Rock Star Parents

Becoming famous is meant to be a good thing.  Countless young talented people are striving to be recognised.  Everything they do is geared towards being discovered as a great talent.  Some people take years to get anywhere.  Others make it in the blink of an eye. 

Lately there has been a rash of very young performers making it big in the UK. Many of them know each other from having attended one or more performing arts schools in Britain.  A lot of them are undoubtedly talented.  In fact, there have been so many lately it is reminiscent of the great wave of creativity that took place in the sixties and seventies.  Then, there seemed to be a never ending tide of exceptionally talented individuals and bands.  Like in the sixties and seventies stars are still giving in to the excesses of fame.

 
A new term has been coined ‘rock star parents’.  These are the people who are left behind the scenes.  Many of them are as unprepared as their offspring for what is about to come. When they see the beginnings of success they believe their talented kids will have the best that life has to offer.  They get the recognition they want, money is no object and yet somehow it is not enough.

 
These are the realities that many ‘rock star parents’ have had to face.  The latest in a long line of parents having to pick up the pieces are Mitch Winehouse and Pam Parkes.  Amy Winehouse is at the top of her game and yet she is deeply troubled.  Pam Parkes is the mother of Asher D who has spent time behind bars.  Both these parents have made it clear that they love their kids and like any other parent want the very best for them.

Mitch Winehouse has gone public about his concerns for his twenty four year old daughter.  He noticed from her very first performances that Amy was nervous.  She would often have a glass of wine to calm her nerves.  Mitch felt uncomfortable about this.  He believed it could become a problem.  This cabby’s daughter who recently won five Grammy awards ended up in rehab after a much publicized video of a drugs binge.  There was no mistaking the fact that Amy was using crack.

Pam Parkes also saw her son rise to fame.  He became Asher D, a member of So Solid Crew.  She believed that his fame and success would provide him with all the choices to have a wonderful life.  But at rap gigs her son became associated with violence, guns, aggression and the gangster scene.  Eventually, Asher D was placed under arrest.  The young star was charged with possessing an illegal firearm.  He spent eighteen months behind bars.

Both these ‘rock star parents’ agree that in spite of love and the nurturing of a caring family bad things happen to young stars thrust into the limelight.  The big question is why does it happen to some and not to others?  Fame and stardom can become a complex situation for some while others manage to keep it simple.   BBC One is airing One Life: Rock Star Parents on 18 March at 22h35.