Nora Forster
Nora Forster | |
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Born | Nora Maier 6 November 1942 Munich, Germany |
Died | 6 April 2023 United States | (aged 80)
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Occupations |
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Spouses | |
Children | Ari Up |
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Nora Maier Forster (née Maier; 6 November 1942 – 6 April 2023) was a German-British
Early life
Nora Maier Forster was born 6 November 1942 in
Forster was educated in Munich and was interested in music from an early age. After she finished school, she went to work for her father's media company.[3] After the death of her father she inherited a large share of his AU$ 120 million fortune and became heir of Der Tagesspiegel.[4]
Career
Forster began her work as a music promoter in Munich. Her home there became a meeting place for "rock royalty".[5] Some of the acts she worked with in West Germany were Jimi Hendrix, Wishbone Ash, and Yes. She found German society to be too restricting[3] and decided to move to London with her daughter in the latter half of the 1960s.[4]
Their first flat was located in a "cold, damp and dark" basement in West London, near the Chelsea football ground. Following that, they moved to a small house off Gowrie Road in South London. During this time she came to be called a "Punk Mummy Warrior" who guided her daughter Ari Up's musical pursuits and supported the development of her band, The Slits, when Ari was just fourteen or fifteen.[3]
Forster hosted numerous musician house guests and among them was Neneh Cherry, the teenage step-daughter of Don Cherry. Cherry performed backing vocals with The Slits for a time.[3] Rock journalist and historian Vivien Goldman stated that Forster was “a den mother to all the young punks.”[2]
During the 1960s and 70s, Forster was part of the bohemian scene in London.[6] Starting in the late 1960s Forster's home in Shepherd's Bush became a crash pad, salon, and meeting place for rock musicians including Joe Strummer of The Clash, Jimi Hendrix, Jon Anderson of the band Yes, and many other bands.[1][7]
She helped to financially support the punk bands The Slits, the Sex Pistols, and The Clash.[8]
In 1970, Forster began to promote music gatherings in London.[9]
In 1986, she was a major
Personal life
Forster's first husband was Frank Forster , a West German popular music singer, with whom she had a daughter, Ariane,[3] better known as Ari Up, who was the frontwoman and singer of The Slits.[4][11] When Forster's daughter died in 2010 of breast cancer, Forster and Lydon became the guardians of Ari Up's three children.[12]
In 1975, Forster met John Lydon of the Sex Pistols in west London at Vivienne Westwood's clothing store, Sex, on Kings Road. The store was co-owned at the time by rock impresario Malcolm McLaren who managed the Sex Pistols.[9] In 1979, she married Lydon[4][11] who was 14 years her junior.[13] They married in Düsseldorf.[14] Forster and Lydon moved to California in the 1980s.[9] In 1988, Forster and Lydon were booked to travel on 21 December Pan Am Flight 103 that was destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, but missed taking the deadly flight due to packing delays.[3] They remained married for 44 years until her death in 2023.[12][15]
Previously, she was the girlfriend of musician and producer Chris Spedding.[7][16]
Forster was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2018.[17] She lived in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, with Lydon, who was her full-time caretaker when he was not on tour.[18][19] In February 2023, Lydon entered Eurosong 2023 as part of Public Image Ltd with the song "Hawaii", a song dedicated to Forster.[20]
Her death was announced on 6 April 2023; she was 80.[2][15][21]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-137-49780-2. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d Williams, Alex (7 April 2023). "Nora Forster, 80, Who Married (and Stayed Married to) a Sex Pistol, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-240023-9.
- ^ a b c d Jonze, Tim (13 June 2022). "'I know what it's like to be frightened': John Lydon on loneliness, lyrics and life as a Sex Pistol". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "Ari Up". The Daily Telegraph. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ ISBN 9780307369727. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ISBN 9780857124159. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ a b c Rufford, Nick (25 April 2021). "'What's an illness between lovers?' Punk pioneer John Lydon has quit hellraising to become the full-time carer for his wife, Nora, who has Alzheimer's. Is he mellowing with age? Not a bit, discovers Nick Rufford". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- ^ Spy. Sussex Publishers, LLC. October 1986. p. 16.
- ^ a b Leland, John (14 June 2007). "Still Rotten After All These Years". Rolling Stone. No. 1028. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
- ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (6 April 2023). "Nora Forster, Wife of John Lydon and Mother of Ari Up, Dead at 80 After Alzheimer's Battle". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ISBN 9781317078166. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ISBN 9780816672912. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sloan, Billy (27 March 2022). "Punk icon Johnny Lydon on caring for his wife as she struggled with dementia". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "John Lydon über demente Ehefrau »Sie wird auf jedem Schritt des Weges geliebt werden«" [John Lydon on wife with dementia: "She will be loved every step of the way"]. Der Spiegel. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ Evans, Greg (6 April 2023). "John Lydon's Wife Nora Forster Dies Of Alzheimer's Disease; Former Sex Pistol Performed 2023 Eurovision Song For Her". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ Heslop, Katherine (6 April 2023). "Johnny Rotten's wife Nora Forster dies after Alzheimer's battle". Daily Mirror.
External links
- Nora Forster at IMDb