Death of a Rock Star

Introducing: Oceans: Life Under Water Feb 29, 2024

What do you hear at the bottom of the ocean? How does it feel to swim with whales? Or make friends with an octopus? Come and find out. This is Life Under Water.

Wildlife filmmaker and TV personality Hannah Stitfall wants to take you the world below the waves. She’ll be chatting to freedivers, marine biologists, submarine pilots and more, hearing mind-boggling stories about the oceans-deep and its inhabitants. We explore The Lost City. We hang out with your favourite animals. The hypnotic sound design and storytelling will drop you right there.

Oceans: Life Under Water is brought to you by Crowd Network and Greenpeace UK, which is how these stories can be told so beautifully but also responsibly.

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David Bowie Jun 15, 2022

David Bowie is dying, and no-one knows it. No journalists, no fans. Just the chosen few. His wife. His grown-up son, his young daughter. A handful of others, all sworn to secrecy. And he’s been rushing to get songs recorded, videos made, plays performed. Because his life's always been about reinvention, about creativity. About working out who you are, what you want to say. About control of image, and intent. All those wild incarnations – the costumes, the make-up, the poses. All those characters he becomes – Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, the Man Who Fell To Earth. And now, he's releasing one more album. It’s time for the final performance. The last great artistic move...

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Richey Edwards Jun 08, 2022

Richey Edwards is the frontman of the Manic Street Preachers. But he's quiet. A little pale. And one day... he's gone. For some fans, the possibility that he’s watching, listening, smiling somewhere, is impossible to resist. There are loose ends. The money that was never found. Richey’s fascination with Israel. The books he left behind. And there are the sightings. In Newport by the passport office. On the hippy trail in Goa. In a bar on a Spanish island. On a beach in the Canary Islands. Each time, the story’s similar. A gaunt, quiet man, flitting out of view and remaining out of reach...

WARNING: this episode contains graphic descriptions of self-harm and references to suicide.If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we spoke about in this podcast or are worried about someone you love, please call the Samaritans at 116 123. Someone will always be there to listen, day or night, and it’s free for all UK phone numbers. Or, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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Sam Cooke Jun 01, 2022

Sam Cooke's music makes you feel nostalgic for a time you never knew. Perfect little love songs that take you back to the innocence of the late Fifties, the early Sixties. But they could've sounded so different, in a world where a black man could sing like a black man to everyone. Where he could be himself everywhere. But there’s other stuff you need to know about Sam Cooke. Because he’s the voice, but he’s so much more. The dodgy managers stealing his money, the run-ins with the Mafia. The racism – the threats, the violence. The wiretaps from the FBI. And how it all ends… In a cheap motel, with a call girl and a handgun, when he’s just starting to change the world.

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Mama Cass May 25, 2022

Cass? She’s the one the band can’t do without. Those 40 million records sold? The six top ten hits? It’s her voice that powers them. Her charisma that makes the Mamas & the Papas so lovable. When they all sing together, it sounds like the times squeezed and bottled with added vitamins. It’s sunshine and smiles and bright swirls of primary colours. But there’s always this sadness close by. A melancholy, lying there just under the surface. And that's Cass. She doesn't feel lovable. Doesn’t fit the mould. Doesn't look like 60s rock'n'roll. She’s the sunshine and darkness in one troubled woman. The openness, the paranoia. The dreams of a golden generation, living and dying under a perfect blue Californian sky...

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Keith Moon May 04, 2022

‘Moon the Loon.’ That’s the nickname. The bloke who drove a Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool. Who liked blowing up toilets and trashing hotel rooms. Moon’s life and death is one of pop music’s great cautionary tales. It’s textbook stuff. A man who becomes so grotesque that people forget what a genius he was. Before the drink and drugs and darkness reduce him to a husk. Is the golden age of rock really so golden, when its gods die so young?

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Billie Holiday Apr 27, 2022

Lady Day was the greatest singer of a generation. A sound they’ll try and copy for years to come. A girl who starts with nothing, who runs with pimps and hookers, but grows up to diamonds, furs, and adulation. But there's always been heroin around jazz. And she's playing a game where the odds are stacked against her. There are powerful men who want to bring it all crashing down...

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Avicii Apr 20, 2022

It’s the era of the superstar DJ. And Tim Bergling, or Avicii, is A-list. He’s on an endless carousel. Lights, music, screams, good times. Whirling faster and faster, on and on… Tim controls the tunes. But when he wants to get off, when he’s had enough of the ride, enough of being Avicii, who’s in control then? And what's left?

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Jimi Hendrix Apr 13, 2022

Jimi Hendrix is the most famous rock star in the world. The biggest showman. A god, in a new musical universe. But he doesn't look like that anymore. Doesn't feel like that. Has nothing to show for it. He's paranoid, too. Who’s watching? Who’s listening? Who wants money now? And soon it'll all come crashing down...

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The Notorious B.I.G. Feb 24, 2022

Biggie Smalls was the King of New York. But his reign doesn’t last long. Less than three years after his coronation, he’s shot dead. A very modern regicide. A hail of bullets pumped into the side of his SUV. We still don’t know who did it or why. What a waste… Or was it? The people chanting his name, as his funeral winds through Brooklyn, don’t think so. Maybe it’s better to be king for a day, however rickety the throne, than settle for a long, desperate slog...

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Bon Scott Feb 17, 2022

In the real world, you’d be scared of Bon Scott. But in the world of rock and roll, he’s perfect. He's on a Highway to Hell and you’re ready to strap yourself in and join him. But there are things you don't know. How he’s trapped in a cycle of uppers and downers, benders and comedowns. How he wants to quit this life but everyone else is keeping him strapped in. And how he’s about to crash and burn for real...

WARNING: this episode contains references to drug abuse.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we spoke about in this podcast or are worried about someone you love, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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Dennis Wilson Feb 10, 2022

Dennis Wilson's a Beach Boy. He’s always there, but...not there. The drummer, but not the one who drums on their biggest records. His face on the album covers, his sound left off the hits. The best-looking one, the one they think’s the Steve McQueen or James Dean of the band, but the first to die. The one who slips away, when no-one’s looking...

WARNING: this episode contains references to drug and alcohol abuse.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we spoke about in this podcast or are worried about someone you love, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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Nick Drake Feb 03, 2022

Maybe you know Nick Drake. The songs, the sound. How he wants to be famous but won’t do what it takes. How he’s never a pop star, but people love him like he’s their private hero.

But people didn’t know him when he lived. He seemed… invisible. And he should’ve faded away with the 70s, with his death. But instead, something magical happens…

WARNING: this episode contains references to drug abuse, addiction, and suicide.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we spoke about in this podcast or are worried about someone you love, please call the Samaritans at 116 123. Someone will always be there to listen, day or night, and it’s free for all UK phone numbers. Or, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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Tupac Jan 27, 2022

Tupac Shakur. He’s a gangster and a genius. A cliched death, but a unique life. America’s grim reality and its sacred dream, all in one. Shots fired on tracks will rebound into real life. But Tupac will always live on. Not in Cuba, Haiti or a Coachella holographic. But in deep ideas, and the impact he had. You just have to look a little harder...

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Janis Joplin Jan 20, 2022

Sweet Janis Joplin. She should never have strayed so far from the apple tree of her youth. But if she was still with us, surely she’d say: what chance did I have? All her life, Janis wrote songs that were achingly sad. She never wanted much. Just a pair of arms to hold her close. Even if it was for just one night. But she was always left chasing that bright, elusive butterfly of love...

WARNING: This episode contains references to drug abuse and addiction. If you've been affected by any of the things we mention in this show, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find people who can help.

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Jim Morrison Jan 13, 2022

With Jim Morrison, everything’s always somewhere between truth and myth. You don’t know what’s real, it’s all bent together. There’s things that make you love him, make you hate him. Things that make you uncomfortable. It’s a wild ride, with Jim. And if you get out alive? You’re the lucky one…

WARNING: This episode contains references to drug abuse and addiction. If you've been affected by any of the things we mention in this show, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find people who can help.

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Kurt Cobain Jan 06, 2022

Kurt Cobain doesn’t look like the spokesman for an angry generation. Then he starts picking at his guitar and singing. Rasping, like a chainsaw cutting down a tree. Ugly and beautiful, vulnerable and certain. But he can’t see his own appeal. He hates himself. And less than five month after his most famous gig, he’ll end up dead…

WARNING: this this episode contains references to drug abuse, addiction, and suicide.

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we spoke about in this podcast or are worried about someone you love, please call the Samaritans at 116 123. Someone will always be there to listen, day or night, and it’s free for all UK phone numbers. Or, go to crowdnetwork.co.uk/helplines to find a list of people you can go to for help.

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Buddy Holly Mar 18, 2021

Buddy Holly came and went so fast. Inspired the Beatles, inspired the Stones. His songs soundtrack so many lives, but he was the first of the rock’n’roll legends to go down in flames. The day, as we all now know, when the music died.

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Ian Curtis Mar 11, 2021

Some bands could be from anywhere. You can’t hear their home in the bassline, feel the streets and skies in the guitars. But Joy Division and Ian Curtis are pure Manchester - an old town, a new town, a city that tears down the past and falls into the future.

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Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes Mar 04, 2021

You can’t talk about TLC without talking about all three. But there’s always a point to every triangle, and TLC’s is Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes.

It’s her creativity, her contradictions and the way she could start fires. But there’s a bigger battle underneath it all. Poet vs rock star. Health fanatic vs alcoholic. Lover vs a warrior fixated on revenge. This is the story of how it all fits together…

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John Lennon Feb 25, 2021

It’s an unusually warm December day in New York City. Mild enough to linger on the sidewalk. To make time for people. But today is different. Because the madness is coming back. On this benign day, from out of a clear American sky.

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Sid Vicious Feb 18, 2021

WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions and references to drug abuse.

Sid Vicious. The name is potent, a kind of manifesto in itself. For some people, Sid Vicious is punk, its ultimate poster boy. But there nothing heroic about the tragedy of Sid Vicious, a boy whose only talent turned out to be for self-destruction.

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Chester Bennington Feb 11, 2021

WARNING: This episode contains references to suicide.

In The End. If you’ve heard any Linkin Park song, it’s that one. Chester Bennington sings about nothing really mattering. But if that’s how he truly felt in the end, he was wrong. Chester may be gone, but his music still speaks for him. In the end, he never stopped. And neither does his story.

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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Eva Cassidy Feb 04, 2021

It’s all back to front, with Eva. The radio only notices when she’s gone. You hear her and she’s not there to explain why she sings like this, what’s formed her. The love comes after the death. And that’s how the story of Eva Cassidy has to be told, the only way it makes sense. We start at the end, and we work backwards.

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Marvin Gaye Jan 28, 2021

WARNING: This episode contains references to suicidal thoughts and drug abuse.

You know what they say about boys. They just want their father’s approval, when it comes down to it. And when you find out about Marvin Gaye – not just the records, and the voice, or the look, or the dope – that’s what you realise it’s all about. From the beginning until the end.

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Prince Jan 21, 2021

A lot of rock stars, you think you know them. You don’t think you know Prince. There’s so many stories, but they’re so mad, or funny, or just impossible, you’re never really sure what’s real. Because Prince is like no-one before or since.

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Marc Bolan Jan 14, 2021

Marc Bolan was the elfin prince of glam rock. He was bard of the British underground, spinning fairy fantasies of other worlds with made up words, an acoustic guitar and a set of bongos. This is the story of how he lived fast, but died young. And is forever fixed in the public imagination as a sexy, swaggering, glam rocking icon.

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Bob Marley Jan 07, 2021

This is the unforgettable story of the last days of Bob Marley. When you come to the end, you think back to the beginning. You think to what made you and what you made. That’s Bob, a long way from Jamaica. Thinking: this was me. This is where I came from. This is what I saw.

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Elvis Dec 17, 2020

He might be the most famous man who ever lived. He changed our world forever. But when you get that big, there’s always someone who wants to exploit you. You forget who you are and why you’re doing it. Until suddenly it’s too late.

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Jeff Buckley Dec 10, 2020

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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Amy Winehouse Dec 03, 2020

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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Kirsty MacColl Nov 26, 2020

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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Michael Jackson Nov 19, 2020

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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Dolores O'Riordan Nov 12, 2020

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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Freddie Mercury Nov 05, 2020

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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Karen Carpenter Oct 29, 2020

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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Otis Redding Oct 21, 2020

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 Oct 14, 2020

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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Keith Flint Oct 08, 2020

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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Michael Hutchence Oct 01, 2020

WARNING: this episode includes references to suicide.

Michael Hutchence seemed like the perfect composite front man: the hair, the lips, the moves, the habits. This is the story of how he became that star, but also the man he really was underneath - and why those two parts of him would come together in tragedy.

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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Whitney Houston Sep 30, 2020

WARNING: this episode includes references to domestic violence and drug abuse.

Everything about Whitney seemed perfect - the voice, the looks, the records sold and the films. But that’s not how she saw herself, and it’s not how her life began to break down. Everything you thought you knew about Whitney is about to be thrown up in the air.

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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Coming Soon (Trailer) Sep 15, 2020

With a new episode each Thursday, Death of a Rock Star explores what it’s like to be adored by millions: how you do it, what it does to you, the rewards it brings and the price you pay. We go back to the start of rock ‘n’ roll, take in the great stars and the forgotten legends, the modern-day superstars – the ones you knew, the ones you’ll wish you had. And we explore their legacy today – how they continue to move us, and change us, and define who we are.

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