Way before The Beatles, Elvis and Justin Bieber, in the 19th Century, Franz Liszt, a composer from a small Hungarian town became the first person to whom the label “celebrity”was attached.
Lisztmania as it was described at the time, had all the hallmarks of what we would recognise as “-mania” today. Groupies; swooning and screaming women; and women who forgot their upbringing to be near to their idol.
He played to packed concert halls and Lisztmania swept across Europe for years.
He was also a great philanthropist and once he was financially sound gave most of his earnings to charity.