Billy Mackenzie

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For motocross racer, see Billy MacKenzie (motorcyclist).

William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer.

Billy Mackenzie

Billy Mackenzie in concert, University of Dundee Student Union, Dundee. 1985
Background information
Birth name William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie

Contents

[edit] Career

Mackenzie was born and grew up in Dundee. As a youngster, he lived in Park Avenue in the Stobswell area and attended St Mary's Forebank Primary School and St Michael's Secondary School. He led a peripatetic lifestyle, which included decamping to New Zealand at the age of 16, and travelling across America aged 17. Here he married Chloe Dummar. While some say the marriage was made to stave off deportation, Ms. Dummar states the marriage was made for love[1]. Her brother, Melvin Dummar, claimed to be the "one sixteenth" beneficiary of the estate of Howard Hughes, until the case was thrown out in 1978.

He returned to Scotland where he met Alan Rankine and in 1976 formed the Ascorbic Ones. They changed the name to Associates in 1979. Rankine left The Associates in 1982, but Mackenzie continued to work under the name for several years until he began releasing material under his own name in the 1990s. Mackenzie also collaborated with many other artists during his career, including contributions to Swiss duo Yello's One Second album in 1987. Mackenzie provided vocals and wrote lyrics for two tracks on that release, and one of them, "The Rhythm Divine", became a hit European single when legendary diva Shirley Bassey was recruited for vocals (Mackenzie's original vocal track was released on the CD version of the Associates Popera compilation). He also collaborated with B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation) for their two albums Music of Quality and Distinction Volume I (1982) & Volume II (1991).

On 22 January 1997, depression and the death of his mother are believed to have contributed to Mackenzie's suicide.[1] He overdosed on a combination of the anti-depressant amitriptyline, paracetamol, and other prescribed medication in the garden shed of his father's house in Auchterhouse, Dundee. He was 39 years old. Now a significant cult figure, much of his musical legacy has been released in the past few years. He was the subject of a biography by Tom Doyle, The Glamour Chase, in 1998.

The Cure song "Cut Here" written by Robert Smith, a friend of Mackenzie, is about his suicide. The Morrissey song Suedehead and The Smiths song William It Was Really Nothing are both said to be about Billy's friendship with The Smiths iconic front man. Siouxsie Sioux - a Morrissey collaborator, wrote the song "Say" about his suicide, revealing in the lyrics that they were going to meet just before his suicide. The song was released as a single in 1999 and charted in the UK Top 75. For her Medúlla album, Björk considered singing a beyond the grave duet with Mackenzie using recordings given to her by his father, but eventually decided against it.[2]

Between 9-27 June 2009, a play entitled Balgay Hill about the story of Mackenzie's life was showing at Dundee Rep Theatre, in Mackenzies home town. It tells the story of his life through the eyes of four fictional characters, and the title of the play derives from the name of the Dundee cemetery where the singer was laid to rest. [3]

[edit] Associates releases

[edit] Singles

  • Boys Keep Swinging (1979) unauthorised cover of Bowie song
  • The Affectionate Punch (1980)
  • Tell Me Easter's On Friday (1981)
  • Q Quarters (1981)
  • Kitchen Person (1981)
  • A (1981)
  • Message Oblique Speech (1981)
  • White Car In Germany (1981)
  • Kites (1981) A-side credited to 39 Lyon Street / B-side to Associates
  • Party Fears Two (1982)
  • Club Country (1982)
  • 18 Carat Love Affair (1982)
  • A Matter Of Gender (1982)
  • Those First Impressions (1984)
  • Waiting For The Loveboat (1984)
  • Breakfast (1985)
  • Take Me To The Girl (1985)
  • Heart Of Glass (1988)
  • Country Boy (1988) unreleased
  • The Peel Sessions (1989)
  • Fever (1990)
  • Fire To Ice (1990)
  • Poperetta EP (1990)
  • Just Can't Say Goodbye (1991)
  • untitled 4-track V2 Records promo EP (2000) Party Fears Two/Club Country/Love Hangover/The Associate

[edit] Albums

  • The Affectionate Punch (1980 Fiction) reissued by Universal in 2005 with 4 extra tracks
  • Fourth Drawer Down (1981 Situation 2) reissued by V2 in 2000 with 5 extra tracks
  • Sulk (1982 WEA) reissued by V2 Records in 2000 with 7 extra tracks
  • The Affectionate Punch (1982 Fiction) remixed version of 1980 album with different sleeve, reissued on CD by Fiction in 1997
  • Perhaps (1985 WEA)
  • The Glamour Chase recorded 1988, unreleased until 2002, then as a double CD album, packaged with (the first CD release of) Perhaps (WEA)
  • Wild & Lonely (1990 Circa Records) reissued in 2006 with 4 extra tracks

(Last three are effectively Billy Mackenzie solo albums)

  • Popera - The Singles Collection (1990 WEA)
  • The Radio 1 Sessions (1994 BBC Nighttracks)
  • Double Hipness (2000 V2 Records) double CD album of early demo's and the six 1993 reunion tracks with Alan Rankine
  • The Radio 1 Sessions Vol. 1 1981-1983 (2003 BBC Strange Fruit)
  • The Radio 1 Sessions Vol. 2 1984-1985 (2003 BBC Strange Fruit)
  • Singles (WSM 2004) double CD

[edit] Mackenzie solo releases

[edit] Singles

  • Ice Cream Factory (1982 WEA) credited to Mackenzie Sings Orbidöig
  • Baby (1992 Circa)
  • Colours Will Come (1992 Circa)
  • Pastime Paradise (1992 Circa) unreleased
  • Wild Is The Wind EP (2001 Rhythm Of Life)(500 issued)

[edit] Albums

  • Outernational (1992 Circa Records) reissued in 2006 with 3 extra tracks
  • Beyond The Sun (1997 Nude Records)
  • Memory Palace (credited with Paul Haig) (1999 Rhythm Of Life) reissued in 2005 by One Little Indian with 4 extra tracks
  • Eurocentric (credited with Steve Aungle) (2001 Rhythm Of Life)
  • Auchtermatic (2005 One Little Indian)
  • Transmission Impossible (2005 One Little Indian)

[edit] Haig/Mackenzie

Tracks recorded by Paul Haig and Billy MacKenzie in the period 1993 to 1995, appeared on the album release Memory Palace on One Little Indian, in 2005.

Track Listing

  • Track 1: Thunderstorm
  • Track 2: Stone The Memory Palace
  • Track 3: Beyond Love
  • Track 4: Transobsession
  • Track 5: Trash 3
  • Track 6: Listen To Me
  • Track 7: Listen Again
  • Track 8: Take A Chance
  • Track 9: Give Me Time
  • Track 10: Give Me Time (Dennis Wheatley Mix)
  • Track 11: Beyond Love (Remix)
  • Track 12: Stone The Memory Palace (Remix)
  • Track 13: Thunderstorm (Instrumental Mix)

[edit] Other collaborations

[edit] Lead vocals

† lyrics by Mackenzie ‡ also appear on Auchtermatic

  • Unreleased tracks Sinking Deeper and The Hungry Look recorded 1980 under name Strange News. Billy, Steve Reid and rhythm section Andy and Gavin. Only copies of tracks exist.

[edit] Backing vocals

  • The Skids 'Joy' album: 'Fields' single (1982) also released on the Skids 'Dunfermline' CD (1987)
  • Yello's One Second album: the singles 'Call It Love', 'The Rhythm Divine' > and 'Goldrush' (1987)
  • Yello's 'Flag' album:, the single 'Of Course I'm Lying', and 'Otto Di Catania' (1988)
  • Jih's 'Take Me To The Girl' single >, title track plus 'Come Summer Come Winter' and 'Wake Up' (1988)
  • Boris Grebenshikov's 'Radio Silence' album/single: 'That Voice Again' (1989)
  • Yello's 'Baby' album: 'Drive/Driven' and the single 'Rubberbandman' (1991)

(6 of Billy's Yello tracks later released on the 'Essential Yello' album) (1992)

  • Siobhan Fahey: 'Do I Scare You' (1996) unreleased until 2004 when it first appeared on Shakespear's Sister's 'Best Of' double CD, and then on the "3" album in 2005
  • Peach Union - 'AudioPeach' album: 'Deep Down Together' and 'Give Me Tomorrow' credited as The MacArthurettes with Caragh McKay (1998)
  • Paul Haig's 'Listen To Me' single (1997)> = lyrics by MacKenzie

[edit] Other credits

  • Orbidöig's 'Nocturnal Operations' single: Billy played tubular bells (1981) this single reissued in 1984, credited as The Sensational Creed
  • Paul Haig's 'Chain' album: 'Chained', lyrics by Mackenzie, performed by Haig (1989)

[edit] Tributes

Dundee Repertory Theatre is producing a play based on the life of Billy Mackenzie called Balgay Hill opening on June 9th 2009[4].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dalton, Stephen (April 2, 2007). "Billy Mackenzie Tribute". The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article1599059.ece. Retrieved 3 June 2009. 
  2. ^ http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2066050,00.html Björk comments on Alan Rankine interview
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8088884.stm
  4. ^ "Balgay Hill A New Play By Simon Macallum". Dundee Repertory Theatre. 2009. http://www.dundeereptheatre.co.uk/p2s22.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mackenzie"
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