Billy Mackenzie
Encyclopedia
William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish
singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.
. 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. 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 Mental Torture and finally 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 European single when Shirley Bassey
was recruited for vocals (Mackenzie's original vocal track was released on the cassette and CD versions 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
. He overdosed on a combination of paracetamol and prescription 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 the regret Robert felt about seeing MacKenzie a few weeks before his death backstage at a Cure concert and not giving him any of his 'precious time' and fobbing him off. Siouxsie Sioux
wrote the song "Say
", revealing in the lyrics that they were going to meet just before his death. 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.
Between 9–27 June 2009, a play entitled Balgay Hill about the story of Mackenzie's life was showing at Dundee Repertory Theatre
, in Mackenzie's 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 buried.
† lyrics by Mackenzie
‡ also appear on Auchtermatic
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)
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.
Biography
Mackenzie was born and grew up in DundeeDundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
. As a youngster, he lived in Park Avenue in the Stobswell
Stobswell
Stobswell is an area of Dundee, Scotland with a population of approximately 10,000. It was originally a small hamlet outside the city until the industrial revolution caused the growth of Dundee. The area is by and large a residential area. Schools in the area are Morgan Academy Secondary School,...
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
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
at the age of 16, and travelling across America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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. Her brother, Melvin Dummar
Melvin Dummar
Melvin Earl Dummar is a Utah man who earned national attentionwhen he claimed to have saved reclusive business tycoon Howard Hughes in a Nevada desert in 1967, and to have been awarded part of Hughes' vast estate. Dummar's story was adapted into the Academy Award winning film Melvin and Howard, in...
, claimed to be the "one sixteenth" beneficiary of the estate of Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, until the case was thrown out in 1978.
He returned to Scotland where he met Alan Rankine
Alan Rankine
Alan Rankine played keyboards, and guitars, for the rock band, Associates, which he co-founded with Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s....
and in 1976 formed the Ascorbic Ones. They changed the name to Mental Torture and finally 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
Yello
Yello is a Swiss electronica band consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. They are probably best known for their singles "The Race" and "Oh Yeah", which feature a mix of electronic music and manipulated vocals, as does most of their music....
One Second
One Second
One Second is Yello's fifth original album, having been preceded by a 'new mix' compilation the previous year. Released in 1987, the album is noteworthy for featuring both Billy MacKenzie and Shirley Bassey, the latter singing vocals on "The Rhythm Divine".The song "Call It Love" was used in an...
album in 1987. Mackenzie provided vocals and wrote lyrics for two tracks on that release, and one of them, "The Rhythm Divine", became a European single when Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
was recruited for vocals (Mackenzie's original vocal track was released on the cassette and CD versions of the Associates Popera compilation). He also collaborated with B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation)
B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation)
B.E.F. are a band/production company formed by former Human League members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh who later became Heaven 17 .-History:Ware and Marsh's first release as B.E.F...
for their two albums Music of Quality and Distinction Volume I (1982) & Volume II (1991).
On 22 January 1997, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
and the death of his mother are believed to have contributed to Mackenzie's suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He overdosed on a combination of paracetamol and prescription medication in the garden shed of his father's house in Auchterhouse
Auchterhouse
Auchterhouse is a village, community, and civil parish in the Scottish council area of Angus, located north west of Dundee, south east of Alyth and south west of Forfar. It lies on the southern edge of the Sidlaw Hills, below Auchterhouse Hill, high...
, Dundee. He was 39 years old. Now a significant cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
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
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
song "Cut Here
Cut Here
"Cut Here" is the name of a single released by the British group The Cure in 2001 on Fiction Records / Elektra Records. The song was initially released on the album Greatest Hits and reached number 54 on the UK Singles Chart-History:...
" written by Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)
Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
, a friend of Mackenzie, is about the regret Robert felt about seeing MacKenzie a few weeks before his death backstage at a Cure concert and not giving him any of his 'precious time' and fobbing him off. Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux
Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
wrote the song "Say
Say
Say is to communicate orally. Say or SAY can also refer to:*Say, Niger*say , a Macintosh command line program to convert text to sound*Say , for Aboriginal youth in Canada...
", revealing in the lyrics that they were going to meet just before his death. The song was released as a single in 1999 and charted in the UK Top 75. For her Medúlla
Medúlla
Medúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
album, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
considered singing a beyond the grave duet with Mackenzie using recordings given to her by his father, but eventually decided against it.
Between 9–27 June 2009, a play entitled Balgay Hill about the story of Mackenzie's life was showing at Dundee Repertory Theatre
Dundee Repertory Theatre
Dundee Repertory Theatre or Dundee Rep is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house - hosting work from visiting companies throughout Scotland and the United...
, in Mackenzie's 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 buried.
Albums
- Outernational (1992), Circa - reissued in 2006 with 3 extra tracks
- Beyond The Sun (1997), NudeNude RecordsNude Records was a London based record label, set up in 1992 by Saul Galpern who had previously been involved in the success of artists such as Simply Red, the Fall, Julian Cope, The Triffids, The Slits and The Au Pairs. The label's first success was with Suede. Suede's debut album was the fastest...
- UK #64 - 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 IndianOne Little Indian RecordsOne Little Indian Records is a London-based independent record label that rose from the ashes of punk record company Spiderleg Records. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarchist punk bands, and managed by ex-Flux of Pink Indians Derek Birkett. The first success came with A.R. Kane and...
- Transmission Impossible (2005), One Little Indian
Lead vocals
- BEF's Music Of Quality & Distinction Volume 1 album: Secret Life Of Arabia and It's Over (1982)
- Stephen EmmerStephen EmmerStephen Emmer is a Dutch musician and composer. After releasing an album in 1982 he worked in television. He released the album Recitement in 2008, combining his music with spoken word from artists including Lou Reed.-Biography:...
's Vogue Estate album: duet with Martha LadlyMartha LadlyMartha Ladly, AOCA RGD MCSD is a Canadian academic, designer and musician. She is currently Associate Professor of interaction design, at OCAD University. Ladly has also had a long career as a musician and achieved international fame as part of Canadian New Wave band Martha & the Muffins...
on Wish On (1982) - Annie LennoxAnnie LennoxAnnie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
: duet on The Best Of You; the original Perhaps sessions version, the re-recorded album featured Eddi ReaderEddi ReaderEddi Reader MBE is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known both for her work with Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. She is the recipient of three BRIT Awards and has topped both the album and singles charts...
(1985) † - Sweden Through The Ages EP: It Helps To Cry (1986)
- YelloYelloYello is a Swiss electronica band consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. They are probably best known for their singles "The Race" and "Oh Yeah", which feature a mix of electronic music and manipulated vocals, as does most of their music....
's Snowball And The Sound Of Yello: Life Is A Snowball (1987); unreleased promo CD - Yello's One SecondOne SecondOne Second is Yello's fifth original album, having been preceded by a 'new mix' compilation the previous year. Released in 1987, the album is noteworthy for featuring both Billy MacKenzie and Shirley Bassey, the latter singing vocals on "The Rhythm Divine".The song "Call It Love" was used in an...
album: Moon On Ice (1987) † - Yello The Rhythm DivineThe Rhythm Divine"The Rhythm Divine" is a 1987 song by Boris Blank, Dieter Meier, and Billy Mackenzie.-Single release:The single was released by Yello and Shirley Bassey in 1987, and was the first single released by Shirley Bassey on a CD single. Dieter Meier, half of the Swiss Electro-group Yello, approached...
(version 2): special limited edition 12" single (MERXR253) featuring MacKenzie's lead vocals in place of Shirley Bassey's (1987); the same recording later appeared on the Popera album (1990) † - Uno's self-titled album: Cinemas Of The World single (1987)
- Holger HillerHolger HillerHolger Hiller is a German musician.Holger Hiller studied art at the art school in Hamburg, where he met Walter Thielsch and Thomas Fehlmann and recorded first works with them. With Fehlmann he later founded the band Palais Schaumburg in 1980, of which he was the singer. At the same time his solo...
's Oben Im Eck album: title track and version, We Don't Write Anything On Paper Or So, and Whippets single (1987) - Yello's Baby album: Capri Calling (1991)
- BEF's Music Of Quality & Distinction Volume 2 album: Free. (1991) Free also appears on the 1998 BEF 'Best Of' album, later reissued by Disky in 2001
- LoomLoomA loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
's Anacostia Bay (At The Edge Of The World) single (1996) † ‡ - Barry AdamsonBarry AdamsonBarry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
's Oedipus Schmoedipus album: Achieved In The Valley Of The Dolls (1996) ‡ - Apollo Four Forty's Electro Glide in BlueElectro Glide in BlueElectro Glide in Blue is a 1997 album by the British band Apollo 440. The album features Charles Bukowski, Billy Mackenzie and a tribute to Gene Krupa; all three of whom had become deceased by the time of the album's release...
album: Pain In Any Language (1997) † ‡
† 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.
Backing vocals
- The track "Fields" on the
(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 UnionPeach UnionPeach were a pop/dance/electronic trio who formed in London, England and had several UK and U.S. pop and dance chart hit singles in the late 1990s. In the US, the act was forced to alter its name to Peach Union as there was already a rock band named Peach...
- 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
- Featured on "Oben Im Eck" from Holger Hiller's LP "Oben Im Eck" (1986)
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)