Layne

Layne Staley was an American musician, songwriter and the original lead singer of the rock band Alice in Chains. Their EP Jar of Flies (1994), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it Alice in Chains' first record—and the first-ever EP—to top the chart. However, Layne's deteriorating condition due to heroin abuse led him to enter a rehabilitation clinic.

During Alice in Chains' hiatus, reports of Layne's drug addiction began to gain widespread circulation in fan and media communities, in part due to changes in his physical condition brought on by prolonged heroin abuse. On April 10, 1996, the band returned with a performance on MTV Unplugged in New York; it was their first concert in two-and-a-half years.

From mid-1996 onwards, Layne was out of the public spotlight, never to perform live again. Layne struggled with depression and addiction for much of his adult life and later died from a speedball overdose in 2002, at the age of 34.

¤ His middle name was Rutherford, but he hated it so much that he legally changed his middle name to "Thomas" during his teenage year. Thomas,because he was a fan of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

¤ While in high school, Layne took his stepfather's surname and was known for some time as Layne Elmer.

¤ Layne was raised as a Christian Scientist,but was critical of religion in his adult life.

¤ His first musical influences were Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.

¤ He began playing drums at age 12; he played in several glam bands in his early teens, but by this point, he had aspirations of becoming a singer.

¤ In 1985, Layne and his highschool band Sleze made a cameo in Father Rock (see more in Fav Eras section), a low-budget movie from Seattle's Public Access Channel.

¤ Layne had a tattoo on his back of a hooded man with his eyes sewn shut.It looked a lot like the hooded figure that appears in the"Man in the Box"video

¤ Two of his biggest idols were Prince and David Bowie.

¤ Every year around his birthday, Layne is commemorated and remembered. The Layne Staley Fund, started by his mother, Nancy, honors his memory and the musical gift he left behind.

¤ Layne allegedly had a yellow belt in taekwondo.

¤ In the early days of AiC Layne would hand out tickets to anyone outside the venue who wanted to see them but couldn't get tickets.

¤ Layne loved cats. He had a cat named Sadie. After Layne passed, Sadie was lovingly cared for by Layne's friend and band member Jerry Cantrell and his family. Sadie lived out the rest of her life(she passed in 2010 at the age of 18) with much love and attention, plus continued contact with Layne’s family. It has been rumored that because Layne was not found until two weeks after his death, Sadie was eating him in order to survive. Sadie was originally Demri's cat but after she died Layne looked after Sadie.

¤ Layne's first concert was Elton John.

¤ In 1987 shortly after Jerry and Layne met, Layne invited Jerry to his family’s home for Christmas, because Jerry was homeless after losing both his grandma and mom to cancer, and then being kicked out of his home.

¤ His Last show with Alice in Chains was opening for KISS in 1996. Following the last show, Layne overdosed on heroin. Even though he recovered from the OD, the band entered a hiatus and he never played a show with Alice in Chains again.

¤ His final public appearance was on October 31, 1998, when he attended a Jerry Cantrell (guitarist/co-singer of Alice in Chains) solo concert in Seattle. He declined Jerry's request to sing with him on stage.

¤ Bassist of AiC Mike Starr is believed to be the last person to see Layne alive, visiting him the day before he died, which was Mike's birthday. Layne was very sick that day but would not call 911. Their relationship ended on a strained note as Mike left Layne’s apartment after the two engaged in an argument. Layne is said to have cried out, “Not like this, don’t leave like this.” Sidenote: In 2010, in an interview on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Layne's mother Nancy, Mike expressed regret for not calling 911 to save Layne's life and apologized to Nancy. She was insistent that neither she nor anyone in her family blamed Mike for Layne's death. She also told Mike: "Layne would forgive you. He'd say, 'Hey, I did this. Not you.'" Mike still blamed himself for Layne's death. Mike died of a prescription drug overdose in 2011.

¤ On October 29, 1996, Layne's former fiancée, Demri Lara Parrott, died of a drug overdose. Layne was placed on a 24-hour suicide watch, according to NME, which quoted a friend saying Layne was taking Demri's death "extremely badly" and had fallen into a deep depression. Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan told Rolling Stone in 2002, "He never recovered from Demri's death. After that, I don't think he wanted to go on."

¤ In October 1998, Layne re-emerged to record two tracks with Alice in Chains, "Get Born Again" and "Died". Dirt(Aic album) producer Dave Jerden said that "Layne weighed about 80 pounds(36kg)…and was white as a ghost."

¤ In his last known interview, Layne told reporter Adriano Rubio that he knew his time on Earth was running out. “I know I'm near death,” he said. “I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way. I know I have no chance. It's too late.”

¤ His body was found on April 19, but his death was placed at April 5, exactly eight years to the day that Kurt Cobain died.

¤ Layne's family made the decision to cremate him. It is not fully known if his ashes were spread in the ocean or if a family member has them.

¤ Layne spent his last days alone, playing computer games, watching TV, and sleeping.

BLUE HAIR ERA i guess around 1993

GLAM ROCK ERA 1985-87

I watched Father Rock and gathered every clip on Layne's 4 minute cameo (he was around 19 here ) and turned them into gifs bc goddamn he looks so adorable with his blonde fluffy hair and blue eyeshadow!! u r welcome:)