the news came through again on the radio and sombody came down and said to me, it was a case of listening to it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 This is all jogging the memory banks, With freddie its a strange one, we kind of new unofficially that he was unwell, with Queen not touring after their album "The Miracle" it was like hmmm why ?? then as time went on and they wre again in the studio before he died, then he came onstage at some awards and looked painfully thin. We kinda new hew wasn't long for this world or at least was ill. Then the day before he passed away I remember them saying Freddie has come out and said he had aids, so the next day when he died it wasn't a shock, very sad but it was expected. Well, as far as I can remember, I don't think my folks were very aware of how serious Freddie's illness actually was. So, I guess it is for that reason that his death stunned my mom and dad a bit! I somehow always find myself observing a minute of silence on the 24th of November, every year, to remember Freddie. I began this little ritual of mine at the age 15, when I really started to get into the music of Queen. I know this ritual of mine sounds rather silly, but to me, Freddie will always be one of the greatest vocalists who ever lived and I guess that's my way of paying a little tribute to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelinrulz Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 dimebag darrell -was getting ready for school and i heard about it on the radio and started crying peter steele-was watching a metal tv show and heard about his death whilst watching thats all the famous deaths i remember Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireOpal Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I somehow always find myself observing a minute of silence on the 24th of November, every year, to remember Freddie. I began this little ritual of mine at the age 15, when I really started to get into the music of Queen. I know this ritual of mine sounds rather silly, but to me, Freddie will always be one of the greatest vocalists who ever lived and I guess that's my way of paying a little tribute to him. It's not silly at all, I think that's beautiful. I was vacationing in New York City when I heard of Freddie's death, it was very shocking. It was strange to think of someone as vital as him, such a big personality, to be gone. John Lennon's death, the way he died, was very shocking and surreal. I was just getting to know his music on a deeper level, I didn't know much at all about him as a person. It was surreal that a rock singer could be assassinated. With George Harrison many years later, there was a kind of terrible foreshadowing of his death when he was attacked in his home by a madman with a knife. Kurt Cobain - awful news about his death, but again there had been a (reported) suicide attempt a couple of months before, so you almost could see it coming, sort of. Terrible loss though, especially for his daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 Well, as far as I can remember, I don't think my folks were very aware of how serious Freddie's illness actually was. So, I guess it is for that reason that his death stunned my mom and dad a bit! I somehow always find myself observing a minute of silence on the 24th of November, every year, to remember Freddie. I began this little ritual of mine at the age 15, when I really started to get into the music of Queen. I know this ritual of mine sounds rather silly, but to me, Freddie will always be one of the greatest vocalists who ever lived and I guess that's my way of paying a little tribute to him. Each to their own and thats not silly, if it makes you feel good and happy thats fine. We are lucky that we have the dvds and records to remmeber all these great musical icons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 I was in San Francisco when Jimi died and it was very depressing because I was still pretty spaced out from acid. And later, on top of that, Janis and Jim Morrison dying was almost too much to take. When MLK and RFK were shot I was still in a worse acid daze. It seemed the world was coming to an end as the Vietnam war raged on. Don't remember where I was when Bonham died. I was 13 when JFK was shot and was getting chewed out by my science teacher for being a truant when a girl came into the classroom and said he'd been shot. I was working on a demolition job on Polk St. in San Fran. when Lennon was shot. I was also working on a demo job in SF when the space shuttle exploded on takeoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetleron Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 that makes 60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.