The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore. Scott Walker, in the 1960s more popular than the Beatles when part of the (non-related) Walker Brothers, who later branched out into the wilder edges of the avant grade, has died. Shy and solitary in temperament, he was not well designed for life in the spotlight. He suffered horrendous stage fright and took to heavy drinking to cope. His later career after the group split was marked by long periods of inaction and occasional reappearances as one obituary said ‘to follow his muse down a weird, winding path into the unknown. There has been no stranger or bolder artistic journey. He was pop’s ultimate maverick, an easy-listening romantic balladeer who revealed himself to be a deep-thinking imaginative genius.’ His most recent work involved composing strange orchestral and electronic soundtracks for the films The Childhood of a Leader (2016) and Natalie Portman’s Vox Lust.
Born 9 January 1943 5.25pm Hamilton, Ohio, he had a 7th house Capricorn Sun in an easy-going opposition to Jupiter. What marks his chart out is a cerebral Air Grand Trine in the hidden Water houses of Neptune in the 4th trine Venus Mercury in Aquarius in the 8th trine a 12th house Saturn (Uranus) in Gemini, formed into a Kite by Venus Mercury opposition Pluto – making Pluto the driving planet. Certainly influential, controlled and controlling. His sensitive Pisces Moon was square his Saturn Uranus giving him an additional leaning towards depression. A mix of Air and Water is always produces a fragile mental balance.
His Mars in Sagittarius in the 6th is unaspected and worth relating what Bil Tierney says about an unaspected Mars: ‘Psychologically Mars is driven to separate itself and act apart from outside influences in favour of independent self-expression. – can be uncompromising.’ It may also have a bearing on his stop-go life, sometimes highly creative and active, at other times stuck.
He had a leadership North Node in Leo, an indication of the breadth of his influence on other artistes including David Bowie and Marc Almond amongst others.
Does anyone know what he died of? thanks AMY
I glanced at this and thought it was the Wisconsin governor. Thought it was an unusually cool pic for him, was happy he was dead (sorry, not sorry) and then started reading. RIP the real deal.
Fixed star Scheat on an angle….”a gifted person.” Heliacal rising star Acumen….”suffering at the hands of others, subject to rumours.”
PARANS
Mirfak rising as Saturn is on the nadir….”to clash with others, feel restricted.”
Deneb Adige rising as Moon is on Nadir….”to walk a different path from society’s expectations.”
Deneb Algedi culminating as Mars is setting….”to take the law into one’s own hand, for better or worse.”
Scott was a class act. He could have had the easy option with his magnificent voice,
but chose a different artistic road entirely. It was often very lonely at times and he
encountered very difficult periods but eventually, he won the respect of countless generations
of restless like-minded mavericks such as David Bowie, Jarvis Cocker, and David Sylvian,
through his recorded output.
A very thoughtful overview of a lonely but gifted man.
At least he lived long enough to see his visions gain much-deserved appreciation.