It’s happening with increasing frequency…we’re doom-scrolling, and we see the message…we wake up to read the news…we get a text from a friend…or we turn on the radio and hear what happened…another rock star has died…

This always comes as a shock…it’s mitigated somewhat if the rock star in question is older or has known health or substance issues…but when it’s someone young or seemingly healthy, it’s extra hard to deal with.

This was the situation on the morning of Saturday, March 26th, 2022…Foo Fighters fans awoke to the news that Taylor Hawkins, the band’s beloved drummer and Dave Grohl’s best friend in the whole wide world, had died.

This didn’t make any sense…the guy had the greatest job in the world…he loved what he was doing…he had Dave and the highly protective Foo Fighters’ organization to look after him…he was physically active…he had a loving family…he had supportive friends throughout the music industry and beyond…and any drug problems he had were at least two decades behind him.

Taylor’s death was completely unexpected and a complete shock to the entire music world…it was one of the most high-profile rock star deaths of the 21st century…but strangely, there are gaps in what the public knows about what happened…and when there are gaps, conspiracies abound.

This is episode 37 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry”…this is everything we know about the death of Taylor Hawkins…and it is quite the story

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When you go to a concert or attend a festival, you have every right to expect to be reasonably safe…there’s security…there’s inevitably a police presence…and EMS people are standing by with their medical tents and ambulances.

In the last 25 years, security has stepped up…there are bag searches, pat-downs, and maybe even drug-sniffing dogs and magnetometers…there is also greater attention paid to everything from the paths people walk to crowd control to monitoring the weather.

It’s not that organizers want to the authoritarian about anything…it’s just business…the business of staging concerts involves following local laws…and then there’s the matter of insurance.

When hundreds or thousands of humans gather in one place where alcohol and drugs are in use, dangerous and weird things can happen…people get angry, drug, high, and just carried away—and that leads to trouble.

As the organizer of the gig, you do not want anyone to get hurt (or worse) because that inevitably will lead to legal problems and lawsuits.

But sometimes imagination about what could go wrong fails us—probably because we can possibly conceive of something so horrible ever happening.

Such was the case on the Las Vegas strip on October 1, 2017…it was a country music festival called “Route 91 Harvest” …things started as usual…but just after 10, the festival was transformed into a shooting gallery.

By the time it was over, 60 people were dead and nearly 900 were injured… how?... A single gunman with an arsenal of weapons perched on the 32nd floor of a famous hotel across the street…it was the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in the history of the United States.

I’m Alan Cross and this is episode 36 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry” …it’s an account of the horrific Route 91 Massacre.

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The Chelsea Hotel sits at 222 West 23rd Street in Manhattan…since it was completed in 1884, the place has been a hangout for some very colourful characters…most were New York eccentrics and bohemians who needed a place to live…but it also attracted some famous people.

At one point or another, it was home to sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke who wrote a big chunk of “2001: A Space Odyssey” in his room…later, Stanley Kubrick, the producer of the movie version of the book would stay there…

Other long-term guests included photographer Robert Mapplethorpe stayed there…so did included beat writer Jack Kerouac, playwrights Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Sam Shepherd, actors Dennis Hopper, Uma Thurman, Elliott Gould, and Jane Fonda…plus, for extra colour, poets William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg—not to mention Andy Warhol and some of his crew.

The Chelsea was also a favourite haunt of musicians…Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits, Jim Morrison, Jeff Beck, Joni Mitchell, Alice Cooper, the guys in Pink Floyd, and many, many others.

But the most notorious floor was floor 1…it was designated the “junkie floor,” the place where guests with drug problems were placed so that staff could keep an eye on things…

This was where ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious and his American girlfriend, Nancy Spungen checked in…they were given room 100.

It was in that room Nancy died…it looks like she was murdered...but by whom? ...Sid was charged with killing her, but did he?.

This is “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry”…and this time, it’s the wild story of the death of Nancy Spungen and the questions that still remain decades later…around whether Sid Vicious actually did it.

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It’s right there…point four on the text downloaded to Moses’ tablet: “thou shalt not steal” …if you didn’t acquire something legally and morally, then it’s not yours and you can’t just take it…but humans being a thieving species, we need that spelled out in our religious texts and legal codes.

Still, we steal a lot…money, food, clothing, cars, mobile phones, alcohol, drugs, jewelry, horses, razor blades—and music.

There are two main ways to steal music: claim or copy something someone else has written as your own creation…or to illegally acquire a finished piece of music without properly compensating the creator and the owners who hold the rights to that song. 

The music problem goes back centuries, but it became a global issue starting in the 90s…and there has been no end to people who willing to steal music or to facilitate its theft.

I’m this time on “uncharted: crime and mayhem in the music industry,” we’re going to look at those people: the pirates who made stealing music possible and how they did it.

These are some brazen, colourful, weird, and occasionally clueless people behind all that illegal (and often) free music out there…and boy, have I got some stories for you.

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It’s a summer night in 1998. Vienna, Austria. And petty thief Daniel Blanchard is about to carry out the heist of a lifetime. Stealing a crown jewel. The last remaining diamond Sisi Star.

His plan? A daring night-time parachute jump.

Daniel is no ordinary thief. His heists are ingenious, meticulously planned; his escapes from the law defy belief. And Daniel knows that if he can get his hands on the star, it will launch him into the criminal big-leagues.

Daniel’s exploits unleash a relentless game of cat-and-mouse, as police track him across continents yet vanishes from their grasp. 

What he doesn’t know is that the Sisi Star has a history. A dark history. Its original owner, the legendary Empress Elisabeth of Austria, used it to carve her own legacy of absolute beauty and power. That pursuit drove her to her very limits. 

And now Daniel’s fate is fixed to that same star. But how long can Sisi’s star stay lucky for Daniel? 

This is A Most Audacious Heist – it’s the story of a master thief, an intercontinental manhunt, and the jewel that changes everything.

Contact:

Facebook: @BlanchardHouseStories

Instagram: @BlanchardHouseStories

X (formerly Twitter): @BlanchardTweets

Blanchard House website: blanchard-house.com

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TV has conditioned us to believe that crimes can be solved in less than an hour…a detective or two (and maybe even a whole team) is assigned to a single case, and they somehow manage to solve it over 60 minutes—43, if you deduct commercial time.

That’s obviously not how it works in the real world…yes, some cases are solved quickly, but others take days, weeks, months, and even years…and then there are cold cases, crimes that don’t have any arrests, convictions, and in many instances, no suspects.

The most famous case has to be Jack the Ripper…in 1888, at least five prostitutes were found carved up in the Whitechapel area of London…the killer taunted the cops but was never found…the list of suspects continues to grow, even today.

There’s the infamous Black Dahlia murder in Los Angeles…the body of a woman named Elizabeth Short was found mutilated and cut up…despite numerous suspects, this case has remained unsolved since 1947.

The Zodiac killer may have killed as many as 40 people in northern California in the 60s and 70s…he was never caught.

And who killed JonBenet Ramsey on Christmas in 1996? … her body was found in the basement of her family’s house…despite years of investigation by professionals, amateurs, and documentary-makers, we still have no answers.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

The world of music also has its share of cold murder cases…and the circumstances around each of them are, as you might expect, rather bizarre.

I’m Alan Cross, and this is “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry”…let’s explore some of the most infamous unsolved and unresolved murder cases in music history…and there are more than you may realize.

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The world of rock’n’roll can be very, very strange…it’s loaded with strange creatures: performers, managers, fans, and various hangers-on…people get into the scene because there are (allegedly) no rules and rebellious bad behaviour isn’t just tolerated, it’s encouraged…

There’s a sense in many quarters that anything goes and that the conventions of society and the law just seem to don’t apply…if you don’t participate, you don’t belong…you’re viewed with suspicion or distain…if that’s the case, you’re excluded…

And let’s be honest: artists can be different…they are not like you and me…

It’s not an insult to say artists are often wired in unusual ways, which is the thing that makes them artists…they think different, feel different, and as a result often act different that your basic civilian…

Add in alcohol, drugs, and other mind-altering things and you end up with bizarre situations that end up attracting the attention of law enforcement and the courts…

Many are minor indiscretions…misdemeanours that result in a warning and maybe a fine…but some of these actions and activities are extremely serious…they involve property damage, bodily injury—or worse…

These are occasions where music, rock culture, fame, rebellion, and chaos get all mixed together with dangerous and sometimes deadly results…

This is Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry, episode 32…and this time, we’re going to go through a list of some of the most bizarre music-related crimes in history…

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We’re largely immune to most the craziness that rock starts get up to…arrested for drugs?...yawn…got into a bar fight?...what else is new?...a DUI?...what, another one?

There is a red line…anything to do with any kind of sexual assault is still properly greeted with revulsion…murder is still considered a bad thing…and if pedophilia is involved, there is no coming back from that.

But once upon a time when all rock and roll was considered dangerous, any kind of bad behavior made the news and resulted in widespread condemnation in the media, from church pulpits, from teachers, and parents.

The Rolling Stones built their early career on bad behavior…although they were good friends with the squeaky-clean Beatles, they were artfully positioned to be the anti-Beatles, the bad boys of rock’n’roll…it was all very clever and very effective.

As mild as some of the stones’ offences seem today, back then, they were considered outrageous and dangers…the authorities—police, judges, politicians—really were out to get them.

That is not an exaggeration…and in the process, the rolling stones amassed a very long rap sheet…there are no fewer than 13 instances where the stones were in big trouble with the police.

 This is episode 31 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry” …let’s examine the impressive and decades-long arrest record of The Rolling Stones.

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The holiday season is upon us and one questions is always present.

Have you been naughty or nice? Depending on your answer you'll either be rewarded or you'll find a much more frightening fate will be upon you, and no, it's not a lump of coal.

For centuries, disobedient children in Austria and other Alpine countries have faced a truly terrifying Christmas consequence for their misbehavior — a dreaded visit from Krampus.

If you've misbehaved Krampus can be heard before he can be seen which makes him even more frightening.

The joyful sound of sleigh bells will be replaced by something far more sinister: the menacing clanking of rusty chains accompanied by the eerie tinkling of cowbells.

So be good for goodness sake because Krampus is coming to town.

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According to myths around the world, the devil is always looking for more souls…this practice isn’t anywhere in the bible, but there are plenty of accounts in other religions, literature, and art.

For example, Dante’s “ The Divine Comedy, “ written in the 14th century, riffs on this concept.

Other stories involve the devil and demons seeking humans to give up their souls in exchange for riches, favours, or the bestowment of special powers. These are the so-called “deals with the devil.”

The best-known ancient example is the story of Faust, a German legend dating to the 16th century... a depressed and bored scholar attempts suicide... when that fails, he calls upon the devil to make things better.

“Give me magic powers, knowledge, and a chance to indulge in all the pleasures of this world!”… The devil—known as Mephistopheles in this story—says, “Sure!... You can have all you want for a few years…but when time is up, you will give me your soul, and you will be my slave forever.”

Faust says, “deal!”…and for a while, he gets everything he wants, including lots of sex…things inevitably turn out bad for him, and per his contract, he is carried off to hell—maybe…there are other versions of the story where he gains redemption and gets to keep his soul.

So how does one make an appointment with the devil to sell their soul?...mostly, you meet him at a crossroads at midnight, discuss terms, and sign the contract.

Over the centuries, sea captains, generals, and painters are said to have sold their souls in exchange for worldly things…and so have a number of musicians…the most famous of these stories is connected to blues musician Robert Johnson…it is said he made a deal with the devil and was bestowed with an almost supernatural ability to play the guitar.

Robert Johnson eventually died at the age of 27…but what really happened?...was he murdered?...or did his contract expire?

I’m Alan Cross, and this is episode 30 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry”…let’s take a trip to the crossroads to see whom we find there…and here’s a hint: more than just Robert Johnson will be there.

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If you were around in December 1980, you probably remember where you were and how you felt when you heard that John Lennon had been murdered…it was unbelievable, inconceivable, that someone would kill not just a Beatle but a man who was famous for promoting love and peace around the world.

On the surface, Lennon died at the hands of a disturbed, depressed fan who hoped to achieve immortality by snuffing out the object of his obsession…but there’s more to Lennon’s death than you might realize…a lot more.

On this episode of Uncharted, we’re going to look at some of the little-know stories, neglected truths, and lingering mysteries about John Lennon, his assassin, and what happened before, during, and after that night in December 1980.

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