Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

So, it hasn't been the luckiest of fortnights for those residing over in celebriland. What with the death of Boyzone star Stephen Gately (you know, the gay one), Morrissey's random collapse last night and now Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's diagnosis of Prostate cancer, it hasn't been the best of times for our precious musicians.

Stephen Gateley's sad and untimely demise due to what is thought to be the adult equivalent of cot death (or at least so I'm told) shocked the nation as he died on holiday in Spain at just 33. The ripples of his death even seemed to be felt by those who had not even heard of him (bizarrely some people weren't as clued in on Irish boybands from the 90's as some of us) when Daily Fail journalist Jan Moir wrote the now infamous article implying his death was due to his sexual preference. This story has been ripped to shreds so I shan't regurgitate it now, or worse give said paper anymore undue publicity, but let's just say it was a bit uncalled for. The point is, she acted with haste and hadn't even allowed Gately's family the time to say goodbye to him in peace, not to mention nearly discriminating against an entire section of the population.

We've also learned from the news today that seminal playwright and composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with Prostate cancer. Thankfully however it is in its very early stages and doctors are hopeful that Lloyd Webber will be fit enough to open his new musical Love Never Dies, a sequel to the classic Phantom of the Opera, in February.

And who can forget the now popular conversation starter of 'So where were you when you found out Jacko died?'

It seems that this year we've found our own way of coping with the recession, shit weather and wrist slittingly dire reality music shows; (sorry but X Factor is shite, if I have to hear about John and Edward once more there will be murder) instead of complaining about these, we just seek out news of the deterioration of our beloved celebrities. A kind of sympathetic schadenfreude if you will.

The hysteria that was caused at Michael Jackson's death was astounding, but I'm sure that whilst they lay down the flowers and played Man in the Mirror on repeat a few thousand times, they weren't thinking about what's been troubling them in their own lives: for that brief period of time spent worrying about their idol, their mortgage worries, self loathing and work problems are put on the backburner. And maybe this is why people go for idolatry. A sense of caring about someone who has been influential to them in such a way that you leave your own worries behind, if only for a while. Or maybe it's just a sense of catharsis, if you someone else is having a crap day it just makes you grateful that it's not happening to you.

I'm not into the whole hero worship thing myself, but hearing the news that Morrissey; (a guy whose music has got me through some of the darkest times in my life I am unashamed to say, without sounding terribly melodramatic), had collapsed and was seriously ill made me forget about the various concerns that I've had to contend with lately, if only for a short space of time. In no way do I find any of this news positive, but it's nice to know that having a big house and a pony doesn't protect you from the shitbox that is life.

This idea that we all strive to be greater than ourselves whether it be through altering our physical appearance or developing a hobby manifests itself in the art of idolatry, or maybe even in the form of envy at those we encounter in our day to day lives. We all wish we could be like the pretty popular girl, like the athletic smart guy, hell even perhaps like the plastic covered falsetto king of Pop that was MJ. We all have these ideals of the perfect person. So hearing these tales of their health concerns brings us crashing back down to reality. It reminds us they are mortal beings afterall, their streets may be paved with gold but they don't hold the elixir to eternal life. Really, there's nothing about them that is amazingly special, they can be heralded by the world's media to the highest degree, at the end of the day they're still going to end up in a box at some point just like the rest of us normos.

I am genuinely relieved to read that both Morrissey and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber will recover, and obviously my respects go to Stephen's family at this most troublesome time, but surely these events can generate positive actions in our own lives, in a weird sort of way.