Apr

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Billy MacKenzie: Boy Keeps Swinging

April 1, 2007 |

Billy MacKenzieby Robin Murray, editor of  fanzine Marchin’ On www.myspace.com/marchingon

Born in 1957, Billy MacKenzie came from travelling stock, raised in a rich tradition of song and oral culture. His large family had eclectic tastes exposing him to dancehall records as well as jazz artists such as Billie Holiday. A lifelong influence, The Associates would cover God Bless The Child in tribute to her.

Growing up in an era when Dundee was Soulsville, Scotland meant the singer came of age surrounded by black American music – the area was dominated by the slick sounds of the Philly label, and the furious beat of Northern Soul. Typically, Billy chose to look back to the earthier sounds of Stax as well as Swing era singers, mixing Aretha and Sinatra in rough and tumble Dundee bars.

A life-long obsession with image saw him react against the punk culture of dressing down with typical contrariness – buying up Zoot Suits from the 40’s Billy opened his own boutique on Victoria Road, equipping the hipper citizens with an array of glamorous goods. It was these elements MacKenzie brought with him to The Associates: a voice with huge range, as well as a killer wardrobe. Taking London by storm, The Associates strode the twin barometers of public and critical acclaim in a way that the Postcard label strove to, but never really achieved. A string of hit singles in the early eighties, combined with classic albums such as Sulk saw the band achieve a life long respect among their peers – hell, even Bono rated them, writing the introduction to Tom Doyle’s posthumous MacKenzie biography.

After the collapse of The Associates in 1984 Billy’s career never really regained the momentum his talent deserved. Solo albums followed sporadically, but to a mixed reception, a unique pop moment passing him by. Ironically, the singer’s muse would return to him at the last, with his Beyond the Sun album issued after his death to outstanding critical acclaim.

It’s difficult to sum up just what Billy MacKenzie means to the city of Dundee. He was both the unifying factor and inspiration to a generation of musicians, bedroom sceptics and lonely dreamers. He reminded the wider world that there was more to Dundee than poverty and the Timex strike. But he had, at times, an ambivalent relationship to his fellow citizens, performing on Top of the Pops with lipstick smeared across his cheeks to hide the cuts inflicted by a bottle-wielding thug. His funeral was, by all accounts, a scene of intense public emotion as the city came to bid farewell to someone who carried much of their dreams and ambitions on his shoulders. But he remains as inspiring a figure today as he did in 1982, waltzing across a stage to 18 Carat Love Affair. All too often musicians in the city complain of never having had their chance, yet they were afraid to take what little chances came their way. Billy MacKenzie is an example of what can happen when every chance is taken.

more: http://www.billymackenzie.com

intro: Wednesday 22nd January. I have no idea what I was doing that day. Probably in Primary School, probably playing football or talking about how Oasis were the best band there’d ever been, or ever could be. The fact that Billy MacKenzie had been found dead by his father wouldn’t impact upon me until years later, until I came to Dundee and realised the furious spirit of disdain and rebellion he embodied. A figure tied closely to the city, his voice swooning over tenement and jute mill, a magpie openly thieving from the myriad of influences around him Billy dominated music in the city like no one person before or since. Ten years after his sad death, it’s time to pay tribute.

-UM-


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