Pearsall's Tunes

Today I found out that Nick Kilroy had died. To be honest, it doesn't really mean much to me, but it got me thinking a bit on other people I've known who've passed away. I never knew who Nick Kilroy was until just a little while ago, when, while browsing I Love Music, I found out that he'd died. Although I never had any communications with him, let alone met the man, in a way I kind of knew him, or at least knew a part of him, because I have been using his site gabba/POD for quite a while, so I have been exposed to all kinds of music through him. It's strange the way the internet exposes you to so much of others.

So, anyways, it got me thinking about people I knew personally who died too young.

Three years ago my friend Anno Birkin died in a car crash near Milan with several members of his band, Kicks Joy Darkness. He was the first friend of mine to die. I'd been introduced to him when I was 17 when I started meeting some new friends at school. He didn't go to our school, but he was in a band called Durango 95 with my friends Dan and JS, two guys I'd only recently met at that point. I used to hang out with Anno a couple times a week, either at his place or at JS's. Then, after a bit, I sort of lost touch with him for a while, occasionally running into him in the strangest places. One time I'd been to a squat rave in Bethnal Green, East London, and as I was waiting for a train at 9am on the Sunday morning he came lumbering onto the platform. Then the next time I saw him was two years later when Dan mentioned to me that Kicks Joy Darkness were having their UK farewell gig before they went off to Italy to record their debut album. It was pretty nice to see him, we had a good little chat after the gig and then I went on to a party. It was nice that the last time I saw him was under such pleasant circumstances.

The next person whose death really affected me was my cousin Nathan, also a musician, who was in the band Gang Gang Dance. He was killed in one of those one-in-a-million act of God accidents - struck by lightning on a Manhattan rooftop. I was in New York that summer working, and I'd pretty much prefer to leave it at that...nasty times.

You can see Nick Kilroy's photos here.