The impact of an icon

I have been thinking recently about the impact of an icon.

My icons largely inhabit the world of art, literature, fashion, music and science. This month we lost Hubert de Givenchy and Stephen Hawking - two titans in their respective industries.

It seems my world is being stripped, with increasing regularity, of so many people I consider to have attained iconic status. People who have inspired me throughout my life, through their authenticity, artistry, intelligence or creativity, and whom I revere.

For example, Givenchy and Stephen Hawking are a type of benchmark of excellence in their fields, and personally I find there is a sort of comfort knowing my world is filled with such talent.Icons do come in many guises, but I feel, they are the type of people who have legacies that span decades, who leave an indelible mark on history through their life’s work.

A frustration of mine though is that these days, we seem to be living in a world where “celebrity” dominates our newspapers and social media. Over the last 20 years or so, we seemed to have fashioned a new strata of society largely borne out of reality TV. And to me, celebrity is about just being “known” which is not the same as deserving fame, and is worlds apart from being an icon.

My earliest memory of losing an icon was Elvis on 16 August 1977. I remember shutting myself in my room crying and crying. To my mind he exuded star quality. My mum often used to say that certain people had a “God gifted talent”. Elvis definitely fell into that category in my opinion – and I wonder if that is part of the essence of being an icon?

My life is especially filled with icons from the music world, artists whom I have admired and whose creativity has coloured my life in so many ways and in some ways has shaped my own artistic direction. And whilst I didn’t shut myself in my bedroom when Michael Jackson died in 2009 – I was shocked and saddened.

And I’m sure you remember a few years ago, in 2016 we lost a startling number musical stars: David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Maurice White, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Prince and Leonard Cohen and George Michael. I’m pretty sure I have missed someone out…. It felt unrelenting and made me, and a few of my friends, wonder what the universe was trying to tell us.

I feel that is the part of the pull of an icon. Their craft or work is so compelling and strong that when they die it feels like there is a void.

So as I type I’m wondering who my kids would consider icons, given they have grown up surrounded by people with celebrity status.

I have just asked them both and they can’t seem to give me an answer. But maybe it is a bit unfair of me as my daughter has just come home from Uni and my son is unwell. Their icons are undoubtedly present and I suspect they will hail from the sporting sphere… but I’ll ask again later and report back…     

What makes you think of a person as a star?

(Robin WIlliams in Los Angeles on Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles))

Nowadays, there are some words that are thrown around all too frequently, in my opinion – legend, icon, and star, even a god, which I heard this morning on the radio about a footballer.

Maybe, I am getting old, but I find this free and easy labelling increasingly irritating. We do live in a world where there is fantastic talent in so many areas of life, but there are degrees - and true stardom, to me, is something quite unusual.

True stars have talent and are excellent at what they do, that’s a given, but there is something more, something intangible, that makes them special.

I don’t believe the majority of true greats decided one day that they were at the pinnacle of their careers; it just became glaringly obvious to everyone else. People, I consider to be stars, as I said have talent of course but it takes time, experience, integrity, persistence, determination and humility. And the people we revere that attain this title share their talents with us unreservedly - it is at their very core and it literally pours out of them.

At the moment, I am thinking particularly about BB King, whom the world lost on Friday. Sadly, I never saw him perform live, but he had such an impact on my musical life. And on hearing of his passing it felt like there was a sombre cloud over many people’s moods.

Another such man, in my eyes, was Robin Williams. I remember, how upset so many of my friends and I were to hear of his death, last year. Mastery like his seemed to be a god- gifted talent, as my mother would call it, so intertwined with his character and being, it looked effortless.

Of course, much of this “stardom” labelling is subjective. Even if certain people are viewed favourably by the masses, there will always be someone who will call their “status” into question, or disagree. But there are some, like BB King and Robin Williams, who are universally accepted as legends.

And over the last year or so, we have lost some incredible talent: Maya Angelou, Bob Hoskins, Rik Mayall, Joe Cocker, Lauren Bacall and Richard Attenborough, to name a few as well as of course Robin Williams and BB King. These names are just off the top of my head and I would be interested to know if anyone would call into question the star like qualities of anyone on the list above.

And I would love to know what qualities you think people have whom you consider to be iconic. Who do you think of as a star?...

And because it is still so raw and fresh in my mind, here's another BB King song, not that I think we really need a reason. I struggled to listen to this all the way through on Friday, but I have made progress...in the words of the spectacular Mr King: “Let the good times roll…”