FEATURE:
Behind the Music
IN THIS PHOTO: Ozzy Osbourne
How Artists’ Illnesses Can Open Up Conversation
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THAT may sound like a vague title…
IN THIS PHOTO: slowthai/PHOTO CREDIT: Phil Smithies for DIY
but this is something I have covered before. I think a lot of people do not really think about the artists we listen to and whether, like you and me, they have conditions and illnesses that affect them. There has been, thankfully, a lot more discussion around mental-health recently; it is a subject that is still not as prevalent in the mainstream and media as one would like, but things are changing. I often wonder whether there is taboo regarding artists and whether they can open up about illness. Now that social media is dominant, being revealing can have its downsides. There are people that support you, but there are others who will attack and troll. I will mention Lady Gaga later – because she is an artist who has been quite open about her health problems -, but there have been a couple of recent incidents that involved well-loved artists speaking about their struggles. They have both been met with support and kindness. Not that record labels and the media expect artists to be stoic and not talk about illness, but I think there is something very brave in speaking out. Slowthai is an artist who has been in the media for the wrong reasons recently. But, as this recent article in NME explains, he has discussed his life with ADHD:
“Slowthai has opened up on his battle with ADHD, and says the behavioural condition has left him with a “need to be loved”.
The ‘Nothing Great About Britain’ rapper, real name Tyron Frampton, discussed the condition in a lengthy Twitter post.
“I often laugh when I feel anxious, this awkward laughter only shows how uncomfortable I feel,” wrote Frampton on Twitter. “I’ve always been socially awkward and found it hard to articulate to people how I truly feel, often lie. Sometimes it’s harder to stay quiet than force conversation and it makes my skin crawl.”
Frampton added: “I build myself up from pieces of other people and when I look in the mirror I shiver ’cause I feel like I’m wearing someone else’s skin.”
After explaining how he has a “need to be loved’, Frampton explained how he has previously considered taking his own life.
“I think about the end every night. But I’m too afraid to say goodbye,” he explained”.
I think, in a way, slowthai’s ADHD explains some of his recent ‘erratic’ behaviour – where he was inappropriate with Katherine Ryan at NME Awards as he collected his Hero of the Year gong from the host -, but it does definitely not let him off of the hook. Life people with other forms of mental illness, it can be hard maintaining a career in the creative industries. Inevitably, success and pressure can have negative impact, and I think slowthai’s ADHD has been as responsible for his focus and energy as it has been some of his less glorious moments. Fans and the media can raise artists to the status of superheroes, so it is difficult talking about an illness that is very common and human. I know slowthai will get a lot of support and, let’s hope, he is provided some guidance and rest by his management and label. He will not want to slow down too much, but I think he needs to take a breather soon to catch up with himself and recharge.
There are others with ADHD that will look up to slowthai and be inspired by him. We do not realise that musicians are just like me and you, in the sense that they are not immune to illness and it can affect them in a very big way. Another artist who has recently spoken about his health struggles is the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. The Black Sabbath icon has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and it means that he has to cut back on touring. Through his career, Osbourne has faced obstacles, but this is his biggest test. He has said he is focusing on his health and family and, whilst it will be disappointing to cancel some dates and slow things down, he needs to put himself first. This recent interview reveals more about his Parkinson’s and an accident that proceeded his diagnosis:
“Still, Ozzy went along with the plan. He’d been in a slump since a serious fall in February 2019, when he’d hit his head on a metal bed frame and seriously fucked himself up. He needed something to get him back to work, and recording his hook for the Post Malone track ‘Take What You Want’ went so well that Watt worked up the courage to ask Ozzy if he’d be up for making a whole album.
“I was feeling sorry for myself, miserable and in fucking agony,” remembers Ozzy. “I’ve never been laid up for a year in my life and still been in so much pain at the end of it, but Andrew Watt and fucking Post Malone and my daughter Kelly got me going in the right direction. If it’s not a big hit that’s fine, but this album is quite possibly one of the most important albums I’ve ever made because it saved my life.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Doherty/Getty Images
“I didn’t say it before, but I knew I had Parkinson’s fucking 18 years ago,” he reveals. “I was diagnosed in 2003 and I’ve been doing gigs since then. The problem I’m having right now is this fucking neck problem I’ve had since I fell over and had to have surgery…” At this point he starts to get up, and he tosses his head and hair forward so that he can show me the gnarly scar on the back of his neck, but the commotion brings Sharon in from the next room. “Ozzy,” she pleads. “Don’t – it’s horrible!”
Sharon isn’t sure Ozzy’s quite right about his illness. “You had Parkinson’s, but it wasn’t active,” she explains to him, then turns to me to elaborate: “He was born with a gene called the PARK2 gene, but it wasn’t active. It’s like being born with certain cancer genes. They’re not active, and it’s usually stress or shock to the body that makes them active.”
Ozzy looks up at her from the armchair, confusion written across his face, and asks: “Is it active now, then?”
It will be a hard road ahead for Osbourne, and I know there has been a lot of love from his fans. We do not expect our favourite artists to suffer from serious illnesses, but I think artists like slowthai and Ozzy Osbourne will help raise discussions, make others (with the same condition) know they are not alone. I know of people who live with fibromyalgia and, until a few years ago, there had not been a lot of discussion in the music industry.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lady Gaga/PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Jackson for Allure
Back in September 2017, we learned more about the condition as it affected one of music’s biggest artists:
“On Monday it was announced that Lady Gaga has cancelled her European tour, due to begin next week, because of “severe physical pain that has impacted her ability to perform”. She has fibromyalgia, and has made a Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two, to raise awareness about this long-term condition. A statement says: “She plans to spend the next seven weeks proactively working with her doctors to heal from this and past traumas that still affect her daily life and result in severe physical pain in her body. She wants to give her fans the best version of the show she built for them when the tour resumes.”
We’ve all heard of Lady Gaga, but fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) may be more of a mystery. It is a condition that is hard to diagnose, explain or treat. And many people with the condition say they struggle to get medical professionals to take their symptoms seriously. FMS is a long-term condition that causes widespread pain. Its debilitating symptoms include extreme tiredness, muscle aches, difficulty sleeping and concentrating; headaches and bloating are also common. In Lady Gaga’s case, it is easy to see how she may have initially put these problems down to touring and performing. But the fatigue and pains persist even when you rest, and can be far more draining than normal tiredness.
People with FMS often notice that a fairly innocuous injury, such as stubbing a toe, hurts more intensely and for longer than it should. And even a light touch that shouldn’t hurt at all can be experienced as an unpleasantly painful sensation. The fatigue means you need to sleep a lot but wake up feeling groggy, stiff and achy. Even mental processes feel sluggish, so it becomes a huge effort to concentrate or learn anything new, and your speech may sound slow and a bit muddled. Patients call this “fibro-fog”, and it is not clear whether Lady Gaga experiences it or not”.
I wanted to write this article because, as we are becoming more aware of the extent of mental-health concerns like depression and anxiety, I think there are some illness that are relatively under-exposed, in the sense we do not hear them discussed in the media a lot. I have mentioned merely a few artists – two who have made the music news recently -, but I think it forces us to look at artists in a very human way. There is this façade and shield artists have to deploy when touring and promoting, and I feel too much pressure is put on their shoulders. Of course, Ozzy Osbourne and slowthai are in very different situations, but I think there will be many people out there who are going through the same experiences who will identify and, perhaps, feel more confident in discussing their illnesses because of that. To any artist that is dealing with an illness, whatever it may be, the entire music community…
WISHES them all the very best.