- Music
- 29 Nov 17
Jeremy Hickey, aka Rarely Seen Above Ground (RSAG), spoke to us about his devastation at the loss of Rollercoaster Records boss Willie Meighan.
Speaking with Hot Press, Jeremy said: "Willie had so many close friends, and so many people who admired him. Whether it was people who came into the shop, or musicians who directly or indirectly would've been influenced by him. He was just that kind of character that inspired people. In the music scene, the amount of bands that he would’ve helped is incredible. Not even in a business way, just personally, as a friend. He’s the kind of guy that would always have time for you.
"Personally, going right back to the start of my music career, he was there for me. Any time you'd run into him, he'd chat to you and explain the music industry to you in a way that just made sense.
"And I knew that he ran the shop out of his love for music, not for money. As an example, he promoted my debut album and sold it in his shop, but he would never take a cut from it. He'd never take any money no matter how much I tried to give it to him. He might've been a smart businessman though - because whatever money I had left over I spent it in Rollercoaster Records!
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"Overall though, I think there's a general sense down here that we've lost someone great. He was the heartbeat of Kilkenny. Legend wouldn't be the right word to describe him. It’ll take a bit of time before people get back to normal."
Jeremy also covered one of Willie's favourite tracks for a suicide awareness album, Silver Linings, which was released in 2011. He asked for it to be included in Willie's memory.