At some point, someone needs to step up and point out that yes, this will happen again – because as a society we almost encourage it. We read awful show reviews, watch videos of artists falling down, unable to recall their lyrics streaming on a teleprompter just a few feet away. And then we click ‘add to cart’ because what actually belongs in a hospital is now considered art.

I find myself in complete agreement with that sentiment.

Some ‘edgy’ types will probably dismiss me as a boring old square, but I utterly despise the way rock mythology glamourises self-destructive behaviour. It has destroyed too many lives, taken people well before their time, and wrecked careers of those it failed to kill outright. The ghoulish circus surrounding the late Amy Winehouse during her final downward spiral left me sick to the stomach, and I know I lost my temper  with one music journalist over that.

The music industry has blood on its hands.

In my case it probably comes from having met so many creative musicians over the years. They’re not larger-than-life characters in a reality TV soap opera, they’re real flesh-and-blood human beings, and I’d hate to see any of them go the way of Scott Weiland, Amy Winehouse or far too many others.