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John Balance is dead.

 
 
SteppersFan
10:26 / 15.11.04
Full story:
http://www.thresholdhouse.com/index2.html

Every man and every woman is a Star.
Love is the law, love under will.

I'm somewhat shocked right now. A week after John Eden's retrospective on TOPY, I learn that the man who did more than anyone else to bring me into the 23 current has died. I was a massive teenage Coil fan. We used to exchange huge long letters -- he was unstintingly generous in that regard -- and on the rare occasions when we met up, he was enormously welcoming and pleasant. I will miss him greatly.
 
 
trouser the trouserian
10:55 / 15.11.04
That's sad news indeed, stepfan. Never met the dude myself, but have been a long-time fan of Coil.

Chumbley down, now John Balance - who's next I wonder?
 
 
Gypsy Lantern
10:58 / 15.11.04
Bloody hell...
 
 
Gypsy Lantern
10:59 / 15.11.04
It's been a bad year for losing people hasnt it...
 
 
trouser the trouserian
11:04 / 15.11.04
Coil Website for those who don't know who we're on about.
 
 
razorsmile
13:32 / 15.11.04
Shit news I suppose, it does feel strange in some ways, this death and that of Andrew Chumbley. There's already a lot of magical material produced by the two of them, enough for a lifetime perhaps, it's difficult to tell. I'm working on a possible essay on the sound of Coil at the moment so have been listening to about a dozen tapes a lot for the last three or four months. There's something powerfully appropriate in much of Coil's sound for ritual work. And Balances' voice.
 
 
SteppersFan
15:44 / 15.11.04
Right, I'm opening a book on RAW's chances of making it through Christmas...
 
 
LVX23
17:13 / 15.11.04
Yeah, I keep getting these nagging feelings that I need to send RAW a letter and thank him for everything.
 
 
trouser the trouserian
17:41 / 15.11.04
Any odds on old KG popping off soon?
 
 
Goodness Gracious Meme
18:30 / 15.11.04
Bloody hell. More later, am just a bit stunned right now.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
18:51 / 15.11.04
Horrible. As well as his inestimable services to music, Jhon (via Coil, PTV and TG) helped inflame my teenage interest in magick.
Truly a sad loss. And the culmination of such a bad year for him, afaik.

Do not lose sight of the sea, Jhon.
 
 
pornotaxi
18:53 / 15.11.04
 
 
Boy in a Suitcase
23:09 / 15.11.04
icomefromouttaspacebaby.com/blog

Sorrow and music tiny tribute
 
 
pornotaxi
06:18 / 16.11.04
sleazy writes:

Hi all

Just a brief note at this difficult time - Ian and I both, and I'm
sure John also, feel about financial donations, flowers etc this:

Rather than send us anything - we have too much already - do one of the
following:

1. Write the words "Jhonn Balance" on a small piece of paper, put it in
a hole in the ground or a pot, and plant a vegetable or tree over it.
Some people might want to anoint the paper with their own seed as well.
When you see the plant grow or even better when you eat the resulting
vegetable, know you have him beside (or inside) you.

OR

2. If you see someone that needs some kind of small help or kindness,
do so, but say "there you are Jhonn Balance", if only for the pleasure
of seeing the startled look on their face.
(It was a running joke between us that Jhonn (like Blanche Dubois from
Streetcar Named Desire) "often relied on the kindness of strangers")

And to everyone that has sent messages so soon - thank you SO so much -
They are a massive comfort and help and mean a lot, even though
sometimes it IS hard to read emails through the tears!!!! B^) What is
the emoticon for that I wonder?

We will try to write back to everyone personally when Jhonn's Dust has
settled...

Love to all

Sleazy and Ian
 
 
nidu713
17:59 / 16.11.04
The Snow from Love's Secret Domain ----> one of my fav Coil tracks.

Anyone else care to share?
 
 
Orrin's Prick Up Your Ears
14:21 / 17.11.04
Just ... gutted to hear this.

Never saw Coil play live so I was really excited about the Seed Records party last Friday. Very pissed off when I heard that it was cancelled due to London Underground panicking but I figured I'd get a chance to see Coil in December.

Just before I found out about Jhon, I was leafing through his old Fortean Times interview. What a sweetheart.

I'll plant my watercress tonight and listen to some records.
 
 
Chiropteran
13:28 / 18.11.04
Do not lose sight of the sea, Jhon.

I was doing okay - no tears - until I read that.

nidu713, Love's Secret Domain (the version from Stolen and Contaminated Songs) was my introduction to Coil, and has been one of My Songs(tm) since college. Another favorite (if I have to choose) is Red Birds Will Fly Out of the East and Destroy Paris in a Night. That or The Sea Priestess. I don't know...

Damn.

~Lepidopteran
 
 
macrophage
13:34 / 18.11.04
Bad one. A true iconoclast and rebel. At least he left alot of his creativity to show his time track. They seeded a generation.
 
 
Joetheneophyte
14:01 / 18.11.04
Sorry I was insensitive there in the extreme and I was about to delete the post and sent it by mistake

Sorry to all the people who are affected by this and please ignore my insensitive post, that I did intend to delete or moderate as to not read so inappropriately

I will find some of their stuff and give it a listen as a sign of respect
 
 
Joetheneophyte
16:21 / 18.11.04
Lepidopteran

thankyou, really enjoyed that Fortean Times link and from that interview I think the world is a sadder place for his loss, his sincerity and 'niceness' (sorry for such a bland word) definately shone through

That interview actually cleared up some other Magickal questions I had and he obviously knew his stuff and was a true artist, putting his art above financial and other more earthly matters
 
 
Chiropteran
16:36 / 18.11.04
They seeded a generation.

They certainly did (and Jhonn would have loved your choice of words, surely - no sarcasm). In that respect I rank them with William Burroughs.

~L
 
 
SteppersFan
15:01 / 19.11.04
Fave Coil tunes:

How to Destroy Angels
Sewage Workers Birthday Party
Ostia

Must get the industrial mix back up.
 
 
Unconditional Love
16:34 / 19.11.04
the royal festival hall the only time i saw them live, unforgettable.

a beautiful tunnel of goats.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
17:25 / 19.11.04
The guy who did the FT interview's a friend of mine... you have no idea how jealous I was when he said "I'm off next week to talk to Coil about their AOS collection"...

I've been wracking my brains and I can't thing of a single nicer way of remembering someone than invoking them while performing acts of kindness. Wouldn't it be great if Balance's name ended up becoming a part of urban folklore through being something people said whenever helping the needy? What a way to live forever.
 
 
+#'s, - names
16:46 / 20.11.04
Threshold House has updated a bit with an analysis of Jhonn Balance's astrological chart and some info about the funeral. General public is not welcome, but remote viewers are.
 
  
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