Love can be both frightening and beautiful at the same time. Rock ‘n’ Roll couples are always the center of attention and are viciously torn apart in the public. We all have seen the tabloids and snickered at the rise and falls of these infamous relationships. Throughout the years it seems as if the women are blamed for the root cause of the disastrous courtship.
In the gossip news these women have been illustrated as being overshadowed by their loved one throughout the course of the relationship. Despite their efforts of being considered as a loving wife they have been slandered and portrayed as over-emotional, clinging and possessive. Below are the worst and most draining relationships that has made a mark in rock ‘n’ roll history.
John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Lennon first met Ono at the Indico Art Gallery in London during an avant-garde show displaying the artistry of Yoko Ono. Most people still blame Yoko Ono for the breakup of the Beatles and completely disregard the intense and passionate love that was held between John and Yoko. It was an unusual pairing for the time and because of their upbringings, but they spent their lives together spreading the message of peace and love. Their relationship caused tension and mixed emotions between the band and essentially rooted the dispersion of the band, as they started to work on music together.
Ono and Lennon wasted no time in starting a family and getting married. Sadly they had three miscarriages before they conceived their son. On Monday, December 8, 1980 Lennon was murdered in front of his home with Ono and his son inside. Yoko survived and still shows many signs of tribute to her long lost love. His love for the world and desire for peace survived through his own intense love for Yoko and their son.
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love: Love met Cobain, lead singer from Nirvana, on January 12, 1990, in Portland’s Satyricon Club before fame hit. Early in their relationship Cobain broke off dates and ignored Love’s advances because he wasn’t sure he wanted to be with her. Love wrote a song in 1991, and it expresses the love and rejection she felt from Cobain because he did not show immediate interest in her. There are speculations that “Doll Parts” is about being in the public eye and how Love idolized Cobain. In the music video “Doll Parts” it features a small blonde boy, which many believe resembles Cobain in his youth.
What brought Love and Cobain together was that they shared the same addictions which included alcohol, heroin, and painkillers. In early 1992, Love married Cobain and they deemed the title of king and queen of the new rock era. They had a child Frances Bean Cobain, who was born on August 18, 1992. Cobain’s band eclipsed hers in fame; Love became more popular after Cobain's controversial suicide in 1994. Many believe that Love was responsible for the death of Cobain.
Love believes that Cobain killed himself and was completely enraged when she expressed herself to The Huffington Post saying, "Mad? Ya think?! If he came back right now I'd have to kill him, for what he did to us. I'd f*cking kill him. I'd f*ck him, and then I'd kill him," she tells the magazine. "He OD'd at least five times. I was the f*cking E.M.S.” After Cobain’s death, Love’s life spiraled down a black hole. Love is still seen as the reason why this talented man is dead, and schemed her way to still being tied to his riches.
Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen: The punk rock Romeo and Juliet. Soon after they met, Sid and Nancy became inseparable. Aside from being absorbed with sex, in an odd inter-reliant way, each provided what the other craved. It seemed as if they were made for each other because they perfectly intertwined in their chaotic harmony. Eventually their relationship took priority over everything else in their lives, including the Sex Pistols. Nancy threatened to become the punk-rock Yoko Ono, managing to infuriate the entire band. The tabloids named Spungen "Nauseating Nancy" for her frequent public displays of verbal abuse and violence. Johnny Rotten begged Vicious to end the relationship, but the only person Sid listened to was Nancy.
Vicious and Spungen spiraled into deeper drug abuse, and was destroyed by domestic violence when Vicious allegedly attacked Spungen. Their relationship ended sadistically on October 12, 1978. Spungen was found under the sink in the bathroom of their hotel room, dead from a single stab wound to the abdomen, later traced to a knife owned by Vicious. Vicious was charged and arrested for her murder.
He overdosed on heroin on February 2, 1979. Many question if his death was accidental or intentional. People reports that a poem draws questions surrounding his death. In the poem Vicious says, “You were my little baby girl/ And I knew all your fears/ Such joy to hold you in my arms/ And kiss away your tears/ But now you're gone/ There's only pain/ And nothing I can do/ And I don't want to live this life/ If I can't live for you." His last request was to be buried by Spungen. Spungen was Jewish and was buried in a Jewish cemetery, but he was not Jewish so he could not be buried with her. According to the book, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, Vicious' mother and Jerry Only of the Misfits spread his ashes over Spungen's grave.
Love allowed each of these women to be in a vulnerable state of mind and position because they expressed all their emotions to their significant others. Even though some of these relationships weren’t perfect they made sense at the time and symbolized an unbreakable bond. Till this day each of these women holds onto a piece of their former lovers.
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