From Sinatra to The Beatles to Justin Bieber, music fans have been passionate, obsessive and sometimes overly attentive of their idols. Alan Corr looks at the origins, history and future of fans
It's been quite a few weeks in the world of music.
Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz fame made a cringey apology after he made the ridiculous claim that Taylor Swift doesn’t write her own songs, Adele was forced to cancel her Vegas Residency, and Neil Young took on the corporate might of Spotify and removed his music from the streaming site after they refused to stop hosting Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has been known to spread Covid misinformation.
What do all these stories have in common - fans. They are the people who keep the show on the road for music stars. Swifties flocked to Taylor’s defence after Damon’s rather silly statement, Adele’s hordes of fans seemed to be nothing but supportive of their idol’s decision to call off her shows, and Neil Young fans have been flocking to rival streaming sites in support of his decision over Spotify.
Sometimes, fans can be so much more - Britney Spears had her conservatorship overturned after a concerted campaign by her followers and fans still have the power to make or break a new act or relaunch an old one.
Alan Corr appeared on the Dave Fanning Show on 2fm over the weekend to talk all things music fans - where they started, how they’ve evolved and how they have become highly organised supporters of their idols.
