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Pop stars talk about what it's like not to be famous anymore
2022-04-25 00:00:00
Nick Duerden is the author of the new book, Exit Stage Left: The Curious Afterlife of Pop Stars, in which he interviewed 50 former famous musicians about life after fame. He has an essay in The Guardian about some of the pop stars he interviewed.
Suzanne Vega described the moment she realized she was no longer a big sensation:
On the tour's opening night in New York, the venue was just a third full. "I thought: 'Where's the rest of the audience? Maybe they're still out in the lobby?'" There was no rest of the audience; they'd already moved on. Vega herself had done nothing wrong here, but rather done things a little too right. The industry had taken note of her earlier success, reminding them of the marketable power of a singer in touch with her emotions, and so had invested in a new batch: Sinéad O'Connor, Tanita Tikaram, Tracy Chapman. These artists rendered the scene's godmother abruptly superfluous. Vega's tour, haemorrhaging money, was cut short. When she arrived back at JFK, she looked out for the car her record label would always send to collect her. But there was no car. Not any more. "I took a taxi," she says.
And here's what happened to the members of Musical Youth:
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