I have the same dilemma time and again. Should you listen to and enjoy songs by convicted paedophiles? Example: I Didn't Know I Loved You Till I Saw You Rock and Roll by Gary Glitter, and Johnny Reggae by The Piglets.
These are by singers who have committed the most hideous of crimes, they and their back catalogue should be banished from the pop firmament for good and their like never heard again on any medium. That's fair enough. It's unlikely you will ever hear any records by Gary Glitter or Jonathan King on the radio unless they're part of a documentary.
But I like these songs. I also like quite a lot of Glitter's back catalogue (Rock and Roll Part II, Another Rock n Roll Christmas, I Love You Love Me Love, etc), and some of King's projects: Loop Di Love by Shag, It Only Takes A Minute by 100 Ton and a Feather, not to mention The Sun Has Got His Hat On and Everyone's Gone To The Moon by the man himself. Jonathan King has always been a hateful bore, and now he's a nasty old paedophile too, but he's made some quite catchy pop.
So how do you square it when you listen to the music of these people? What would the world be like if Michael Jackson had been convicted, because for sure, no amount of accusations has wiped his oeuvre off the radio, and he's name-checked by X Factor wannabes all the time. Personally, I'm not a fan.
So what I'm asking is, should I just never admit to listening to these records? Perhaps I should cut them out of my life completely? Or do I carry on doing what I do now and separate the artist as was at the time of making these records from the monsters they are now and shut up about it?
10 comments:
It's a moral minefield I used to love having a stomp to Gary Glitter, and they still have the same sparkle when I hear them. Those drum breaks would make great samples - but who would go near them now.
I can understand the uneasiness, but there's a double standard here, isn't there? If Messrs. Gadd and King had made rock instead of novelty pop, and had fooled around with underage girls rather than boys, that wouldn't be an excommunication offence - it'd just be 'Hey, rock 'n' roll!'
I like Loop Di Love as well.
Glitter was girls though, wasn't he TVCAOC? He looks so revolting these days though, not doing himself any favours at all. That said, he always looked ridiculous.
Another Rock N Roll Christmas is a fantastic record. I'm all for love the record, hate the sinner and the sin.
I think it's entirely possible (and indeed preferable) to separate the art and the artist - with the proviso that it becomes harder if the art in question refers to a 'sin' the artist is known to have committed. But I don't think the hits of either Glitter or King have been found to have any sinister hidden meanings since their crimes were revealed.
Besides, where do you draw the line? Charles Manson committed murder, but his songs are still available on albums by the Beach Boys and Guns 'n Roses. If you stopped listening to every song by an artist who's committed a crime you objected to (drug dealing, armed robbery.. there are plenty of examples) you might as well sell half your music collection!
Around the time of Jonathan King's prison sentence, he claimed in some newspaper that his crimes were no different to Oscar Wilde's, and he wondered why he was so condemned for his while people were willing to forgive Oscar's foibles and see only his art. A journalist pointed out that this may be because Oscar Wilde wrote "De Profundis" and J.K. wrote "Leap Up And Down (Wave Your Knickers In The Air)".
Personally, my brain prefers to shun these moral conundra and prefers to watch kittens instead.
I've had a great deal of pleasure from Motorhead, despite the fact that Lemmy is a lovable old Nazi apologist.
I seem to be able to put that to one side and listen to the music more easily with them than with Gary Glitter though. I can't imagine ever hearing "Do you want to touch me there" again without gagging.
hell those are songs that have committed heinous crimes - i'm not surprised the singers turned rotten
x
I didn't know that about Lemmy. He'd have been the first one against the wall in Nazi Germany.
The dilemma remains.
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