Goodbye Mister Mackenzie

Today is the 18th anniversary of the death of talented Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie who committed suicide on 22nd January 1997 following ongoing periods of clinical depression. The unique vocalist, best known as front-man with inventive pop band The Associates enjoyed real moments of glittering success after bursting upon the scene from virtually nowhere with innovative debut album ‘The Affectionate Punch’ a high-energy pop album swathed in rich cinematics, swirling build-ups and even a finely crafted ballad. Their continuing diversity - outrageous vocal depth and inventive instrumentalism earned plaudits such as ‘the most modern band of the decade’ and when the majestic ‘Party Fears Two’ arrived upon the world it brought The Associates wider success and instant recognition. The single reveals just how magnificent Billy Mackenzie’s vocal depths are - swooping glides and dizzying dips of mesmerising vocal seem to manifest with the guitars and oscillating piano tinkling as everything seems to loop together like smoke.

A tour being planned, another album, two hit singles in a row when ‘Club Country’ is eagerly received then, with no clues or warning, the band split up.  Billy Mackenzie began a solo career and became everything at once - cool obsessive, hopeless romantic, hedonist, pin up boy and surely a man in control of the complete fucking world. Various albums and singles arrived as the years crept onwards, nothing ever stood up to the work of The Associates, and a two year battle between Billy Mackenzie and WEA as he struggled defiantly out of a binding contract didn’t help bridge gaps between either legacy. A long time of silences seemed to shout out that Billy Mackenzie would not contribute any more music, he seemed to have crawled off and called it a day, until the club scene picked up on an old cover of Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’ that Billy recorded way back - it kicked up enough interest to allow Billy a HI-NRG released version of it.

When his mother died it slowly began to suck the soul from a distraught and grief stricken Billy Mackenzie. Her death was a devastation he couldn’t get on top of. During Christmas 1996 Billy went to his fathers house near Dundee to rest and relax away from the cloying presence of London. On January 22nd Billy’s father discovered him in the garden shed, wrapped in a duvet and clutching a photo album. His father said at the time ‘when I felt his brow I panicked and started crying’. The arrival of an ambulance crew found an empty Paracetamol bottle next to Billy which had been mixed in with the prescribed anti-depressant Amitriptyline…and a note which simply said ‘sorry’