30 August 2021

Celebrity deaths are a funny thing. They should not really have a 
significant affect and yet I find some deaths affect me more. 
Recently, the loss of Sean Lock was a sad one. He went too soon and at 
the top of his career in many ways. On the other hand, Lee Perry's 
passing cannot be said to be too soon. However, it is still a shame as 
he was a brilliant example of an innovative eccentric who has helped 
others create brilliant music. His back catalogue is vast with the 
ridiculous and the sublime. The pum pum song is a great example of his 
ridiculous side. An ode to the delights of sex and almost an excuse to 
have a music video spent with scantily clad women. Yet this is the 
same person who produced Prince and Thieves (by Junior Murvin), War 
Ina Babylon (by Max Romeo and the Upsetters) and Vibrate On (by 
Augustus Pablo). These are songs which drove social matters to the 
charts and shared the perspectives of the oppressed. The world is a 
less eccentric place without The Upsetter sharing his unique world 
view and music. 

The first celebrity death which I remember clearly was Diana. I 
remember finding out fairly clearly. It was the day after returning 
from a camping holiday in France. I had gotten up and turned the TV on 
as you do, found only news filled with reports of what had happened 
the night before. My Dad came down and swore at seeing the news. He 
stood there trying to take it in. It was odd. Certainly the aftermath 
was very odd.

Sir Terry Pratchett was the celebrity death which still brings a tear 
to mind. It was only a matter of time with the embuggerance but it 
still hit hard. It has meant there was an end to the marvellous and 
wonderous Discworld. He was another eccentric who made the world a 
brighter place through sharing their unique view points. It took me a 
long time to read his last book, The Shepherd's Crown. I don't think I 
have cried so much while reading a book. Sort of pathetic but there 
are many elements of that story which you can read into. Far too many. 
I am glad I read it though. 

One of Terry Pratchett's most interesting concepts was introduced with 
the clacks, a Discworld version of the Telegraph system which is 
fundamentally semaphore based. In that, an operator is lost and yet a 
message containing his name is constantly sent. For no person is 
truely gone while their name is still said. There is another version 
of this which Terry Pratchett introduces for gods. A god can only 
exist while someone believes in it. Both of these are reassuring even 
if it daft. That person has gone but their energy remains through what 
they have created. They can still make you feel.

So lets say those names to ensure they remain said. Especially for 
those loved ones who you can no longer hug.