Fame. What's the point? It doesn't last. It doesn't guarantee money or respect. For every fan there is a reactionary hater. Being famous to some still means nothing to many others. It takes normal people and turns them into reclusive weirdos whose worlds are built around the machine that is trying to keep their fame alive for as long as possible. Their reality is ironically a false universe of people who mostly want to steal their light or ride their coattails. Strangers offer gifts that are actually disguised marketing schemes so businesses can align themselves with their aura of cool. When the fame bubble bursts (and it almost always does) these poor people are thrown back into the real world only to discover they are damaged goods with few real friends and zero real life skills. There is often no career plan B so next follows a depressing scramble to pay bills and rebuild a "normal" life. Fame. What a fucking terrible idea.
I would have said Brix Smith Start would agree but her story is an American marvel that has spread to other continents. She is a cat with 9 lives. She was born into a world of affluence, her rock and roll limelight timed out within a decade and yet she found her way back into the spotlight again in the most surprising of ways.
Some people don't seek fame, they are born with what I call shiny penny syndrome. People want to pick them up and stash them in their pocket. They glow from within like a jack o'lantern and people are naturally attracted to them. They stand out in a crowded room. People lean in when they speak just to be closer to their breath. They are catalysts to people's imaginations and desires. It is maddening to those who try to seek out that sort of magical existence because they discover it isn't something you can create or buy. Cool is a genetic freak accident only further fueled by money, style, and talent. Brix is one of those people. Like a moth to a flame, fame finds her.
Brix Smith-Start's story is the perfect balance of American dreams and nightmares. Her grandfather entered the country as an immigrant and amassed a fortune in California through hard work and innovation. A sun soaked and decadent life for his family was to follow. Financial privilege afforded her one of a kind opportunities (horses, Friar's club brunches, Beverly Hills shopping, housekeepers) but tied into that cost was also an abusive father eventually cut from her life, feeling like a causality of divorce with parents split between two states, and a revolving door of caregivers. An eating disorder complicated her already tense childhood. Huge things would be on the horizon for Brix but again good came along with the bad. Her teenage years brought drugs, sex, an introduction to the world of fashion, exotic travel, but also there was also brutal sexual assault. An elite college experience included a vampire bite that caused a serious infection (no really!) a bloody concussion, and an unwanted pregnancy. At this point we are only at the halfway through the book now and like a car crash you can't look away from, in walks Mark E Smith, the leader (AKA dictator) of The Fall. Here is a man that has dedicated most of his adult life to being a living, breathing, seething artist. One part drunk, one part poetic wrecking ball.
Each new chapter of The Rise, The Fall, and the Rise encourages me to curse. I have found myself wincing while muttering FUCK! or SHIT! The intensity and wildness of the first portion of the book is matched, no, surpassed by the second half. Her life gets stranger - something that seems nearly impossible. Overnight she goes from a fan of The Fall with minimal band experience to being not only a member of the band but living in England and married to Mark in a whirlwind that keeps swirling for much of the '80s.
Brix's entire story in wholly unbelievable and she articulates it in a manner that is like catnip to the curious. You will find yourself wondering how one person can fall (pun intended) into this many crazy situations. They seem to seek her out unlike the reality stars of today who fake drama and jump start headlines. There are endless run-ins and brushes with fame from fairytale royalty to the hard to pin down je ne sais quoi icons of hip usually associated with the likes of Lou Reed and Nico. From the ashes of a dead-end she rises time and time again. Her story is one of perseverance, survival, spirituality, and surreal luck.
Out of the hundreds of jaw dropping moments recreated in this book, one small paragraph still haunts me. Brix played on and helped write some of the most memorable and popular Fall albums yet she has never seen one cent of royalties from any of those records. When Mark E Smith walked out on her as a cheating husband, he also cheated her of rightful compensation. Yes, plenty of dirt dished in regards to their relationship in and out of the band but I think what is most surprisingly is her ability to forgive him and still see the good when most people in her shoes would have bludgeoned him to death with them.
A weaker individual would have come apart at the seams after the 10th bottoming out but Brix's star shine doesn't fade; she pops back to life like a trick candle whose flame can't be extinguished. She reappears in new bands, builds new career paths, becomes romantically entangled with a series of larger than life characters, and eventually ricochets back stronger than ever on UK television. I didn't know what to expect from this book but once I recovered from the shock of a world class roller coaster ride, I was left with hope and comfort. No life is perfect.We each cope in strange and wonderful ways to get by. It is reminder that around the corner isn't just more disaster or doom but occasionally things of true marvel, joy, and beauty. Just as easily as we can let others own us, we can take back our lives and make the impossible happen.
This books comes highly recommended and I have made you a playlist (18 plus hours!) of all the music she discusses in the book in chapter order.
