Letter: No judgements, just final peace for Kurt Cobain

Sir: Gerald Murphy's letter (14 April) about Kurt Cobain's death touches on certain truths. It is true that, to a large degree, artistic freedom and expression have been seriously compromised by the corporate demands from the music industry for quick profits and repetitive hits. As an artist I wholeheartedly condemn with Mr Murphy the cruel and dishonest posturing of some record companies whose own agenda for corporate longevity compromises the artists' chances for a long, creative and happy life.

However, the 'terrible significance' claimed for Kurt Cobain's death by Mr Murphy will prove to be rather limited in that those most affected will inevitably be those who knew him best both as an artist and as a man.

We should be careful not to flatter ourselves by claiming a spurious intimacy with the grief surrounding the death of someone we never knew. Let's not kid ourselves, fans never really know or even understand the object of their obsession.

Mr Murphy also tells us that Kurt Cobain 'did the honest thing, told the truth'. Can dying, under whatever conditions, be more honest than living? Are the rest of us liars merely because as artists we just keep on going?

Yours faithfully,

RICHARD FAIRHASS

London, SW6

14 April

(Photograph omitted)