Ron Asheton Dies at Home

Tempis fugit and all that.  Ironically, the day after I saw Iggy Pop doing an advert on telly for car insurance, Ron dies at home with no suspicious circumstances.  Amazing.

The first time I heard “Down on the Street” knocked me over.  I was just stunned.

I heard “Search and Destroy”.  Stunned.  It inspired Alistair to paint this picture for me.

Today Ron was found dead.  I’m not stunned, but I’m a bit sad that he’s been dead on his sofa for several days and no-one noticed.

Over the last few years, the concerts the reformed Stooges have been doing had provided them all with some dosh for their old age.  Ironic, huh?  In the early years of the Stooges, Ron had a penchant for Nazi regalia.  Latterly he’d taken to wearing a little shiny medal on a ribbon. Someone called him quirky, not bad, and he believed good was in everyone even if they didn’t show it. Some recent biopics on telly (Melvyn Bragg etc) about the Stooges confirm that one’s perception of a person via the skewed media of their art and publicity can be somewhat at variance with the reality.

For Ron, that’s about right. He was 60.  Here are some news links from today:

Links:

Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton found dead – NME

Stooges guitarist Asheton found dead in Ann Arbor – Reuters

Ron Asheton, guitarist for The Stooges, dies at age 60 - CBC

Ron Asheton put the menace in the Stooges – Guardian

Stooges guitarist found dead – CNN

The Stooges guitarist found dead – BBC

No related posts.