It’s impossible to forget Jeff Buckley. Once you hear that voice, you fall into the myth and you keep going. But some things never make sense. Why didn’t he do more when he could? Why was he in the river that night? Did his life always have to end this way?

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WARNING: this episode contains references to addiction and eating disorders.

In some ways, there’s not much to unravel when it comes to Amy Winehouse’s death. It’s the age-old tale of a person unable to cope with the pressures of stardom. All the old cliches. But why was something so precious not looked after better? Were we, as a society, maybe responsible too?

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This should be a sweet story about a sweet girl, an incredible singer and songwriter. But there’s nothing neat in the story of Kirsty MacColl, and maybe that’s why everyone cares so much. With Kirsty, you look for answers and you can’t always find them. That’s why her death touches so many, so deeply.

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In a strange, unforgettable, disturbing life, this maybe the strangest time of all. This is Michael Jackson, after his trial in 2005. Living in Bahrain, in Ireland, in Hollywood. Falling further into the darkness, hurtling towards the end.

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Sometimes it feels like rock stars see the end coming, long before we do. Dolores O’Riordan says her biggest flaw is binge drinking, like she knows what’s coming. The drinking that starts for fun but keeps going. The beginning of a twisting road that leads to the end.

WARNING: this episode contains references to alcoholism. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues spoken about in this podcast, please go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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He should never have made it as a rock star, not where he came from and how he grew up. But Freddie Mercury was maybe the most natural front man of all – and the story of his life and death is one of the great unforgettable rock fables.

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WARNING: this episode contains references to eating disorders.



It’s all about what’s hidden away, with Karen. She sings songs that are soft and gooey and sweet like a mouthful of candyfloss, but she makes them sound like loneliness. There’s always darkness, like a moving shadow behind everything else. Hers is a story you’ll never forget.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues spoken about in this podcast, please go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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This is a story about a singer like no-one before or since - what his voice could do to you, how it still makes you feel, 50 years later. But it’s about much more, too: the American south, segregation, a dream that lived and then fell away. Otis Redding is the story of a life rushed.

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George Michael’s unforgettable story is about lots of things – about being an immigrant’s son, about an awkward kid transformed by music. About a superstar with a voice that can make you happy and sad and all the shades in between, about a gay man in a world that sometimes wants to pretend everyone is straight. But it’s about freedom, more than anything else.

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WARNING: this episode includes references to suicide.

He was maybe the last pop star who could scare grannies and make kids cry. Keith Flint looked like Johnny Rotten mixed with Freddie Krueger. He snarled rather than sang. The tabloids wanted his records banned. But the real Keith was a very different man - and the story of this lost kid’s life and sad death are both endearing and deeply moving.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues spoken about in this podcast, please go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help, or call the Samaritans at 116 123 (free to all UK numbers).

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