William MacArthur "Billy" MacKenzie (
27 March, 1957 –
January 22, 1997) was a
Scottish singer, notable for his powerful voice and vast vocal range.
Born in
Dundee, he led a
peripatetic lifestyle, which included decamping to
New Zealand at the age of 16, and travelling across
America aged 17. Here, to avoid deportation, he married Chloe Dummar. Her brother,
Melvin Dummar, claimed to be the "one sixteenth" beneficiary of the estate of
Howard Hughes, until the case was thrown out in
1978.
He returned to Scotland where he met
Alan Rankine and in
1976 formed the Ascorbic Ones. They changed the name to
The Associates in
1979. The Associates continued until
1990, after which MacKenzie embarked on a solo career. MacKenzie collaborated with more than a few artists during his career, including contributions to seminal Swiss outfit
Yello's "One Second" album in 1987. MacKenzie provided vocals and wrote lyrics for two tracks on that release, and one "The Rhythm Divine" became a hit European single when legendary diva
Shirley Bassey was recruited for vocals (Billy's original vocal track was no less powerful and saw release on the CD version of The Associates "Popera" compilation). On January 22, 1997,
depression and the death of his mother are believed to have contributed to MacKenzie's
suicide. He overdosed on prescription drugs in his father's garden shed. He was 39 years old.
Now a significant
cult figure, much of his musical legacy has been released in the past few years. He was the subject of a biography by Tom Doyle,
The Glamour Chase in 1998.
The Smiths' song "
William, It Was Really Nothing" is said to have been written about Billy.
Morrissey, lyricist and lead vocalist of the band, allegedly had a bit of a crush on him, and they were friends for a while.
The Cure song "
Cut Here" written by
Robert Smith, a friend of Mackenzie, is about his suicide.
Siouxsie Sioux wrote the song "
Say" about his suicide, revealing in the lyrics that they were going to meet just before his suicide. The song was released as a single in 1999 and charted in the UK Top 75.
In 2006, Norwegian singer/songwriter had a massive radio hit with the song "Barrie For Billy Mackenzie"
MacKenzie's range was most often described as "startling", and his high-register singing is easily mistaken for a female's voice, though his lower register tones leave little doubt as to his gender.
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