PEGRUM
A Big Disease
with a Little Name

1. Introduction

2. Elegies

3. Activism and Anger

4. Warnings and Fear

5. Being Positive

6. Fragmentation and Dissolution

7. Conclusion

In France A Skinny Man Died Of A Big Disease With A Little Name
By Chance His Girlfriend Came Across A Needle And Soon She Did The Same¹

Thus the singer formerly known as Prince opens the litany of contemporary grievances which constitute his 1987 song, "Sign 'o' the Times", performed nightly as the opening number on his world tour which began that year. It is a sign of the times indeed when a singer of his popularity chooses to commence not only the first single of his album but also his concert performances with a reference to AIDS. Nor is Prince the only mainstream pop singer to engage with this issue; Billy Joel lists AIDS between homeless vets and crack among the string of problematic issues which make up his 1989 "We Didn't Start the Fire",² while in 1991 Michael Jackson's list of modern crises entitled "Why You Wanna Trip On Me" makes mention of the fact that:

You got strange diseases
Ah but there's no cure³

These few examples, all drawn from popular mainstream singers, are a sure sign of the intrusion of AIDS into everyday consciousness, and reflect a restive feeling of helplessness against this insistent and growing tragedy. The theme of AIDS has in fact invaded every sphere of contemporary art, eliciting a range of cultural responses which highlight important aspects of both the state of art and of Western society in the late twentieth century.

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