Sandi Thom column: Jacko’s life a real thriller
We’re all obsessed with lives of celebrities
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AT THE age of 17 I attended the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, a school for talented youngsters seeking to pursue fame and fortune in the entertainment industry.
The so-called “fame” school is one of a few to be found dotted across the UK specialising in nurturing and training young music and drama prodigies to be the next big thing.
The most credible of them all is the Brit School, having reared artists such as Katie Melua, Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis, all of whom are now household names.
But what is fame anyway?
With the dawn of reality TV and the popularity of the internet, comes our ever increasing obsession with fame and 15-minute celebrity.
In the past decade we have grown more accustomed to reality TV stars such as Jade Goody posing on magazine covers than people who have rightly acquired fame through dedication to their art, be it fashion, music or film.
We’ve grown so used to being included in every little story or problem in celebrities’ lives that it’s taking over our own!
We can see them in their most vulnerable state.
We can expose their secrets and lies by selling stories to the press, and tune into their thoughts by reading their internet blogs.
We can pass judgment on the clothes they wear and their ever-changing hairdos and we can include ourselves in their relationships through the lens of a hidden paparazzo’s camera.
Ultimately, we can expose them for who they truly are.
But doesn’t that defeat the point of fame?
Fame is an elusive, seductive, sexy beast and those who are lucky enough to be famous are, for my money, supposed to remain a mystery. That’s what keeps us coming back for more.
Back in the days of such great performers as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe people were seldom famous for just being famous. Nowadays it’s handed out on a plate to the likes of Kerry Katona.
Now anyone can be a famous TV personality.
But last week we all witnessed and grieved for the loss of possibly the most famous man on earth.
Michael Jackson sold over a quarter of a billion records during his career.
His fame was real. It was tangible, it had backbone and it was built on foundations which he himself carved out through his utter dedication to his art.
His devoted fans considered him a god.
That kind of fame will never come to reality TV stars. That kind of fame will never come again.
When Michael Jackson died he took with him the legacy of the last true superstar.
He had the whole world talking about him for decades and his life was one big performance.
But above all else he single-handedly changed the face of pop music.
Now that’s what I call fame.
