The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars (125 page)

Much to the chagrin of fans the world over, the remaining members decided to continue without their mercurial frontman – and rehearsals began for a ‘Bunnymen Mk II’. It was on the way to one of the first of these rehearsals that Pete de Freitas’s motorbike collided with a car in Rugeley, Staffordshire. The drummer died at the scene. Echo & The Bunnymen finally reunited successfully with McCulloch in 1997.

See also
Michael Lee (
November 2008); Jake Brockman (
September 2009)

JULY

Monday 17

Paul C

(Paul McKasty, Queens, New York, 20 September 1964)

He was one of the most unassuming, unsung characters to emerge from the New York rap community, but his influence is indelible. A key name among early hip-hop producers, white Irish boy Paul C’s wild and innovative sonic mesh boomed out of a small Queens rehearsal space once rented by Metallica, the whiz of Studio 1212 making the most of basic analogue equipment. McKasty was likely the first to utilize drum-isolating sample techniques – highlighting the work of Ultramagnetic MCs, Stezo, Biz Markie and Mikey D – an innovation much copied since. His final major work was with Eric B & Rakim on
Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em
(1990); the album was co-produced with Large Professor (who gleaned most of the credit) – a man who would, to some degree, keep McKasty’s vision alive.

‘Paul C Lives’

Credit on the reverse of Main Source’s
Breaking Atoms
(1991)

Paul C was found by his brother in his Queens apartment, shot three times in the head as he lay in his bed. Sixteen years on, nobody is any the wiser to the identity of the killer, or indeed about any motive, though many have fallen under suspicion.

AUGUST

Friday 4

Larry Parnes

(Laurence Maurice Parnes - Willesden, London, 1930)

A hugely influential figure during Britain’s rock ‘n’ roll infancy, Larry Parnes was the man who bestowed upon the public some of the most colourfully named stars of the era. Parnes’s organizational awareness was apparent as early as his eighth birthday, for which he put together a children’s entertainment; his undeniable shrewdness was not evident during his brief employment at the family’s clothing business – he accrued debts and failed with shops of his own. However, moving into theatre, Parnes, with John Kennedy (a publicist who helped keep his business venture afloat in the early years), cottoned on to rock ‘n’ roll, and fortunes were set to change. Beginning with singer Tommy Steele, Parnes foisted on the market a series of replicas such as Vince Eager, Johnny Gentle (for whom he once employed The Beatles as backup), Duffy Power, Dickie Pride and, the most successful, Marty Wilde. Although he apparently turned down Cliff Richard, Parnes then hit upon mega-heart-throb Billy Fury, whose career he guided for ten years, while also managing more conventional talent in The Tornados and the genial Joe Brown.

Mr ‘Parnes, shillings and pence’ with his most precious commodity, Billy Fury

Knowing the pitfalls of pop stardom, Parnes advised and encouraged many of his charges, most notably Steele, to move into musicals – an area into which he himself effectively transferred during the late sixties. In 1981, Larry Parnes developed meningitis, which enforced his early retirement; his death eight years later is believed to have been as a direct result of the illness.

See also
Dickie Pride (
March 1969); Billy Fury (
January 1983); Heinz Burt (
April 2000); Alan Caddy (
August
2000)

SEPTEMBER

Friday 8

Cowboy

(Robert Keith Wiggins - The Bronx, New York, 20 September 1960)

(Grandmaster Flash &) The Furious Five