2004 – Paul McCartney, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Keane, Snow Patrol, Travis, The Darkness and others take part in the recording of a new version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The highlight of the session is U2′s Bono reprising his immortal line, “Tonight thank God it’s them instead of you.”
2004 – In the midst of the Halloween season when the 1960s novelty hit “Monster Mash” is annually revived, the song’s singer and co-author rewrites its lyrics to protest President George W. Bush’s environmental policies. Bobby “Boris” Pickett reprises his infamous Boris Karloff imitation on “Monster Slash.”
1998 – It is announced that Slash/Reprise act Faith No More has decided to break up. Sources say Lead singer Mike Patton is still a member of Warner Bros. act Mr. Bungle, while keyboardist Roddy Bottum is a member of London Records act Imperial Teen.
1986 – Following the American bombing of Libya, Stevie Ray Vaughan cancels his European tour in fear of reprisals.
Born: October 3, 1954. Dallas Texas.
Genre: Blues
Guitar: Fender Stratocaster (No. 1)
Groups : Double Trouble.
One of the most influential blues guitarists in america during his life and since his death. Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash in the early morning of August 27, 1990. His is sorely missed.
1973 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry, opens at a London theater,. Also, making his first time ever appearance is Meatloaf.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a 1975 musical comedy film that parodies science fiction and horror films. With a screenplay written by Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman, the film features Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. The film is based on the British musical stage production The Rocky Horror Show.
The film is considered a cult classic and a midnight movie, although it is widely known by mainstream audiences and has a large international following. RHPS was the first movie from a major film studio — 20th Century Fox — in the midnight-movie market. The movie is one of the most well known and financially successful midnight movies. It is the longest running theatrical release in film history. More than 30 years later it is still in limited release in cinemas around the world. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The story, narrated by a criminologist (Charles Gray), is that of a newly engaged young couple, Brad Majors (Barry Bostwick) and Janet Weiss (Susan Sarandon), who find themselves lost on a cold and rainy late November evening. Seeking a phone from which to call for help, the two find shelter at a nearby castle inhabited by strange and outlandish characters who are holding an Annual Transylvanian Convention. They watch, still wet from the rain, as the Transylvanians dance the Time Warp, the film’s signature song.
They are soon swept into the world of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a self-proclaimed “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” and his servants, siblings Riff Raff (Richard O’Brien) and Magenta (Patricia Quinn), as well as groupie Columbia (Nell Campbell) and an ensemble of convention attendees. It is Furter’s intention to unveil the “secret to life itself”. In a scene inspired by Frankenstein movies, “Rocky Horror” (Peter Hinwood) is brought to life. After the disoriented Rocky is chased down by Frank, the party is interrupted by Eddie (Meat Loaf), an ex-delivery boy, who rides out of a deep freeze on a motorcycle. The scene ends with his bloody death at the hands of Furter.
Brad and Janet are shown to separate rooms where their host has his way with both. Janet, overcome with emotion, wanders off looking for Brad. She discovers a cowering Rocky, hiding in his birth tank from Riff Raff, who torments the creature much as Igor tormented Frankenstein’s monster. Janet, having discovered Brad’s infidelity, chooses to take advantage of the situation with Rocky. After discovering the “Creature” is missing, Frank, Brad, and Riff Raff return to the lab where they learn that an intruder has entered the building. Dr. Everett Scott (Jonathan Adams), Brad and Janet’s old high school science teacher, has come looking for Eddie, who is his nephew. It is at this point that Rocky and Janet are discovered hiding together. In a scene added specifically for the film version, the new guests are prepared a dinner consisting of Eddie’s remains. After they see what they have consumed, horror and disgust lead to a chase after Janet who runs screaming from the room. Frank captures all, temporarily turning them into statues and commanding them to participate in a cabaret-style floor show. The performance is disrupted by Riff Raff and Magenta, who kill Columbia, Frank, and Rocky. They release the earthlings—Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott—as the castle takes off into space to return to the planet of Transsexual, in the galaxy of Transylvania.
Production
Based on the London stage production The Rocky Horror Show, by Richard O’Brien, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is slightly different from its original theatrical conception. In the production of the film, many of the original aspects from the Kings Road stage production changed, as did characters and dialogue, although many cast- and crew-members from its original production returned to work on the film. Director Jim Sharman, production designer Brian Thomson, and costume designer Sue Blane collaborated on the original London production with many of the cast that made it into the film version. Tim Curry reprised his role from the London and Los Angeles stage productions. After the film, Curry also did a short run on Broadway as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Creator Richard O’Brien also returned for the film from the British stage team, as did Little Nell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta). Jonathan Adams, the narrator from the original cast, also returned for the film, instead playing Dr. Scott. The film was shot at Bray Studios and Oakley Court, a country house in Berkshire, England, UK from October 21, 1974 to December 19, 1974. Filming of Rocky’s birth occurred on October 30, 1974, the 81st anniversary of the birth of Charles Atlas.
Several ideas from the original conception of the film were dropped before production. During the opening theme, the film was supposed to include clips from all the movies mentioned in the song “Science Fiction Double Feature”. Producers discovered quickly that obtaining the rights to all the various film clips would be very costly, and cut the idea. Another idea was to parallel The Wizard of Oz (1939) by having the first 20 minutes of the film in black-and-white and Academy ratio until the doors burst open showing the Transylvanians in widescreen and then to full color at Frank’s entrance. This effect would have been prohibitively expensive, so the idea was discarded. The film was, however, shot in the narrower 1.66:1 aspect ratio.
Locations, sets, and props
Oakley Court refurbished and now a luxury hotel.
The film’s plot, setting, and style echoes that of the Hammer Horror films. Much like Universal Studios’ Horror films had their own style, Hammer productions did as well. Reuse of sets and props through many of their films, was money and time saving. Production designer Brian Thomson and director Jim Sharman chose locations, sets, and even props that were, in many cases, used in various old Hammer productions. The castle is known as the Hammer House for the number of films that it appeared in. A great deal of location shooting took place here. At the time, the manor was in very dilapidated condition. Filming took place during the fall, which made conditions harsh.
Today, the castle, Oakley Court, has been completely refurbished and is now a luxury hotel. It recently hosted a Rocky Horror picnic on its grounds. The classic “Creation” scene in Rocky Horror, so reminiscent of “Frankenstein” movies, has a good reason for that feel. The scene re-uses the tank and dummy from a Hammer production of “The Revenge of Frankenstein” starring Peter Cushing.[9] Other props and set pieces were used as well from stock that may be seen in many old British television shows and feature films.
Costumes
Perhaps the most unusual parts of this film are the costumes worn by the cast. Costume designer Sue Blane based all her designs on what little she knew of 1950′s America as well as a previous stage production she designed called “The Maids”. It is from this production that Tim Curry’s Victorian corset is borrowed.[10] Blane compared the relatively small ($400) costume budget of the stage show to the $1600 costume budget in 1974 for the film.
Nearly all the costume designs from the original stage production were transferred directly to the film, with a few exceptions. Some new designs appeared as well as a few that were discarded. In the London stage production, Tim Curry began the role of Frank-N-Furter as a blond, although it was short lived, the original design sketches by Blane do reflect that. Magenta gained a new maid costume to give the character more purpose and Columbia gained a sequined tuxedo and tails.
The introduction of new characters such as the Transylvanians presented Sue Blane with a challenge to costume a number of extras who reappear throughout the film. The outcome of their costuming did not satisfy Blane who stated that she wished she had more time for those particular costumes.
In the stage productions, actors generally did their own make-up, but for this film producers chose famed artist Pierre La Roche to redesign the make-up for each character. La Roche is also famous for designing make-up for David Bowie.[12] Production stills were taken by an artist famous for his 1970′s rock photographs, Mick Rock. The photographer has published many calendars and photo books from his Rocky Horror work.
Casting
The majority of the cast from The Rocky Horror Picture Show posing for the wedding photo at Ralph and Betty’s wedding in the movie’s opening scene.
The majority of the cast from The Rocky Horror Picture Show posing for the wedding photo at Ralph and Betty’s wedding in the movie’s opening scene.
* Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a Scientist. Auditioning for the part for the original stage production Tim Curry sang the song “Tutti Frutti”. He originated the role and recreated it in all productions except the Australian production up to filming. Frank is a flamboyant, well-meaning, often devious and sometimes evil transvestite, bisexual scientist.
* Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss, a Heroine. Sarandon was not the first choice for the Production but Twentieth Century Fox insisted on American casting for the part of both Brad and Janet. Janet Weiss is the well-meaning, sweet and somewhat naive woman who was recently engaged to Brad, who gets tempted into bad ways.
* Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors, a Hero. Bostwick had previously had training in singing, juggling, trapeze, clown techniques, fencing, mime and ballet before his role in the film. Brad Majors is the clean-cut fiancé of Janet Weiss, to whom he recently proposed at a friend’s wedding.
* Richard O’Brien as Riff Raff, a Handyman. The author and song writer, Richard O’Brien had originally seen himself as Eddie. It was director Jim Sharman who cast him as Riff Raff.
* Patricia Quinn as Magenta, a Domestic. Quinn reprises her role from the original stage production, however she was not in any of the other productions. She almost did not return for the filming, as the part was drastically reduced from the stage play. Magenta is the sister of Riff Raff, and works as Frank’s domestic worker. Patricia Quinn’s lips are also used for the iconic opening number and movie poster.
Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) in his most iconic role, as self proclaimed “Sweet Transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.”
Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) in his most iconic role, as self proclaimed “Sweet Transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.”
* Nell Campbell as Columbia, a Groupie. Laura “Little Nell” Campbell recreates her character from the original stage production. Columbia is the groupie and friend of Frank, but also Eddie’s alleged lover.
* Jonathan Adams as Dr. Everett Von Scott, a Rival Scientist. He was Brad and Janet’s science teacher. He has come to the castle in search of his nephew Eddie, who has been murdered by Frank. Adams originally played the role of the Narrator in the London production.
* Peter Hinwood as Rocky Horror, a Creation. Muscle bound creation of Frank’s, with blond hair and a tan. Peter Hinwood has his own solo in “Sword of Damocles”, but does not speak throughout the show. This was changed from the stage show. Rocky’s songs are performed by Trevor White.
* Charles Gray as The Criminologist, an Expert. Narrator of the film. Gray accepted the role by saying, “Why not?” The character becomes a criminologist in the film, another change from the stage production.
* Meat Loaf as Eddie, an ex-delivery boy. Columbia’s boyfriend. Dr. Frank-N-Furter murders Eddie in the film version. In the stage version, Eddie merely pops out of a Coke machine and then jumps back in at the end of the scene.
Release
The film has found a major longevity in many venues throughout the years in the United States, as well as internationally. The movie is considered to be the longest running release in film history.[13] It has never been pulled by Twentieth Century Fox from its original 1975 release, and continues to play in cinemas more than thirty years later. Some cinemas showing the movie have run it for decades at a time.
The film was released on VHS during the home video boom of the 1980s, except for in the U.S., which had to wait for the 15th anniversary in 1990. The limited VHS edition release had a suggested retail price of $100. In 1993, a LaserDisc edition was released, and in 1995 a Special Edition LaserDisc was released. On the 25th anniversary in 2000, the DVD with all the special features from the LaserDisc, as well as new features and DVD-Rom games was released. Before the mainstream use of home video a Super 8 version of selected scenes of the film was available.
There are two versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the US and British releases. The British version contains the original ending which includes the full version of the musical number “Super Heroes”. The US version edits out the number, which was thought to be too depressing by the studio. Both versions are on the 25th Anniversary DVD.
Reception
Main article: The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following
The film opened in the U.S. at the UA Theatre in Westwood, California on September 26, 1975. It did well at that location but not elsewhere.[16] The cult following did not begin until the movie began its midnight run at the Waverly Theatre in New York on April 1, 1976.[17] The film is still shown with audience members acting out the entire movie in front of the screen. The Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon has also shown the movie weekly since its debut there in April, 1978.
Overall, critics were negative with their reviews of the movie. The overly sexual nature of this British rock comedy was not well received by the mainstream media of 1975, although there were positive reviews. The music was praised, as was Tim Curry’s performance. However, before the success of the midnight screenings, the film was withdrawn from its eight opening cities due to very small audiences, and its planned New York opening (on Halloween night) was cancelled.[18] Fox re-released it around college campuses on a double-bill with another rock music film parody, Paul Williams’ Phantom of the Paradise, but again it drew small audiences.[18] With Pink Flamingos (1972) and Reefer Madness (1936) making money in midnight showings nationwide, RHPS was eventually screened at midnight, starting in New York City on April Fools’ Day of 1976.[19] By that Halloween, people were attending in costume and talking back to the screen. By mid-1978, RHPS was playing in over fifty locations on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight, newsletters were published by local performance groups, and fans gathered for Rocky Horror conventions.[20] By the end of 1979, there were twice-weekly showings at over 230 theaters.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show has taken in $139,876,417 (USA) (sub-total) in box office receipts since its release. The length of its run in cinemas (weekly for over 30 years), combined with its considerable total box office gross, is unparalleled by any other film. The original budget for the movie was $1,200,000 (estimated). The audience participation made the film become a worldwide phenomenon. As the cult-audience grew, Rocky Horror fandom became the subject of news stories. Dori Hartley, a fan from the original New York shadow cast, went on to appear in “Paradise Garage”, a Tim Curry music video.
After the release, the original advertising campaign for screen and television was pulled by Twentieth Century Fox executives in the very early stage. The studio objected to the use of the red lipsticked lips uttering the words Twentieth Century Fox. The American television network Fox Broadcasting aired the film’s much-publicized world television premiere on October 25, 1993. The film’s popularity breathed new life to the stage production, which had had a 45-performance run on Broadway early in 1975 at the Belasco Theatre.[27] Rocky Horror sequels and other media have found their way into production, including merchandise ranging from prefabricated costumes, games, and soundtrack releases.
Soundtrack
Songlist in Film
Song Lead Singer(s) Other Singers Scene
Science Fiction/Double Feature Richard O’Brien (Patricia Quinn as lips) N/A Opening credits
Dammit Janet Brad, Janet Riff Raff, Magenta, Columbia Hapschatt wedding
Over at the Frankenstein Place Brad, Janet Riff Raff, Chorus A rainy night on the way to Dr. Scott’s
The Time Warp Riff Raff, Magenta, Columbia Criminologist, Transylvanians Ballroom of the castle
Sweet Transvestite Frank-N-Furter Riff Raff, Magenta, Columbia, Transylvanians Ballroom of the castle immediately after Time Warp
The Sword of Damocles Rocky Riff Raff, Magenta, Columbia, Transylvanians The “Lab”
I Can Make You a Man Frank-N-Furter Transylvanians The “Lab”
Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul Eddie Transylvanians The “Lab”
I Can Make You a Man (Reprise) Frank-N-Furter Janet, Transylvanians The “Lab”
Once in a While (deleted scene/song) Brad N/A Brad’s Bedroom (intercut with scenes of him and Janet from the first half of the movie)
Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me Janet Rocky, Brad, Frank, Magenta, Riff Raff, Columbia Rocky’s birth tank in the lab
Eddie Dr. Scott, Columbia Full cast The dining room in the castle, Columbia’s bedroom
You’d Better Wise Up Frank-N-Furter Riff-Raff, Magenta, Brad, Janet, Dr. Scott Stairway and corridors of the castle then back to the lab
Rose Tint My World Columbia, Rocky, Brad, Janet N/A Floor show stage
Don’t Dream It, Be It Frank-N-Furter Brad, Janet, Columbia, Rocky, Dr. Scott Floor show pool
Wild And Untamed Thing Frank-N-Furter, Columbia, Rocky, Brad, Janet Riff Raff Floor show stage
I’m Going Home Frank-N-Furter Columbia, Rocky, Brad, Janet Floor show theater stage and aisle
Superheroes (deleted scene/song in US release) Brad, Janet Criminologist Exterior of the castle and the criminologist’s office
Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise) Richard O’Brien (no character) N/A Ending credits
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Original Soundtrack (1989)
Track listing
* 1. Science Fiction/Double Feature
* 2. Dammit Janet
* 3. There’s a Light
* 4. Time Warp
* 5. Sweet Transvestite
* 6. I Can Make You A Man
* 7. Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul
* 8. I Can Make You A Man (reprise)
* 9. Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me
* 10. Eddie
* 11. Floor Show: Rose Tint My World/Fanfare/Don’t Dream It, Be It/Wild and Untamed Thing
* 12. I’m Going Home
* 13. Super Heroes
* 14. Science Fiction/Double Feature (reprise)
* 15. Time Warp (1989 remix – extended version)
* 16. Time Warp (music – 1 = background track = u mix)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 25 Years of Absolute Pleasure! (2000)
Track listing
# Title Lead Performer(s) Length Other Performer(s)
1 “Science Fiction/Double Feature” Richard O’Brien 4:27 -
2 “Dammit, Janet” Barry Bostwick (Brad), Susan Sarandon (Janet) 3:22 Richard O’brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell
3 “Over at the Frankenstein Place” Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien (Riff Raff) 3:59 Charles Gray (Criminologist), Chorous
4 “Time Warp” Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn (Magenta), Nell Campbell (Columbia) 4:29 Charles Gray, Transylvanians
5 “Sweet Transvestite” Tim Curry (Frank-N-Furter) 4:06 Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Transylvanians
6 “The Sword of Damocles” Trevor White (Rocky Horror: Voice) 3:38 Tim Curry, Transylvanians
7 “I Can Make You a Man” Tim Curry 3:15 Transylvanians
8 “Hot Patootie” Meat Loaf (Eddie) 3:21 Transylvanians
9 “I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)” Tim Curry 1:59 Susan Sarandon, Transylvanians
10 “Once in a While” Barry Bostwick 3:45 Charles Gray
11 “Toucha-Toucha-Touch Me” Susan Sarandon 2:59 Nell Campbell, Patricia Quinn, Barry Bostwick, Tim Curry, Richard O’Brien, Trevor White, Charles Gray
12 “Eddie” Jonathon Adams (Dr. Scott), Nell Campbell, Meat Loaf 2:47 Full Cast
13 “Planet, Schmanet, Janet” Tim Curry 2:36 Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Jonathon Adams
14 “Rose Tint My World” Nell Campbell, Trevor White, Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon 4:03 Charles Gray
15 “Don’t Dream It, Be It” Tim Curry 3:36 Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Nell Campbell, Trevor White, Jonathon Adams
16 “Wild and Untamed Thing” Nell Campbell, Trevor White, Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon 1:51 Richard O’Brien
17 “I’m Going Home” Tim Curry 2:57 -
18 “Super Heroes” Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Charles Gray 5:27 Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien, Jonathon Adams, Nell Campbell
19 “Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise)” Richard O’Brien 1:30 -
20 “Time Warp (1989 Remix – Extended Version”♦ Full Cast 5:36 -
21 “Rocky Horror Picture Show (Movie Trailer)”♦ – 2:58 -
1961 - Frank Sinatra launched his own record label. Reprise Records, later the home of Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and The Beach Boys.
1948 – Fleetwood Mac songwriter Lindsey Buckingham is born in Palo Alto, Calif.
Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American guitarist and singer, most notable for being a member of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released five solo albums and a live album. He is married to photographer Kristen Messner and has three children. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Early years
Born in Palo Alto, California, Buckingham was the third and youngest son of Rutheda (née Elliott) and Morris Buckingham. He had two older brothers, Jeff and Greg. Growing up in the Bay Area community of Atherton, California, Buckingham and his brothers were encouraged to swim competitively. Though Buckingham dropped out of athletics to pursue music, his brother Greg went on to win a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
Buckingham’s first forays into guitar playing took place on a toy Mickey Mouse guitar, playing along to his brother Jeff’s extensive collection of 45s. Noticing his talent, Buckingham’s parents bought their son a $35 Harmony guitar.
Buckingham never took guitar lessons and does not read music, on principle. By age 13, he became interested in folk music and, influenced by banjo methods, practiced the fingerpicking styles of The Kingston Trio. At 15 he joined a small folk group, providing vocals and guitar work.
Fritz
Buckingham met Stevie Nicks while they both attended Menlo Atherton High School, and later formed The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band with her and three other friends. Buckingham’s fingerpicking style gave him difficulty playing rock guitar, and thus he moved to bass. After gaining popularity at Menlo-Atherton High School, “Fritz” became a popular local act and even opened for such acts as Santana, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
After cutting some demos with Fritz for producer Keith Olsen, Buckingham and Nicks struck out on their own, and Fritz disbanded in 1971. Buckingham and Nicks became involved romantically, dropping out of San Jose State to pursue a career making music together. Buckingham was stricken with a case of “mono” (Infectious mononucleosis) and his illness forced Nicks to begin waiting tables and cleaning houses to support the couple, while allowing him the free time to master his guitar techniques.
Buckingham Nicks
Buckingham and Nicks recorded seven demos in 1972 on an analog 4-track. They drove to Los Angeles to pursue a record deal. In 1973, Polydor Records signed the pair. Their album, Buckingham Nicks, was released in September 1973; soon after its release, Polydor dropped the duo due to poor sales.
Despite the record company misstep, Buckingham Nicks has been championed by rock critics since its release. It features gorgeous two-part harmonies backed by notable LA session musicians, including superstar drummer Jim Keltner. Other session musicians include: Ron Tutt, Drums (Elvis Presley TCB Band); Peggy Sandvig, Keyboards; Waddy Wachtel, Guitar; Jorge Calderon, Percussion; Jerry Scheff (Elvis Presley TCB Band), Bass; Monty Stark, Synthesizer; Gary Hodges, Drums; and Mark Tulin, Bass. (from the album jacket)
Although money was tight, the hardworking duo caught the attention of many budding musicians, including Warren Zevon, who is rumored to have been a roommate of Nicks and Buckingham in a Fairfax district apartment.
A short tour promoting the Buckingham Nicks album commenced shortly after the joining of Buckingham and Nicks with Fleetwood Mac. Bootlegs of two concerts in Mobile and Tuscaloosa exist and are widely distributed on peer-to-peer networks and fansites. The touring band included drummers Bob Aguirre (from Fritz) and Gary Hodges playing simultaneously, bassist Tom Moncrieff (who later was featured playing bass on Stevie Nicks’ album Belladonna), and, of course, Buckingham and Nicks.
To help make ends meet, Buckingham toured with Don Everly’s back-up band, singing Phil Everly’s parts. Buckingham and Nicks were eventually forced to move in with record producer Keith Olsen, who helped the pair work on several demos for the next Buckingham/Nicks album, including “I’m So Afraid”, “Monday Morning”, and “Rhiannon”.
Buckingham Nicks has never been released on CD (although a bootleg version exists). Both Buckingham and Nicks have hinted at a possible remix and re-release on CD in the near future. Buckingham has also suggested a tour in support of the collection could be something the two may be interested in. Moncrieff and Hodges, from the original Buckingham Nicks touring band have also expressed interest.
Fleetwood Mac
While checking out the Sound City recording studio in California, Mick Fleetwood heard the song “Frozen Love” from the Buckingham Nicks album. He asked who the guitarist was, and immediately stated that he wanted him to fill a recent vacancy. Buckingham insisted to Fleetwood that he and Nicks were a package deal–if Fleetwood didn’t want Nicks, he wouldn’t get Buckingham. The duo was quickly asked to join Fleetwood Mac on New Year’s Eve, 1974.
Fleetwood Mac released their eponymously titled album in 1975, which became a hit. However it was the second album of this new line-up, Rumours, that propelled the band to superstar status when it became one of the best-selling albums of all time. After the resounding commercial success of Rumours (during the making of which Buckingham and Nicks famously split), Buckingham was determined to avoid falling into repeating the same musical pattern. The result was Tusk (1979), a double album that Buckingham primarily directed. It was during this time that Buckingham moved in with record company secretary and aspiring model, Carol Ann Harris, with whom he lived until 1984. Though by most standards a hit, Tusk failed to come anywhere close to what Rumours had done.
After a large world tour that ended in 1980, the band took a year long hiatus before reconvening to record their next album Mirage, a more pop-friendly work that returned the band to the top of the US album chart. However, by this time various members of the band were enjoying success as solo artists (particularly Nicks) and it would be five years before the release of the next Fleetwood Mac album. By the time Tango in the Night was released in 1987, Buckingham had already made two solo albums and had given up much of the material for what would have been his third solo album for the project, including “Big Love”, “Tango in the Night”, “Family Man”, “You and I”, and “Caroline”. On several of these tracks Buckingham played every instrument. “Big Love”, released as the first single from the album, became a top ten hit in the US and the UK. Many believed (including talk show host David Letterman) the “love grunts” on the track were sung by Stevie Nicks. However, the vocals on the song were all, in fact, sung by Buckingham, who used studio technology to alter the pitch of his voice.
Propelled by a string of hit singles, Tango in the Night became the band’s biggest album since Rumours ten years earlier. However, just prior to embarking on a world tour for the album, Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac as he had been exhausted by producing the album and simply didn’t have the appetite for a world tour. Fleetwood Mac continued without him, and Buckingham was replaced by guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.
Solo projects
The cover of Law and Order (1981), Buckingham’s first solo album
The cover of Law and Order (1981), Buckingham’s first solo album
During the time he worked on Tusk, Buckingham also produced albums for Walter Egan and John Stewart in the late 1970s as well as beginning work on his own solo album.
In 1981, Buckingham released his first solo album Law and Order, playing nearly every instrument and featuring guest appearances by bandmates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie. The album pursued the quirky, eclectic, often lo-fi and new-wave-influences of Tusk, and spawned the hit single “Trouble”, a slice of Southern California Beach Boys-inspired pop that reached #9 on the US Charts and #1 in Australia (for three weeks). Two years later, he wrote and performed the songs “Holiday Road” and “Dancin’ Across the U.S.A.” for the film National Lampoon’s Vacation. “Holiday Road” was released as a single, but reached only #82 on the Billboard’s Hot 100. He did other soundtrack work, including the song “Time Bomb Town” from Back to the Future (1985).
In 1984, after ending his 7-year relationship with Carol Ann Harris, he released his second solo album, Go Insane. The title track was a modest hit, reaching #23 on the Hot 100. The last track of the album, D.W. Suite, was a tribute to the late Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. The next year, Buckingham performed on USA for Africa’s fundraising single, “We Are the World”.
Following his split with Fleetwood Mac in 1987, Buckingham spent much of the next five years in the studio, working on his third solo album, Out of the Cradle, which was released in 1992. Many of the songs seem to deal with the death of his father and the sudden death of his brother Greg in 1990. “Wrong” was a gentle rebuke of former bandmate Mick Fleetwood’s tell-all biography. Out of the Cradle received some favorable reviews but did not achieve the sales levels associated with Fleetwood Mac. However, Buckingham toured throughout 1992-93 for the first time as a solo artist; his band included an army of seven other guitarists (Buckingham himself calls them “the crazy band” on his Soundstage DVD), each of whom he individually taught the entire two-and-a-half hours of music from the concert (Lindsey Buckingham: Behind the Music documentary for VH-1, 2001).
A subsequent solo album, entitled Gift of Screws, was recorded between 1995-2001 and presented to Warner Bros./Reprise for release. Executives at the label managed to persuade Buckingham to hold the CD back and instead take several tracks from Gift of Screws and re-record them with Fleetwood Mac. Thus, seven songs from Gift of Screws (“Murrow Turning Over In His Grave”, “Miranda”, “Red Rover”, “Come”, “Steal Your Heart Away”, “Bleed to Love Her”, and “Say Goodbye”) appear on the Fleetwood Mac album Say You Will and in substantially the same form as Buckingham had recorded them for his solo release. Excellent bootleg copies of Gift of Screws — taken from an original CD-R presented to Warner Bros/Reprise — are known to exist and have been widely distributed among fans through the use of torrent sites and other peer to peer networks. Other songs from Gift of Screws appear on Buckingham’s 2005 Soundstage DVD, and on his 2006 solo album, Under The Skin.
Buckingham contributed the song “Shut Us Down” (co-written with Cory Sipper) to the soundtrack of the Cameron Crowe movie, Elizabethtown. In November of 2005, he released his Soundstage performance (taped in 2003) on DVD, and on his 57th birthday, (October 3, 2006) an acoustic album entitled Under the Skin was released. Under The Skin features Buckingham on almost all instruments, with the exception of two tracks that feature Fleetwood Mac rhythm section John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. The album includes a cover of The Rolling Stones classic “I Am Waiting”. Three days after the album’s release, Buckingham started a tour promoting the album that lasted until the end of June 2007.
Buckingham followed-up Under The Skin with a live release titled Live at the Bass Performance Hall, a CD/DVD combo of his Fort Worth concert in January 2007 that was released on March 25, 2008.
A further US tour has been scheduled for September and October 2008 , as promotion for Buckingham’s new album Gift Of Screws which was released on September 16, 2008.
Rejoining Fleetwood Mac
In 1992, newly-elected president Bill Clinton asked Fleetwood Mac to come together to perform the song he had chosen for his campaign, “Don’t Stop”, at his inaugural ceremony. Buckingham agreed to be part of the performance, but the experience was something of a one-off for the band, who were still very much at odds with one another and had no plans to reunite officially.
While assembling material for a planned fourth solo album in the mid 1990s, Buckingham contacted Mick Fleetwood for assistance on a song. Their collaboration lasted much longer than anticipated, and the two eventually decided to call upon John and Christine McVie. The band’s old chemistry was clearly still there, and plans for a reunion tour were soon in the works. In 1997, Buckingham and all four of his bandmates from the original Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac went on the road for the first time together since 1982 in a reunion tour titled The Dance. The tour was hugely successful and did much to heal the damage that had been done between Buckingham and his bandmates. In 2003, the reformed band released the first studio album involving Buckingham and Nicks in 15 years, Say You Will. However, Christine McVie had opted to leave the band in 1998, essentially now making the band a foursome. Buckingham’s song “Peacekeeper” was the first single from the album, and the band went on a world concert tour that would last almost a year and a half.
The band plans to tour and then record a new studio album in 2009, rehearsals begin in Jan ’09 and the tour is expected to start in Apr ’09. Christine McVie will not be involved in this eventual project. Buckingham has stated that he planned to record a song entitled “If You Insist” for his upcoming album Gift Of Screws, but reconsidered once he pondered “the dynamics of Stevie singing backup with me. I can’t hear this song without her so I’m waiting until (Fleetwood Mac) regroup. This is a Fleetwood Mac song if ever I wrote one”
Musical style
Unlike many rock guitarists, Buckingham does not use a plectrum, or a pick. Instead, he uses his fingers and fingernails. By his own admission, Buckingham does use a fingerpick in the studio. Before and initially after joining Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham used a Gibson Les Paul. In 1979, he worked with Rick Turner, owner of Renaissance Guitars to create the Model One. He has used it extensively since, both with Fleetwood Mac and for his solo efforts. He has also used an Ovation Celebrity for acoustic performances and a Fender Telecaster.
His influences include The Beach Boys and The Kingston Trio.
Family
On July 8, 1998, Buckingham’s girlfriend, Kristen Messner, gave birth to their son, William Gregory Buckingham. Buckingham and Messner subsequently married in 2000, and she gave birth to a daughter, Leelee, the same year. Their third child, Stella, was born on April 20, 2004.
Discography
As Buckingham Nicks
Year Album US UK Additional information
1973 Buckingham Nicks – – Debut album featuring duo of Buckingham and partner Stevie Nicks. Both would later join Fleetwood Mac, after this album failed commercially and label Polydor dropped them as they were recording tracks for follow-up LP
With Fleetwood Mac
Main article: Fleetwood Mac discography
Solo albums
Year Album US UK Additional information
1981 Law and Order 32 – Featured Buckingham’s biggest charting single outside of Fleetwood Mac – “Trouble”
1984 Go Insane 45 – -
1992 Out of the Cradle 128 51 -
2006 Under the Skin 80 154 -
2008 Live at the Bass Performance Hall 186 – -
2008 Gift of Screws 48 59 Release Date: September 15th, 2008
Soundtrack appearances
Year Song Soundtrack Additional information
1983 “Holiday Road, “Dancing Across The USA” National Lampoon’s Vacation -
1985 “Time Bomb Town” Back to the Future -
1994 “On The Wrong Side” With Honors -
1996 “Twisted” Twister Duet with Stevie Nicks
2005 “Shut Us Down” Elizabethtown Un-Cut Version
2006 “Big Love” Elizabethtown Vol 2 Live Soundstage Performance
Singles
Year Song US Hot 100 US Mainstream Rock UK Singles AAA Charts Album
1981 “Trouble” #9 #12 #31 – Law and Order
1983 “Holiday Road” #82 – – – National Lampoon’s Vacation soundtrack
1984 “Go Insane” #23 #4 – – Go Insane
1984 “Slow Dancing” #23 – – – Go Insane
1992 “Wrong” – #23 – – Out of the Cradle
1992 “Countdown” – #38 – – Out of the Cradle
2006 “Show You How” – – – – Under the Skin
2008 “Did You Miss Me” – – – #45 Gift of Screws
1947 – Keith Moon of the Who is born in Wembley, England. He dies on Sept. 7, 1978 at age 32, from an overdose of the sedative Heminevrin.
Keith John Moon (August 23, 1946 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. He gained notoriety for exuberant drumming and his destructive lifestyle. Moon joined The Who in 1964, replacing Doug Sandom. He played on all albums from their debut, 1965′s My Generation, to 1978′s Who Are You, which was released two weeks before his death.
Moon is known for innovative, dramatic drumming, often eschewing basic back beats for a fluid, busy technique focused on fast, cascading rolls across the toms and cymbal crashes. Moon was one of the first to play drums as a lead instrument in an era when drums were supposed only to keep the back beat. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most distinctive rock drummers.
Biography
Keith John Moon lived in Wembley as a boy, was hyperactive, and had a restless imagination. As a youth, one thing that could hold his attention was music. A report from his secondary modern school was not encouraging – his art teacher commented: ‘Retarded artistically. Idiotic in other respects.’[2] Teacher Aaron Sofocleous praised his music skills and encouraged his chaotic style, even if one school report noted “He has great ability, but must guard against a tendency to show off.” Moon failed his eleven plus exam and left school in 1961.
On 17 March 1966, Moon married his pregnant girlfriend Kim Kerrigan in secrecy. Their daughter Amanda was born on 12 July. In 1973, Kerrigan left Moon. In 1974 he began dating Swedish model Annette Walter-Lax. The next year he and Kerrigan divorced.
Early musical career
At 12, Moon joined his local Sea Cadet Corps band as a bugle player but traded his position to be a drummer.[3] Moon started drums at 14 after his father bought him a kit. He received lessons from one of the loudest drummers at the time, Carlo Little, paying him 10 shillings a lesson.[4] During this time he joined his first serious band “The Escorts”.[2] He later spent 18 months as the drummer for “The Beachcombers”, a London cover band notable for renditions of songs by Cliff Richard.[5]
Moon initially played in the style of American surf rock, jazz, with a mix of reggae and R&B drummers, utilising grooves and fills of those genres, particularly Hal Blaine of Wrecking Crew. However, he played faster and louder, with more persistence and authority. Moon’s favourite musicians were jazz greats Gene Krupa, who inspired him to be the showman he was, and Sonny Rollins.
The Who
At 17, Moon joined The Who (in April 1964), a replacement for Doug Sandom. Sandom had left less than a month earlier after Moon had a disagreement with Sandom. A police report states Moon assaulted Sandom with a cattle prod repeatedly which left him unconscious. After the episode, without a drummer the remaining members hired a session drummer to fulfill shows they had agreed to play. Moon attended one of these shows. Pete Townshend described him as looking like a “ginger man” with his hair dyed ginger and wearing ginger-coloured clothes. As stated in Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, Moon looked up to Roger Daltrey during the show and said “I hear you’re looking for a drummer. Well, I’m much better than the one you’ve got.”[6] The band knew they needed Moon after seeing him practically smash the drum kit to pieces.[2]
Moon started on various three or five-piece kits but moved to a double bass kit, made by Premier, in late 1965. Moon took two kits and put them together. This widened his playing; he abandoned his hi-hat cymbals almost entirely and started basing his grooves on a double bass ostinato with eighth note flams, and a wall of white noise created by riding a crash or ride cymbal. On top of this he played fills and cymbal accents. This became his trademark.
Moon’s Classic Premier setup comprised two 14×22-inch bass drums, three 8×14 (Tuna Can) mounted toms, two 16×16 floor toms, a 5×14 metal snare (usually a Ludwig Supraphonic), and one extra floor tom of different sizes but mainly 16×18 or 16×16. Moon’s classic cymbal setup consisted of two Paiste 18″ crashes and one 20″ ride. In 1973, Moon added a second row of tom-toms (first four, then six) and, in 1975, two more timbales. These huge kits became well known, notably the amber set in the films, Tommy and Stardust, and in footage shot by the BBC at Charlton in 1974. The 1975/76 white kit with gold fittings was given by Moon to a young Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr. His final kit, a dark metallic one, is seen in the footage from The Kids Are Alright at Shepperton in 1978.
Early in The Who’s career, live sets culminated in “auto destruction”, members destroying their equipment in elaborate fashion, an act that was imitated by other bands and artists including Jimi Hendrix in his breakout performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Moon showed a zeal for this, kicking and smashing his drums. During the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour television show, he loaded a drum with explosives which detonated during the finale of “My Generation,” singeing Townshend’s hair and embedding a piece of cymbal in his arm (this has been speculated as starting Townshend’s tinnitus). Another time, he filled clear acrylic drums with water and goldfish, playing them for a television appearance. When an audience member asked “What happens with your goldfish?” he replied with a grin, “Well I mean, you know…even the best drummers get hungry.”[7] Antics like these earned him the nickname “Moon the Loon.”
His determination to add his voice to Who songs led other members to banish him from the studio when vocals were recorded. This led to a game, Moon sneaking in to join the singing. At the end of “Happy Jack,” Townshend can be heard shouting “I saw you!” It is said that he noticed Moon trying to join in[citation needed] Moon can be heard singing on several tracks, including a section of “A Quick One While He’s Away” (A Quick One, 1966), “Armenia City in the Sky” (The Who Sell Out, 1967), “Bell Boy” (Quadrophenia, 1973), “Pictures of Lily” (1967), “Instant Party Mixture” (My Generation Deluxe Edition, 1965), “Bucket T” and “Barbara Ann” (Ready Steady Who EP, 1966).
He was credited as composer of “I Need You,” which he also sang, and the instrumental “Cobwebs and Strange” (from A Quick One, 1966), the single B-sides “In The City” (co-written by Moon and Entwistle), “Dogs Part Two” (1969) (sharing credits with Townshend’s and Entwistle’s dogs, Towser and Jason) and “Wasp Man” (1972), and “Girl’s Eyes” (from The Who Sell Out sessions; featured on Thirty Years of Maximum R&B and a 1995 re-release of The Who Sell Out). He also co-composed the instrumental “The Ox” (from the debut album “My Generation”) with Townshend, Entwistle and pianist Nicky Hopkins. “Tommy’s Holiday Camp” (from Tommy) was credited to Moon, who suggested the action should take place in a holiday camp. The song was written by Townshend, and although many think Moon sings on the track, the version on the album is Townshend’s demo. However Moon did sing it live and on the Tommy film. He also produced “Baba O’Riley”‘s violin solo (which he had suggested), and was recorded by Dave Arbus, a friend.
Daltrey said Moon’s drumming style held the band together; that Entwistle and Townshend “were like needles… and Keith was the wool.”
A reputation for destruction
Moon was destructive. He laid waste to hotel rooms, the homes of friends, even his own home, throwing furniture out of high windows and destroying the plumbing with fireworks.[8] He frequently flushed powerful fireworks (Cherry bombs) down the toilet and enjoyed detonating toilets for personal amusement. The acts, though often fueled by drugs and alcohol, were his way of expressing his eccentricity, as well as the joy he got from shocking the public.[9] In Moon’s biography, Full Moon, Dougal Butler observed, “He would do anything if he knew that there were enough people around who didn’t want him to do it.”
Moon’s pranks bear a similarity to those of Australian comedian Barry Humphries, who affected the same maniacal stare as Moon. A darker side to Moon’s behaviour, tentatively diagnosed as caused by a Borderline Personality Disorder in Fletcher’s biography, was physically violent towards three women in his life: his wife Kim, girlfriend Annette, and only daughter Mandy. He was also prepared to pay someone to break his ex-wife’s second husband’s fingers out of jealousy. Annette Walter-Lax described his Mr Hyde-like change into a growling, uncontrollable beast as something out of a horror movie. She begged Malibu neighbour Larry Hagman to check Moon into a clinic to dry out, but when doctors recorded Moon’s intake at breakfast (a full bottle of champagne along with Courvoisier ), they concluded there was no hope.[10] Alice Cooper remembers his drinking club, The Hollywood Vampires, commenting that Moon (‘the Puck of Rock ‘n’ Roll”) used to enter dressed up as the Pope. [11] Joe Walsh has recorded chats with Moon, finding it remarkable how witty and alert the inebriated drummer managed to stay, ad-libbing his way through surrealistic fantasy stories à la Peter Cook.
Although his behaviour was outrageous, it was in the humorous vein[12] as his friend Vivian Stanshall, of the Bonzo Dog Band claimed. Moon produced Stanshall’s version of Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds.
According to Townshend, Moon’s reputation for erratic behaviour was something he cultivated. Once, on the way to an airport, Moon insisted they return to their hotel, saying , “I forgot something. We’ve got to go back!” When the limo returned, Moon ran to his room, grabbed the TV while it was plugged in, threw it out the window and into the pool. He then jumped back into the limousine, sighing “I nearly forgot.”
On January 4, 1970, Moon was involved in a car-pedestrian death outside the Red Lion pub in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Trying to escape hostile skinheads from the pub who had begun to attack his Bentley, Moon ran over and killed his friend and bodyguard, Neil Boland. Although the coroner said Boland’s death was an accident, and Moon was given an absolute discharge having been charged with driving offences, those close to him said Moon was haunted by the accident for the rest of his life. Boland’s daughter investigated and suggested that Moon may not have been driving.[13]
Moon’s penchant for the wild life was detrimental to his drumming and his reliability as a band member. On the 1973 Quadrophenia tour, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Moon took a large mixture of tranquilizers and brandy. He passed out during “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and again in “Magic Bus.” Townshend asked the audience, “Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good.” An audience member, Scot Halpin, filled in for the rest of the show. Guitarist Pete Townshend later said in an interview that Moon had consumed large tranquilizer pills, meant to be shot at animals, with the brandy.[14] During the band’s recording sabbatical between 1975 and 1978, Moon put on a great deal of weight.
Moon’s close friend and legendary drummer Ringo Starr was seriously concerned about his ‘Rock Star’ lifestyle and told Moon that if he kept going the way he was he would eventually kill himself. Moon simply replied ‘Yeah, I know.’[citation needed]
Moon owned a lilac-coloured Rolls-Royce, painted with house paint. On Top Gear,[15] Daltrey commented that Moon liked to take upper-class icons and make them working class. The car is now owned by Middlebrook Garages (based in Nottinghamshire, England).
Work outside The Who
Although Moon’s work with The Who dominated his career, he participated in minor side projects. In 1966, he teamed with Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck, session man Nicky Hopkins, and future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to record an instrumental, “Beck’s Bolero,” released as a single-double later that year. He also played timpani on another track, “Ol’ Man River” (credited on the back of the album as “You Know Who”).
Moon is said to have named Led Zeppelin. When an early version of the band was being discussed that would have had himself, John Entwistle on bass, Jimmy Page on guitar, and an undecided vocalist, he stated the potential group would “go down like a lead zeppelin.” He joined Zeppelin on stage and drummed with John Bonham for encores in a show on 23 June 1977 at the L.A. Forum (recorded on Led Zeppelin bootlegs, For Badgeholders Only/SGT Pages Badgeholders Club).
In 1974 Track Records/MCA released a solo single: “Don’t Worry, Baby” b/w “Teenage Idol”, the former a reflection of his love of The Beach Boys.
In 1975 he released his only solo album, pop covers entitled Two Sides of the Moon. Although this featured Moon’s singing, much drumming was left to other artists including Ringo Starr, session musicians Curly Smith and Jim Keltner and actor/musician Miguel Ferrer (Twin Peaks and Crossing Jordan). Moon played drums on only three tracks.
In late 1975, he played drums on the track “Bo Diddley Jam” on Bo Diddley’s The 20th Anniversary of Rock ‘n’ Roll all-star album.
In 1971 he had a cameo role in Frank Zappa’s film 200 Motels. He acted in drag as a nun fearful of death from overdosing on pills. In 1973 he appeared in That’ll Be the Day, playing J.D. Clover, the drummer at a holiday camp during the early days of British rock ‘n’ roll. Moon reprised the role for the sequel Stardust in 1974. The film co-starred Moon’s friend Ringo Starr of the Beatles. He appeared as “Uncle Ernie” in Ken Russell’s 1975 film adaptation of Tommy. In a bar about 1975, he asked Graham Chapman and Bernard McKenna to do a “treatment” for a “mad movie”. They asked a thousand pounds, Moon pulled the cash from his pocket and gave it to them. This was the start of the project that would become the movie Yellowbeard. Moon wanted to play the lead but the movie took many years to develop, and by that time he was in physically poor shape, and unsuitable.[16] In 1976, he covered the Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” for the soundtrack of the documentary All This and World War II. He impersonated a camp fashion designer in Sextette (1978), starring Mae West. He was to have a part in Monty Python’s Life of Brian and stayed in the Caribbean with the six Python members as they wrote the script. He died before filming. The published edition of the screenplay to Life of Brian is dedicated to Moon.
Moon once owned a hotel, The Crown and Cushion in Chipping Norton.
Death
Moon was Paul McCartney’s guest at a film preview of The Buddy Holly Story on the evening of 6 September 1978. After dining with Paul and Linda McCartney, Moon and his girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, returned to a flat on loan from Harry Nilsson in Curzon Place, London (near Shepherd Market), where Moon died of an overdose of Clomethiazole (Heminevrin). The medication was a sedative he had been prescribed to alleviate his alcohol withdrawal symptoms as he tried to go dry on his own at home; he was desperate to get clean, but was terrified of another stay in the psychiatric hospital for in-patient detoxification. However, Clomethiazole is specifically contraindicated for unsupervised home detox due to its addictiveness, tendency to rapidly induce drug tolerance, and dangerously high risk of death when mixed with alcohol.[17] The pills were also prescribed by a new doctor, Dr. Geoffrey Dymond, who was unaware of Moon’s recklessly impulsive nature and long history of prescription sedative abuse. He had given Moon a full bottle of 100 pills, and instructed him to take one whenever he felt a craving for alcohol (but not more than 3 per day). The police determined there were 32 pills in his system, many times the lethal amount, 26 of which were still undissolved when he died.[18] Moon died in the room in which Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas had died four years earlier.
On the audio DVD commentary to The Criterion Collection’s release of the Monty Python film Life of Brian, Eric Idle talks about the dinner party. Idle relates that Moon was excited about his role as a prophet in the movie. After launching into his speech for the film, Idle and Moon exchanged a “big, warm hug,” with Idle commenting that “he was just such a wonderful enthusiast.”
Moon died a couple of weeks after the release of Who Are You. On the album cover, Moon is seated on a chair back-to-front to hide the weight gained over three years (as discussed in Tony Fletcher’s book “Dear Boy”). The chair is labeled “NOT TO BE TAKEN AWAY.”
Moon was cremated. His ashes were scattered in the Gardens of Remembrance at Golders Green Crematorium in London.
Events after his death
While Moon was alive, The Who performed with four members. Afterwards, he was replaced by Small Faces/Faces drummer Kenney Jones and later Simon Phillips. The Who also added keyboardist John “Rabbit” Bundrick to the live band. The Who’s drum position is currently occupied by Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr. Starkey was taught by Moon and referred to him as Uncle Keith.
Daltrey recorded a song, “Under a Raging Moon”, as a tribute to Moon and the “middle bar” in the London Astoria is named after him.
A biography was written about Moon by Tony Fletcher, entitled Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon. “Dear Boy” became a catchphrase of Moon’s when he started affecting a pompous English accent around 1969, particularly when ordering drinks.[19]
In early 2006, Moon’s signature Pictures of Lily drum kit was reissued by Premier Percussion under the name Spirit of Lily.
Moon’s ex-wife, Kim, was married to Ian McLagan of the Faces in 1978, the year that Moon died. She was killed in a traffic collision near Austin, Texas on August 2, 2006.
Moon’s daughter, Mandy, is married to a graphic artist. She has two daughters and lives in Southern California.
Daltrey is producing a biopic about Moon called See Me Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked for Your Pleasure, which will be released in 2009. Comedian Mike Myers will play the main role.
1947 – Rick Derringer, who went from “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” to producing albums by the WWF wrestlers, is born Richard Zehringer in Celina, Ohio.
Rick Derringer (born Richard Zehringer, born on the 5th of August 1947, in Fort Recovery, Ohio, is an American guitarist, composer and entertaineris 61 years old today. It is a worthy birthday for the old rocker. He is best known for his composition of the songs “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo“, “Hang on Sloopy” and “Real American“.
Young guitar great, vocalist and entertainer Rick Derringer was just 17 when his band “The McCoys” recorded the No.1 hit “Hang On Sloopy” in the summer of 1965, knocking “Yesterday” by The Beatles out of the top spot.
“The McCoys” had enjoyed four years of successful touring, when Rick merged his talents with Johnny Winter in 1969 forming “Johnny Winter And” (“And” referring to “The McCoys”).
Rick was the only producer of all gold and platinum Winter Brothers recordings.
In ’71 Rick was featured on three records, “Johnny Winter And”, “Johnny Winter And-Live” and “Edgar Winter’s White Trash”. “And” featured the first version of Derringer’s “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” which was also released as a single, then selected again for “And – Live”.
Eventually the busy Derringer joined Edgar’s White Trash full-time and produced the gold LP, “Roadwork”. Derringer’s solo album, “All American Boy” was released in ’73 with the now already popular “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”, this time as a ‘hit’ single.
Rick was writer/producer of Johnny Winter’s “Still Alive and Well” album and player/producer of the hit album, “They Only Come Out At Night”. The latter featured the No. 1, Grammy nominated monster hit, “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride”.
In 1976 Rick created the Derringer Band. He released four albums and in ’83 returned to his solo career with the LP, “Good Dirty Fun”.
Throughout the 70′s and 80′s the popular Derringer appeared on numerous albums with artists Alice Cooper, Richie Havens, Todd Rundgren and Steely Dan. The list also includes Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand, Kiss, Mason Ruffner and Madam X.
In the mid-80′s, Derringer discovered Weird Al Yancovic, producing music for Grammy-winning albums and videos. Derringer’s productions of the Michael Jackson parodies, the No. 1 hit “Eat It”, and “Who’s Fat”, have been Yancovic’s most successful recordings.
It was also in the 90′s that Rick was selected to be producer/writer/performer of the World Wrestling Federation LP’s. Hulk Hogan’s theme song, “I Am A Real American” was written and performed by Rick as a part of these projects.
Derringer was once again sought after by Edgar Winter and in 1990, performed for the LP, “Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer Live in Japan”. Then in 1999 Rick and Edgar were back together again for their collaboration on his “Winter Blues” CD.
Derringer also recorded four blues CD’s starting in ’93 with “Back To the Blues” followed by “Electra Blues”, “Blues Deluxe” and his 2000 release “Jackhammer Blues”.
At about that same period Derringer, who seems to be constantly in motion, released his destined-to-be-classic “Tend the Fire” in Europe to rave reviews and is eagerly expected by his loyal fans here in the US.
The year 2001 was another busy one for Rick. His venture back into Rock & Roll with Vanilla Fudge superstars Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert produced a recording of intense synergy – “D B A” (for Derringer, Bogert & Appice) with vocals, writing and instrumentals shared by all three. 2004 promises a reprise for Derringer and Appice, with the release of “D-N-A”.
After “D B A”, the next project was truly a work from the heart and soul of Rick and his wife Brenda Jean(Jenda Hall). Entitled “Aiming 4 Heaven”, it brought forth their devotion to God and put it into song with help from their children, Lory & Martin. That project opened the doors for a worldwide release on Reborn Records, as Rick and Jenda are currently putting the finishing touches on the brand new “Still Alive And Well”, their second all Christian CD. With a scheduled release date of May, 2004, their fans are already expressing impatience.
We can’t forget the Winter of 2002, where Rick ventured into a whole new musical world – Smooth Jazz. Interest in “Rick Derringer Free Ride” grew quickly at radio, and the second single “Hot And Cool” (in the ‘Radio and Records’ top 20 for 5 months, and number 42 for the year) showed Derringer right at home in the format. It might come as a surprise, but as he explains, it’s the kind of music he’s been waiting to do his whole life. His wife Brenda is featured as co-writer on three new songs, and arranger/singer on the title cut.
It seems like almost too much story to take in at one sitting, but the most surprising part is, after more than four decades he’s still going strong!
1947 – David Bowie (David Robert Jones) is born in London. He first records with the King Bees, Lower Third and the Mannish Boys in 1963 before going solo. His two No. 1 songs are “Fame” and “Let’s Dance.”
David Bowie (IPA:
Although he released an album and numerous singles earlier, David Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when the Apollo program-inspired “Space Oddity” reached the top five of the UK singles chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era as the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single “Starman” and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona epitomised a career often marked by musical innovation, reinvention and striking visual presentation.
In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the hit album Young Americans, which the singer identified as “plastic soul”. The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album Low – the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno over the next two years. Arguably his most experimental works to date, the so-called “Berlin Trilogy” albums all reached the UK Top Five.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single “Ashes to Ashes” and its parent album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He paired with Queen for the 1981 UK chart-topper “Under Pressure”, but consolidated his commercial – and, until then, most profitable – sound in 1983 with the album Let’s Dance, which yielded the hit singles “Let’s Dance”, “China Girl”, and “Modern Love”.
In the BBC’s 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie ranked 29. Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136 million albums, and ranks among the ten best-selling acts in UK pop history. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 39th on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock Artists of All Time
Biography
1947 to 1967: Early years
David Bowie (then David Jones) was born in Brixton, London. Bowie’s parents, Margaret Mary “Peggy” (née Burns) and Hayward Stenton “John” Jones, were married shortly after his birth.
When Bowie was fifteen years old, his friend, George Underwood, wearing a ring on his finger, punched him in the left eye during a fight over a girl. Bowie was forced to stay out of school for eight months so that doctors could conduct operations to repair his potentially blinded eye.
Bowie’s interest in music was sparked at the age of nine when his father brought home a collection of American 45s, including Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and, most particularly, Little Richard. Upon listening to “Tutti Frutti”, Bowie would later say, “I had heard God”. His half-brother Terry introduced him to modern jazz and Bowie’s enthusiasm for players like Charles Mingus and John Coltrane led his mother to give him a plastic saxophone for Christmas in 1959. Graduating to a real instrument, he formed his first band in 1962, the Konrads. He then played and sang in various blues/beat groups, such as The King Bees, The Manish Boys, The Lower Third and The Riot Squad in the mid-1960s, releasing his first record, the single “Liza Jane”, with the King Bees in 1964. His early work shifted through the blues and Elvis-inspired music while working with many British pop styles.
During the early 1960s, Bowie was performing either under his own name or the stage name “Davie Jones”, and briefly even as “Davy Jones”, creating confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. To avoid this, in 1966 he chose “Bowie” for his stage name, after the Alamo hero Jim Bowie and his famous Bowie knife. During this time, he recorded singles for Parlophone under the name of The Manish Boys and Davy Jones and for Pye under the name David Bowie (and The Lower Third), all without success.
Bowie released his first album in 1967 for the Decca Records offshoot Deram, simply called David Bowie. It was an amalgam of pop, psychedelia, and music hall. Around the same time he issued a novelty single, “The Laughing Gnome”, which utilised sped-up Chipmunk-style vocals. None of these releases managed to chart, and he would not cut another record for two years. His Deram material from the album and various singles was later recycled in a multitude of compilations.
Influenced by the dramatic arts, he studied with Lindsay Kemp — from avant-garde theatre and mime to Commedia dell’arte — and much of his work would involve the creation of characters or personae to present to the world. During 1967, Bowie sold his first song to another artist, “Oscar” (an early stage name of actor-musician Paul Nicholas). Bowie wrote Oscar’s third single, “Over the Wall We Go”, which satirised life in a British prison. In late 1968, his then-manager, Kenneth Pitt, produced a half-hour promotional film called Love You Till Tuesday featuring Bowie performing a number of songs, but it went unreleased until 1984.
1969 to 1973: Psychedelic folk to glam rock
Bowie’s first flirtation with fame came in 1969 with his single “Space Oddity,” written the previous year but recorded and released to coincide with the first moon landing. It became a Top 5 UK hit. The corresponding album, his second, was originally titled David Bowie, which caused some confusion as both of Bowie’s first and second albums were released with that name in the UK (in the U.S. the second album bore the title Man of Words, Man of Music). In 1972, this album was re-released by RCA Records as Space Oddity.
Bowie put the finishing touches to “Space Oddity” (the track) while living with Mary Finnigan as her lodger. Finnigan and Bowie joined forces with Christina Ostrom and the late Barrie Jackson to run a Folk Club on Sunday nights at The Three Tuns pub in Beckenham High Street, south London. In 1969 and 1970, “Space Oddity” was used by the BBC during both its Apollo 11 moon landing coverage and its coverage of Apollo 13.
In 1970, Bowie released his third album, The Man Who Sold the World, rejecting the acoustic guitar sound of the previous album and replacing it with the heavy rock backing provided by Mick Ronson, who would be a major collaborator through to 1973. Much of the album resembles British heavy metal music of the period, but the album provided some unusual musical detours, such as the title track’s use of Latin sounds and rhythms. The original UK cover of the album showed Bowie in a dress, an early example of his androgynous appearance. In the U.S., the album was originally released in a cartoonish cover that did not feature Bowie.
His next record, Hunky Dory in 1971, saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of “Space Oddity”, with light fare such as the droll “Kooks”. Elsewhere, the album explored more serious themes on tracks such as “Oh! You Pretty Things” (a song taken to UK #12 by Herman’s Hermits’ Peter Noone in 1971), the semi-autobiographical “The Bewlay Brothers”, and the Buddhist-influenced “Quicksand”. Lyrically, the young songwriter also paid unusually direct homage to his influences with “Song for Bob Dylan”, “Andy Warhol”, and “Queen Bitch”, which Bowie’s somewhat cryptic liner notes indicate as a Velvet Underground pastiche. As with the single “Changes”, Hunky Dory was not a big hit but it laid the groundwork for the move that would shortly lift Bowie into the first rank of stars, giving him four top-ten albums and eight top ten singles in the UK in eighteen months between 1972 and 1973.
Bowie further explored his androgynous persona in June 1972 with the seminal concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which presents a world destined to end in five years and tells the story of the ultimate rock star, Ziggy Stardust. The album’s sound combined the hard rock elements of The Man Who Sold the World with the lighter experimental rock of Hunky Dory and the fast-paced glam rock pioneered by Marc Bolan’s T.Rex. Many of the album’s songs have become rock classics, including “Ziggy Stardust,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Hang on to Yourself,” and “Suffragette City.”
The Ziggy Stardust character became the basis for Bowie’s first large-scale tour beginning in 1972, where he donned his famous flaming red hair and wild outfits. The tour featured a three-piece band representing the “Spiders from Mars”: Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The album made #5 in the UK on the strength of the #10 placing of the single “Starman”. Their success made Bowie a star, and soon the six-month-old Hunky Dory eclipsed Ziggy Stardust, when it peaked at #3 on the UK chart. At the same time the non-album single “John, I’m Only Dancing” (not released in the U.S. until 1979) peaked at UK #12, and “All the Young Dudes”, a song he had given to, and produced for, Mott the Hoople, made UK #3.
Around the same time Bowie began promoting and producing his rock and roll heroes, two of whom he met at the popular New York hangout Max’s Kansas City Bowie sang back-up vocals on both Reed’s Transformer, and Iggy’s The Idiot.
The Spiders From Mars came together again on Aladdin Sane, released in April 1973 and his first #1 album in the UK. Described by Bowie as “Ziggy goes to America”,
Bowie’s later Ziggy shows, which included songs from both Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, as well as a few earlier tracks like “Changes” and “The Width of a Circle”, were ultra-theatrical affairs filled with shocking stage moments, such as Bowie stripping down to a sumo wrestling loincloth or simulating oral sex with Ronson’s guitar.
Pin Ups, a collection of covers of his 1960s favourites, was released in October 1973, spawning a UK #3 hit in “Sorrow” and itself peaking at #1, making David Bowie the best-selling act of 1973 in the UK. By this time, Bowie had broken up the Spiders from Mars and was attempting to move on from his Ziggy persona. Bowie’s own back catalogue was now highly sought: The Man Who Sold the World had been re-released in 1972 along with the second David Bowie album (Space Oddity). Hunky Dory’s “Life on Mars?” was released as a single in 1973 and made #3 in the UK, the same year Bowie’s novelty record from 1967, “The Laughing Gnome”, hit #6.
1974 to 1976: Soul, R&B, and The Thin White Duke
1974 saw the release of another ambitious album, Diamond Dogs, with a spoken word introduction and a multi-part song suite (“Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise)”). Diamond Dogs was the product of two distinct ideas: a musical based on a wild future in a post-apocalyptic city, and setting George Orwell’s 1984 to music. Bowie also made plans to develop a Diamond Dogs movie, but didn’t get very far. Bowie had originally planned on writing a musical to 1984, but his interest waned after encountering difficulties in licensing the novel. He used some of the songs he had written for the project on Diamond Dogs. The album—and an NBC television special, The 1980 Floor Show, broadcast at around the same time—demonstrated Bowie headed toward the genre of soul/funk music, the track “1984″ being a prime example. The album spawned the hits “Rebel Rebel” (UK #5) and “Diamond Dogs” (UK #21), and itself went to #1 in the UK, making him the best-selling act of that country for the second year in a row. In the US, Bowie achieved his first major commercial success as the album went to #5.
To follow on the release of the album, Bowie launched a massive Diamond Dogs tour in North America from June to December 1974. Choreographed by Toni Basil, and lavishly produced with theatrical special effects, the high-budget stage production broke with contemporary standard practice for rock concerts by featuring no encores. It was filmed by Alan Yentob for the documentary Cracked Actor. The documentary seemed to confirm the rumours of his cocaine abuse, featuring a pasty and emaciated Bowie nervously sniffing in the backseat of a car and claiming that there was a fly in his milk. Bowie commented that the resulting live album, David Live, ought to have been called “David Bowie Is Alive and Well and Living Only In Theory,” presumably in reference to his addled and frenetic psychological state during this period. Nevertheless the album solidified his status as a superstar, going #2 in the UK and #8 in the US. It also spawned a UK #10 hit in a cover of “Knock on Wood”. After the opening leg of the tour, Bowie mostly jettisoned the elaborate sets. Then, when the tour resumed after a summer break in Philadelphia for recording new material, the Diamond Dogs sound no longer seemed apt. Bowie cancelled seven dates and made changes to the band, which returned to the road in October as the Philly Dogs tour.
For Ziggy Stardust fans who had not discerned the soul and funk strains already apparent in Bowie’s recent work, the “new” sound was considered a sudden and jolting step. 1975′s Young Americans was Bowie’s definitive exploration of Philly soul—though he himself referred to the sound ironically as “plastic soul.” It contained his first #1 hit in the US, “Fame”, co-written with Carlos Alomar and John Lennon (who also contributed backing vocals). It was based on a riff Alomar had developed while covering The Flares’ 1961 doo-wop classic “Foot Stompin’”, which Bowie’s band had taken to playing live during the Philly Dogs period. One of the backing vocalists on the album is a young Luther Vandross, who also co-wrote some of the material for Young Americans. The song “Win” featured a hypnotic guitar riff later taken by Beck for the track/live staple “Debra” off his Midnite Vultures album. Despite Bowie’s unashamed recognition of the shallowness of his “plastic soul,” he did earn the bona fide distinction of being one of the few white artists to be invited to appear on the popular “Soul Train.” Another violently paranoid appearance on ABC’s The Dick Cavett Show (1974 5 December) seemed to confirm rumours of Bowie’s heavy cocaine use at this time. Young Americans was the album that cemented Bowie’s stardom in the U.S.; though only peaking there at #9, as opposed to the #5 placing of Diamond Dogs, the album stayed on the charts almost twice as long. At the same time, the album achieved #2 in the UK while a re-issue of his old single “Space Oddity” became his first #1 hit in the UK, only a few months after “Fame” had achieved the same in the US.
Station to Station (1976) featured a darker version of this soul persona, called “The Thin White Duke”. Visually the figure was an extension of Thomas Jerome Newton, the character Bowie portrayed in The Man Who Fell to Earth. Station to Station was a transitional album, prefiguring the Krautrock and synthesizer music of his next releases, while further developing the funk and soul music of Young Americans. By this time, Bowie had become heavily dependent on drugs, particularly cocaine; many critics have attributed the chopped rhythms and emotional detachment of the record to the influence of the drug, to which Bowie claimed to have been introduced in America. His emotional disturbance and megalomania at this time reached such a fever pitch that Bowie refused to relinquish control of a satellite, booked for a worldwide broadcast of a live appearance preceding the release of Station to Station, at the request of the Spanish Government, who wished to put out a live feed regarding the death of Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco. His sanity—by his own later admission—became twisted from cocaine: he overdosed several times during the year. Additionally, Bowie was withering physically after having lost an alarming amount of weight.
Nonetheless, there was another large tour, The 1976 World Tour, which featured a starkly lit set and highlighted new songs such as the dramatic and lengthy title track, the ballads “Wild Is the Wind” and “Word on a Wing”, and the funkier “TVC 15″ and “Stay”. The core band that coalesced around this album and tour—rhythm guitarist Alomar, bassist George Murray, and drummer Dennis Davis—would remain a stable unit through the 1970s. The tour was highly successful but also entrenched in controversy, as the media claimed that Bowie was advocating fascism, an issue later shown to have arisen from the misunderstanding of an anti-fascist message.
1976 to 1979: The Berlin era
Bowie’s interest in the growing German music scene, as well as his drug addiction, prompted him to move to West Berlin to dry out and rejuvenate his career. Sharing an apartment in Schöneberg with his friend Iggy Pop, he co-produced three more of his own classic albums with Tony Visconti, while aiding Pop with his career. With Bowie as a co-writer and musician, Pop completed his first two solo albums, The Idiot and Lust for Life. Bowie joined Pop’s touring band in the spring, simply playing keyboard and singing backing vocals. The group performed in the UK, Europe, and the US from March to April 1977.
The brittle sound of Station to Station proved a precursor to Low, the first of three albums that became known as the “Berlin Trilogy”. Low was recorded with Brian Eno as an integral collaborator but, despite widespread belief, not the album’s producer. Journalists often mistakenly give Eno production credits on the trilogy but, in fact, Bowie and Tony Visconti co-produced, with Eno co-writing some of the music, playing keyboards, and developing strategies. Bowie stressed in 2000: “Over the years not enough credit has gone to Tony Visconti on those particular albums. The actual sound and texture, the feel of everything from the drums to the way that my voice is recorded is Tony Visconti.”
Partly influenced by the Krautrock sound of Kraftwerk and Neu! and the minimalist work of Steve Reich, Bowie journeyed to Neunkirchen near Cologne to meet the famed German producer Conny Plank. Plank was considered a revolutionary producer in German rock in the era, but had no interest in working with Bowie and refused him entry to the studio. The album was produced in 1976 and released in early 1977.
The Low sessions also formalised Bowie’s three-phase approach to making albums. Much of the band were present for the first five days only, after which Eno, Alomar and Gardiner remained to play overdubs. By the time Bowie wrote and recorded the lyrics everybody but Visconti and studio engineers had departed. The next record, “Heroes”, was similar in sound to Low, though slightly more accessible. The mood of these records fit the zeitgeist of the Cold War, symbolised by the divided city that provided its inspiration. The title track, a story of two lovers who met at the Berlin Wall, is one of Bowie’s most-covered songs.
Also in 1977, Bowie appeared on the Granada music show Marc, hosted by his friend and fellow glam pioneer Marc Bolan of T.Rex, with whom he had regularly socialised and jammed before either achieved fame. He turned out to be the show’s final guest, as Bolan was killed in a car crash shortly afterward.
For Christmas 1977, Bowie joined Bing Crosby, of whom he was an ardent admirer, at the ATV Television Studio in Herts England to do “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy”, a version of “Little Drummer Boy” with a new lyric.
Bowie and his band embarked on an extensive world tour in 1978 (including his first concerts in Australia and New Zealand) which featured music from both Low and Heroes. A live album from the tour was released as Stage the same year. Songs from both Low and Heroes were later converted to symphonies by minimalist composer Phillip Glass. 1978 was also the year that saw Bowie narrating Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.
1979′s Lodger was the final album in Bowie’s so-called “Berlin Trilogy”, or “triptych” as Bowie calls it. This was Bowie’s last album with Eno until 1. Outside in 1995.
1980 to 1989: Bowie the superstar
In 1980, Bowie did an about-face, integrating the lessons learnt on Low, Heroes, and Lodger while expanding upon them with chart success.
While Scary Monsters utilised principles that Bowie had learned in the Berlin era, it was considered by critics to be far more direct musically and lyrically, reflecting the transformation Bowie had gone through during his time in Germany and Europe. By 1980 Bowie had divorced his wife Angie, curbed the drug abuse of the “Thin White Duke” era, and radically changed his concept of the way music should be written. The album had a hard rock edge that included conspicuous guitar contributions from King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, The Who’s Pete Townshend, and Television’s Tom Verlaine.
In 1981, Queen released “Under Pressure”, co-written and performed with Bowie. The song was a hit and became Bowie’s third UK #1 single. In the same year Bowie made a cameo appearance in the German movie Christiane F. Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, the real-life story of a 13 year-old girl in Berlin who becomes addicted to heroin and ends up prostituting herself. Bowie is credited with “special cooperation” in the credits and his music features prominently in the movie. The soundtrack was released in 1982 and contained a version of “Heroes” sung partially in German that had previously been included on the German pressing of its parent album. The same year Bowie appeared in the BBC’s adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s play Baal. Coinciding with transmission of the film, a five-track EP of songs from the play was released as David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht’s Baal, recorded at Hansa by the Wall the previous September. It would mark Bowie’s final new release on RCA, as 1983 saw him change record labels from RCA to EMI America. In April 1982, Bowie released “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” with Giorgio Moroder, for director Paul Schrader’s film Cat People.
Bowie scored his first truly commercial blockbuster with Let’s Dance in 1983, a slick dance album co-produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers. The title track went to #1 in the United States and United Kingdom. The album also featured the singles “Modern Love” and “China Girl”, the latter causing something of a stir due to its suggestive promotional video. “China Girl” was a remake of a song which Bowie co-wrote several years earlier with Iggy Pop, who recorded it for The Idiot. In an interview by Kurt Loder, Bowie revealed that the motivation for recording “China Girl” was to help out his friend Iggy Pop financially, contributing to Bowie’s history of support for musicians he admired. Let’s Dance was also notable as a stepping stone for the career of the late Texan guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who played on the album and was to have supported Bowie on the consequent Serious Moonlight Tour. Vaughan, however, never joined the tour after various disputes with Bowie. Vaughan was replaced by the Bowie tour veteran Earl Slick. Frank and George Simms from The Simms Brothers Band appeared as backing vocalists for the tour. The Serious Moonlight Tour was a huge success, and a single performance at the US Festival actually earned Bowie a million dollars on its own.
Bowie’s next album was originally planned to be a live album recorded on the Serious Moonlight Tour, but EMI demanded another studio album instead. The resulting album, 1984′s Tonight, was also dance-oriented, featuring collaborations with Tina Turner and Iggy Pop, as well as various covers, including one of The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”. Critics Yet the album bore the transatlantic Top Ten hit “Blue Jean” whose complete video – the 21-minute short film “Jazzin’ for Blue Jean” – reflected Bowie’s long-standing interest in combining music with drama. This video would win Bowie his only Grammy to date, for Best Short Form Music Video. It also featured “Loving the Alien”, a remix of which was a minor hit in 1985. The album also has a pair of dance rewrites of “Neighborhood Threat” and “Tonight”, old songs Bowie wrote with Iggy Pop which had originally appeared on Lust for Life.
In 1985, Bowie performed several of his greatest hits at Wembley for Live Aid. At the end of his set, which comprised “Rebel Rebel”, “TVC 15″, “Modern Love” and ‘Heroes’, he introduced a film of the Ethiopian famine, for which the event was raising funds, which was set to the song “Drive” by The Cars. At the event, the video to a fundraising single was premièred – Bowie performing a duet with Mick Jagger on a version of “Dancing in the Street”, which quickly went to #1 on release. In the same year Bowie worked with the Pat Metheny Group on the song “This Is Not America”, which was featured in the film The Falcon and the Snowman. This song was the centrepiece of the album, a collaboration intended to underline the espionage thriller’s central themes of alienation and disaffection.
Bowie performing in 1987
In 1986, Bowie contributed several songs to as well as acted in the film Absolute Beginners. The movie was not well reviewed but Bowie’s theme song rose to #2 in the UK charts. He also took a role in the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth, as Jareth, the Goblin King who steals the baby brother of a girl named Sarah (played by Jennifer Connelly), in order to turn him into a goblin. Bowie wrote five songs for the film, the script of which was partially written by Monty Python’s Terry Jones.
Bowie’s final solo album of the 80s was 1987′s Never Let Me Down, where he ditched the light sound of his two earlier albums, instead offering harder rock with an industrial/techno dance edge. The album, which peaked at #6 in the UK, contained hit singles “Day In, Day Out”, “Time Will Crawl”, and “Never Let Me Down”. Although a commercial success, it drew some of the harshest criticism of Bowie’s career, condemned by some critics as a “faceless” piece of product.
Bowie decided to tour again in 1987, supporting the Never Let Me Down album. The Glass Spider Tour was preceded by nine promotional press shows before the 86-concert tour actually started on 30 May 1987. In addition to the actual band, that included Peter Frampton on lead guitar, five dancers appeared on stage for almost the entire duration of each concert. Taped pieces of dialogue were also performed by Bowie and the dancers in the middle of songs, creating an overtly theatrical effect. Several visual gimmicks were also recreated from Bowie’s earlier tours. Critics of the tour described it as overproduced and claimed it pandered to then-current stadium rock trends in its special effects and dancing. However, fans that saw the shows from the Glass Spider Tour were treated to many of Bowie’s classics and rarities, in addition to the newer material.
In August 1988, Bowie portrayed Pontius Pilate in the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ.
1989 to 1991: Tin Machine
In 1989, for the first time since the early 1970s, Bowie formed a regular band, Tin Machine, a hard-rocking quartet, along with Reeves Gabrels, Tony Sales, and Hunt Sales. Tin Machine released two studio albums and a live record. The band received mixed reviews and a somewhat lukewarm reception from the public, but Tin Machine heralded the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration between Bowie and Gabrels.
The original album, Tin Machine (1989), was a success, holding the number three spot on the charts of the UK. Tin Machine launched its first world tour, featuring a now unshaven David Bowie and additional guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, that year. Despite the success of the Tin Machine venture, Bowie was mildly frustrated that many of his ideas were either rejected or changed by the band.
David Bowie performing at Rock In Chile Festival, 27 September 1990
Bowie began the 1990s with a stadium tour, in which he played mostly his biggest hits. The Sound + Vision Tour (named after the Low single) was conceived and directed by choreographer Edouard Lock of the Quebec contemporary dance troupe La La La Human Steps, with whom Bowie collaborated and performed on stage and in his videos. Bowie vowed during the tour that he would never play his early hits again.
Though he surprised no one when he later reneged on that promise and also on the promise that his set in each country would be focused on the favourite hits voted by phone poll in that country – an idea quickly jettisoned when a campaign by the British magazine NME resulted in a landslide in favour of The Laughing Gnome, it is true that his later tours generally featured few of those hits, and when they appeared, they were often radically reworked in their arrangement and delivery.
Bowie’s negative press-image continued when the cover of Tin Machine’s second album became unusually controversial, due to the presence of naked statues as its cover art. The coverage only seemed to invite unrelated negative commentary about Bowie to further permeate the public discourse.
After the less successful second album Tin Machine II and the complete failure of live album Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby, Bowie tired of having to work in a group setting where his creativity was limited, and finally disbanded Tin Machine to work on his own. But the Tin Machine venture did show that Bowie had learned some harsh lessons from the previous decade, and was determined to get serious about concentrating on music more than commercial success.
1992 to 1999: Electronica
In 1992 he performed his hits “Heroes” and “Under Pressure” (with Annie Lennox) at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. 1993 saw the release of the soul, jazz and hip-hop influenced Black Tie White Noise, which reunited Bowie with Let’s Dance producer Nile Rodgers. The album hit the number one spot on the UK charts with singles such as “Jump They Say” (a top 10 hit) and “Miracle Goodnight”.
Bowie explored new directions on The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), based on incidental music composed for a TV series. It contained some of the new elements introduced in Black Tie White Noise, and also signalled a move towards alternative rock. The album was a critical success but received a low-key release and only made number 87 in the UK charts.
The ambitious, quasi-industrial release Outside (1995), conceived as the first volume in a subsequently abandoned non-linear narrative of art and murder, reunited him with Brian Eno. The album introduced the characters of one of Bowie’s short stories, and achieved chart success in both the UK and US.
Receiving some of the strongest critical response since Let’s Dance was Earthling (1997),
1999 to present: Neoclassicist Bowie
In 1998, David Bowie had reunited with Tony Visconti to record a song for The Rugrats Movie called “(Safe in This) Sky Life”. Although the track was edited out of the final cut, and did not feature on the film’s soundtrack album, the reunion led to the pair pursuing a new collaborative effort. “(Safe In This) Sky Life” was later re-recorded and released as a single b-side in 2002 where it was retitled “Safe”. Amongst their earliest work together in this period, was a reworking of Placebo’s track “Without You I’m Nothing”, from the album of the same name – Visconti overseeing the additional production required when Bowie’s harmonised vocal was added to the original version for a strictly limited edition single release.
1999 found Bowie composing the soundtrack for a computer game called “Omikron: The Nomad Soul”. Bowie and his wife, Iman, made appearances as characters in the game. That same year, re-recorded tracks from the game and new music was released in the album ‘hours…’ featured “What’s Really Happening”, the lyrics for which were written by Alex Grant, the winner of Bowie’s “Cyber Song Contest” Internet competition. This album presented Bowie’s exit from heavy electronica, with an emphasis on more live instruments, and, through songs like “Thursday’s Child” and “Survive”, a thematic move into Bowie’s sense of his own aging and sentimentality. After this album, Bowie’s guitarist, Reeves Gabrels, quit working with Bowie, feeling that the music was becoming “too soft”.
Plans surfaced after the release of ‘hours…’ for an album titled Toy, which would feature new versions of some of Bowie’s earliest pieces as well as three new songs. Sessions for the album commenced in 2000, but the album was never released, leaving a number of tracks, some as yet unheard, on the editing floor. Bowie and Visconti continued collaboration with the production of a new album of completely original songs instead. The result of the sessions was the 2002 album Heathen, which had a dark atmospheric sound, and was Bowie’s biggest chart success in recent years. 2002 also saw Bowie curate the annual Meltdown festival in London. Amongst the acts selected by Bowie to perform were Phillip Glass, Television and The Polyphonic Spree. Bowie himself played a show at the Royal Festival Hall which notably included a rare performance of his experimental opus Low in its entirety.
In 2003, a report in the Sunday Express named Bowie as the second-richest entertainer in the UK (behind Sir Paul McCartney), with an estimated fortune of £510 million. However, the 2005 Sunday Times Rich List credited him with a little over £100 million.
In September 2003, Bowie released a new album, Reality, and announced a world tour. ‘A Reality Tour’ was the best-selling tour of the following year. However, it was cut short after Bowie suffered chest pain while performing on stage at the Hurricane Festival in Scheeßel, Germany, on 25 June 2004. Originally thought to be a pinched nerve in his shoulder, the pain was later diagnosed as an acutely blocked artery; an emergency angioplasty was performed at St. Georg Hospital in Hamburg by Dr Karl Heinz Kuck.
He was discharged in early July 2004 and continued to spend time recovering. Bowie later admitted he had suffered a minor heart attack, resulting from years of heavy smoking and touring. The tour was cancelled for the time being, with hopes that he would go back on tour by August, though this did not materialise. He recuperated back in New York City.
In October 2004, Bowie released a live DVD of the tour, entitled A Reality Tour of his performances in Dublin on 22 November and 23 November 2003, which included songs spanning the full length of Bowie’s career, although mostly focusing on his more recent albums.
Still recuperating from his operation, Bowie worked off-stage and relaxed from studio work for the first time in several years. In 2004, a duet of his classic song “Changes” with Butterfly Boucher appeared in Shrek 2. The soundtrack for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou featured David Bowie songs performed in Portuguese by cast member Seu Jorge (who adapted the lyrics to make them relevant to the film’s story). Most of the David Bowie songs featured in the film were originally from David Bowie (debut album), Space Oddity, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Diamond Dogs. Bowie commented, “Had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs acoustically in Portuguese I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with”.
Despite hopes for a comeback, in 2005, Bowie announced that he had made no plans for any performances during the year. After a relatively quiet year, Bowie recorded the vocals for the song “(She Can) Do That”, co-written by Brian Transeau, for the movie Stealth. Rumours flew about the possibility of a new album, but no announcements were made.
David Bowie finally returned to the stage on 8 September 2005, alongside Arcade Fire, for the US nationally televised event Fashion Rocks, his first gig since the heart attack. Bowie has shown interest in the Montreal band since he was seen at one of their shows in New York City nearly a year earlier. Bowie had requested the band to perform at the show, and together they performed the Arcade Fire’s song “Wake Up” from their album Funeral, as well as Bowie’s own “Five Years” and “Life on Mars?”. He joined them again on 15 September 2005, singing “Queen Bitch” and “Wake Up” from Central Park’s Summerstage as part of the CMJ Music Marathon.
Bowie contributed back-up vocals for TV on the Radio’s song “Province” from their album Return to Cookie Mountain. He made other occasional appearances, as in his commercial with Snoop Dogg for XM Satellite Radio. He appeared on Danish alt-rockers Kashmir’s 2005 release, No Balance Palace, which was produced by Tony Visconti. The album also featured a spoken word performance by Lou Reed, making it the second project involving both Bowie and Reed in two years, since Reed’s 2003 The Raven.
On 8 February 2006, David Bowie was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In November, Bowie performed at the Black Ball in New York for the Keep a Child Alive Foundation alongside his wife, Iman, and Alicia Keys. He duetted with Keys on “Changes”, and also performed “Wild is the Wind” and “Fantastic Voyage”.
For 2006, Bowie once again announced a break from performance, but he made a surprise guest appearance at David Gilmour’s 29 May 2006 concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He sang “Arnold Layne” and “Comfortably Numb”, closing the concert. The former performance was released, on 26 December 2006, as a single.
In May 2007, it was announced that Bowie would curate the High Line Festival in the abandoned railway park in New York called the High Line where he would select various musicians and artists to perform.
Bowie contributed backing vocals to two tracks – “Falling Down” and “Fannin’ Street” – on Scarlett Johansson’s 2008 album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head.
On 29 June 2008, Bowie released a new compilation entitled iSELECT. This CD was a collection of personal favourites compiled by Bowie himself and was available exclusively as a free gift with the British newspaper The Mail On Sunday. The compilation is notable in that it only contained one major hit single, “Life on Mars?”, and concentrated on lesser-known album tracks.
Acting career
David Bowie filmography
Bowie’s first major film role in The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976, earned acclaim. Bowie’s character Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien from a planet that is dying from a lack of water. In 1979′s Just a Gigolo, an Anglo-German co-production directed by David Hemmings, Bowie played the lead role of a Prussian officer Paul von Pryzgodski returning from World War I who is discovered by a Baroness (Marlene Dietrich) and put into her Gigolo Stable.
In the 1980s, Bowie continued with film roles and also starred in the Broadway production of The Elephant Man (1980-1981). In 1982, he made a cameo appearance as himself in Christiane F., focusing on a young girl’s drug addiction. Bowie also starred in The Hunger (1983), a revisionist vampire movie with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. In the film, Bowie and Deneuve are vampire lovers, with her having made him a vampire centuries ago. While she is truly ageless, he discovers to his horror that although immortal, he can still age and rapidly becomes a pathetic, monstrous husk as the film progresses. In Nagisa Oshima’s film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), based on Laurens van der Post’s novel The Seed and the Sower, Bowie played Major Jack Celliers, a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp. Another famous musician, Ryuichi Sakamoto, played the camp commandant who begins to be undermined by Celliers’ bizarre behavior. Bowie had a cameo as The Shark in Yellowbeard, a 1983 pirate comedy made by some of the members of Monty Python, and a small part as Colin the hit man in the 1985 film Into the Night. During this time Bowie was also asked to play the villain Max Zorin in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985), but turned down the role, stating that “I didn’t want to spend five months watching my stunt double fall off mountains.”
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence impressed some critics. His next major film project, the rock musical Absolute Beginners (1986), was both a critical and box office disappointment. The same year he appeared in the Jim Henson cult classic, the dark fantasy Labyrinth (1986), playing Jareth, the king of the goblins. Jareth is a powerful, mysterious creature who has an antagonistic yet strangely flirtatious relationship with Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), the film’s teenage heroine. Appearing in heavy make-up and a mane-like wig, Bowie sang a variety of new songs specially composed for the film’s soundtrack. Bowie also played a sympathetic Pontius Pilate in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). He was briefly considered for the role of The Joker by Tim Burton and Sam Hamm for 1989′s Batman. Hamm recalls “David Bowie would be kind of neat because he’s very funny when he does sinister roles”. The role ended up going to Jack Nicholson.
Bowie portrayed a disgruntled restaurant employee opposite Rosanna Arquette in the 1991 film The Linguini Incident, and played mysterious FBI agent Phillip Jeffries in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He took the small but pivotal role of Andy Warhol in Basquiat, artist/director Julian Schnabel’s 1996 biopic of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 1998 Bowie also co-starred in an Italian film called Gunslinger’s Revenge (renamed from the original Il Mio West).
Before appearing in The Hunger, a TV horror serial based on the 1983 movie, Bowie was invited by musician Goldie to play the aging gangster Bernie in Andrew Goth’s Brighton Rock inspired movie, Everybody Loves Sunshine. He played the title role in the 2000 film, Mr. Rice’s Secret, in which he played the neighbour of a terminally ill twelve year old. In 2001, Bowie appeared as himself in the film Zoolander, volunteering himself to be a walkoff judge between Ben Stiller’s character Zoolander, and Owen Wilson’s character, Hansel.
In 2006, Bowie portrayed Nikola Tesla alongside Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in The Prestige, directed by Christopher Nolan. It follows the bitter competition between two magicians around the turn of the century. Bowie has voice-acted in the animated movie Arthur and the Minimoys (known as Arthur and the Invisibles in the U.S.) as the powerful villain Maltazard. He also appeared as himself in an episode of Extras. Bowie (in the context of the show) improvised and sang a song mocking the main character Andy Millman, played by Ricky Gervais. He also lent his voice to the character “Lord Royal Highness” in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “SpongeBob’s Atlantis SquarePantis”. His latest project is a supporting role as Ogilvie in the new film, August,
Personal life
Romantic relationships
Bowie met his first wife Angela Bowie in 1969. According to Bowie, they were “fucking the same bloke” (record executive Calvin Mark Lee).
Bowie married his second wife, the Somali-born supermodel Iman Abdulmajid, in 1992. The couple have a daughter, Alexandria Zahra Jones (known as Lexi), born 15 August 2000, and live in Manhattan and London.
Sexual orientation
Bowie outed himself in an interview with Melody Maker in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as Ziggy Stardust.
In 1993, he made the claim that he had always been a “closet heterosexual”, and that his interest in homosexual and bisexual culture was more a product of the times and situation than his own feelings. Bowie stated, “It wasn’t something I was comfortable with at all.”
Bowie expressed a different view in a 2002 interview with Blender; where he was posed with this question: “You once said that saying you were bisexual was ‘the biggest mistake I ever made’. Do you still believe that?” His response:
Interesting.
Politics
In September 2007, he made a contribution of U.S.$10,000 to the NAACP
Discography
David Bowie discography
Studio albums
* David Bowie (1967)
* Space Oddity (1969)
* The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
* Hunky Dory (1971)
* The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
* Aladdin Sane (1973)
* Pin Ups (1973)
* Diamond Dogs (1974)
* Young Americans (1975)
* Station to Station (1976)
* Low (1977)
* “Heroes” (1977)
* Lodger (1979)
* Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)
* Let’s Dance (1983)
* Tonight (1984)
* Never Let Me Down (1987)
* Black Tie, White Noise (1993)
* The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)
* Outside (1995)
* Earthling (1997)
* ‘hours…’ (1999)
* Heathen (2002)
* Reality (2003)
1944 – One of rock’s maddest geniuses, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, is born in Great Bookham, England.
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943 in Great Bookham, Surrey) is an English rock musician. He is best known as the bass player, main songwriter, and a lead vocalist of the English rock band Pink Floyd from 1964 to 1985. Following his split with Pink Floyd in the 1980s, Waters began a moderately successful solo career, releasing three studio albums, one soundtrack, and staging one of the largest concerts ever, The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. In 2005 he released an opera, Ça Ira, and joined Pink Floyd at the Live 8 concert in London for their first public performance with Waters in 24 years.
Biography
Early years (1943–1965)
Born in Great Bookham, Surrey, Waters grew up in Cambridge. His father Eric Fletcher Waters fought in World War II and died in combat at Anzio in 1944, when Waters was only five months old. Waters would refer or allude to the loss of his father throughout his work, from “Corporal Clegg” (A Saucerful Of Secrets, 1968), through “Free Four” (Obscured By Clouds, 1972) and the sombre “When the Tigers Broke Free”, first used in the movie version of The Wall.
Waters and Syd Barrett attended the Morley Memorial Junior School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and later both attended the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys (now Hills Road Sixth Form College), while fellow band member David Gilmour attended The Perse School on the same road. He met Nick Mason and Rick Wright while attending the Regent Street Polytechnic school of architecture. He was a keen sportsman and was fond of swimming in the River Cam at Grantchester Meadows. At 15 he was chair of YCND in Cambridge.
Pink Floyd years (1965–1985)
In 1965, Roger Waters co-founded Pink Floyd along with Syd Barrett, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. Although Barrett initially did most of the songwriting for the band, Waters wrote the song “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk” on their debut LP, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The album was a critical success and positioned the band for stardom. Barrett’s deteriorating mental health led to increasingly erratic behaviour, rendering him unable to continue in his capacity as Pink Floyd’s lead singer and guitarist. Waters attempted to coerce his friend into psychiatric treatment; this proved unhelpful, and the band approached David Gilmour to replace Barrett at the end of 1967. Even the band’s former managers felt that Pink Floyd would not be able to sustain its initial success without the talented Barrett. Filling the void left by Barrett’s departure, Waters began to chart Pink Floyd’s new artistic direction. The lineup with Gilmour and Waters eventually brought Pink Floyd to prominence, producing a series of albums in the 1970s that remain among the most critically acclaimed and best-selling records of all time.
In 1970, Waters collaborated with British composer Ron Geesin, who co-wrote Pink Floyd’s title suite from Atom Heart Mother, on a soundtrack album, Music from “The Body”, which consisted mostly of instrumentals interspersed with songs composed by Waters. Within Pink Floyd, Waters became the main lyrical contributor, exerting progressively more creative control over the band: he produced thematic ideas that became the impetus for concept albums such as The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, for which he wrote all of the lyrics and some of the music. After this, Waters became the primary songwriter, composing Animals and The Wall largely by himself (though continuing to collaborate with Gilmour on a few tracks).
Waters’ bandmates were happy to allow him to write the band’s lyrics and guide its conceptual direction while they shared the opportunity to contribute musical ideas. This give-and-take relationship began to dissolve: a consequence of the band’s collective ennui, according to Waters. Songwriting credits were a source of contention in these years; Gilmour has noted that his contributions to tracks like “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II”, with its guitar solo, were not always noted in the album credits. Nick Mason addresses the band infighting in his memoir, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, characterizing Waters as egomaniacal at times. It was while recording The Wall that Waters decided to fire Wright, after Wright’s personal problems began to affect the album production. Wright stayed with the band as a paid session musician while Waters led the band through a complete performance of the album on every night of the brief tour that followed, for which Gilmour acted as musical director.
In 1983, the last Waters–Gilmour–Mason collaboration, The Final Cut, was released. The sleeve notes describe it as being a piece “by Roger Waters” that was “performed by Pink Floyd”. Gilmour unsuccessfully tried to delay production on the album until he could author more material; Waters refused, and in 1985, he proclaimed that the band had dissolved due to irreconcilable differences. The ensuing battle between Waters and Gilmour over the latter’s intention to continue to use the name Pink Floyd descended into threatened lawsuits and public bickering in the press. Waters claimed that, as the original band consisted of himself, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason and Richard Wright, Gilmour could not reasonably use the name Pink Floyd now that it was without three of its founding members. Another of Waters’ arguments was that he had written almost all of the band’s lyrics and a great part of the music after Barrett’s departure. However, through agreement, Gilmour and Mason won the right to use the name and a majority of the band’s songs, though Waters did retain the rights to The Wall (save for three of the songs that Gilmour co-wrote), Animals, and The Final Cut, as well as ownership of the Pink Floyd pigs.[citation needed]
Early solo years (1985–2005)
After his departure from Pink Floyd, Waters embarked on a solo career producing three concept albums and a movie soundtrack which did not garner impressive sales. His solo work has managed critical acclaim and even some comparison to previous work with Pink Floyd. His first solo album, 1984′s The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, was a project about a man’s dreams across one night. The list of musicians helping Waters during recording included guitarist Eric Clapton and jazz saxophonist David Sanborn. Conceived around the same time as The Wall, the concept was shown and demos played to the Pink Floyd members, but they chose to proceed with The Wall over The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, rejecting the latter as “too personal”. Gilmour was later to claim that this was not as obvious a task as might first seem, as, in his opinion, both demos were “unlistenable” and “sounded exactly alike.” Longtime Pink Floyd engineer Nick Griffiths, however, says otherwise: “They were seriously rough, but the songs were there.” The album, accompanied by Gerald Scarfe artwork that some claimed was sexist, received mixed reviews, with Kurt Loder describing Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking in Rolling Stone as a “strangely static, faintly hideous record”, adding that “Waters sounds like the kind of guy who’d bring Hershey bars and nylons along on a first date.” On the other end of the spectrum, Mike DeGagne of Allmusic praised the album for its “ingenious symbolism and his brilliant use of stream of consciousness within a subconscious realm”, rating it four out of five stars. The resulting concert tour featuring a set design by Marc Brickman and Mark Fisher of Park Display, and, on the first leg, Clapton on lead guitar, was not a success.
In 1986 Waters contributed songs and a score to the soundtrack of the movie When the Wind Blows, based on the Raymond Briggs book of the same name. His backing band, featuring Paul Carrack, was credited as The Bleeding Heart Band. Waters’ then legal wranglings with Gilmour over the Pink Floyd brand are alluded to on the soundtrack album’s “Towers of Faith”, where the vocal transforms from “This land is my land”, to “This sand is my sand”, to “This band is my band”.
In 1987 Waters released another concept album, Radio K.A.O.S., about a man named Billy who can hear radio waves in his head. Waters followed the release with a supporting tour, also in 1987. Though applauded by many for its contemporary sound[citation needed], the album did not garner the impressive sales he had achieved in Pink Floyd. Years later, Waters himself would express dissatisfaction at the album, expressing distaste for the production, and particularly regretting his decision to trim the album from a double to a single, losing much of the concept in the process.[citation needed] This was possibly attributable to the fact that he was now competing with a reformed Pink Floyd who were touring to support their comeback release, A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Waters staged The Wall Concert in Berlin on July 21, 1990 to commemorate the end of the division between East and West Germany. The concert took place on Potsdamer Platz, part of the former “no-man’s land” of the Berlin Wall, and featured many guest superstars: The Band, Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Van Morrison, Sinéad O’Connor, The Scorpions, Marianne Faithfull, and Joni Mitchell. It was one of the biggest concerts ever staged with an attendance of over 300,000 and was watched live by over five million people worldwide. However, the initial funds raised from the concert barely covered expenses.
Two years later, Waters released 1992′s Amused to Death, about the corrupting, desensitising nature of television. The title drived from the Book “Amusing Ourselves to Death of Neil Postman. It is Waters’ most critically acclaimed solo recording, with music critics comparing it to later Pink Floyd work, such as The Wall (Waters himself describes the record as the third in a thematically-linked trilogy, after Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall). The album had one hit, “What God Wants, Pt. 1″ which hit #4 on Mainstream Rock charts. Jeff Beck played lead guitar on the album. There was no tour in support of this record, because the most part of the songs is impossible to performe live. Roger Waters always declared the necessary of a link between the songs and the show. One of the songs (“Perfect Sense Part II”) is about a attack on a oil rig with a nuclear torpedo, and this would be impossible to perform as a entire show. Although Waters would later perform several songs from this record nearly eight years later on his In the Flesh tours.
In 1999 Waters embarked on the In the Flesh tour which saw him performing some of his most famous work, both solo and Pink Floyd material. The tour was a success in the US, and after Waters had booked mostly smaller venues (after the let-down in attendance from his 1987 tour), tickets sold so well that most of the concerts had to be upgraded to larger venues. With Gilmour’s Pink Floyd retiring after 1994, and many Floyd albums selling at the pace of Beatles records, Waters was in great demand. The tour eventually stretched across the world. Tickets were at such high demand, that the tour had to be spanned over three years. Almost every show was sold out with some venues garnering more sales than Pink Floyd shows of early touring years.[citation needed] One concert was released on CD and DVD, named In the Flesh Live, after the tour. During this tour he played two new songs from his next solo album, “Flickering Flame” and “Each Small Candle”, as the final encore to the show. In June of 2002 Waters played the Glastonbury Festival performing many classic Pink Floyd songs.
Waters, performing live in 2006
Miramax Films announced in mid-2004 that a production of The Wall was to appear on Broadway with Waters playing a prominent part in its production. Reports stated that the musical contained not only the original tracks from “The Wall”, but also songs from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and other Pink Floyd albums, as well as new material. On the night of 1 May 2004, the overture for Ça Ira was pre-premièred on occasion of the Welcome Europe celebrations in the accession country of Malta, performed over Grand Harbour in Valletta and illuminated by light artist Gert Hof.
In September 2004, Waters released two new tracks on the Internet, “To Kill The Child” and “Leaving Beirut.” Both of these tracks were inspired by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Waters, who currently resides in the U.S., has said that the songs were written immediately after the start of the war, but he delayed releasing them until just before the 2004 Presidential election. The lyrics to “Leaving Beirut” contain strong attacks on U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. After the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and subsequent tsunami disaster, Waters performed “Wish You Were Here” with Eric Clapton during a benefit concert on the American network NBC.
Later solo years (since 2005)
Roger Waters performing on his Dark Side Of The Moon Live tour at the Members Equity Stadium in Perth, Australia in 2007
In February of 2005, it was announced on Roger Waters’ website that his opera, Ça Ira, had been completed after 16 years of work. It was released as a CD/DVD set by Sony Classical on September 27, 2005 with Baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Ying Huang and tenor Paul Groves. The original libretto was written in French by the late Étienne Roda-Gil, who set the opera during the early French Revolution. From 1997 Waters rewrote the libretto in English.
On July 2, 2005 Waters and Pink Floyd reunited for a performance at the Live 8 concert. They played a six-song, 23-minute set, including “Speak to Me/Breathe”/”Breathe (Reprise)”, “Money”, “Wish You Were Here”, and “Comfortably Numb”. Waters remarked shortly after Live 8 to the Associated Press that, while the experience of playing as Pink Floyd again was positive, the chances of a bona fide reunion would be “slight”, considering his and Gilmour’s continuing musical and ideological differences. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Waters further denied the possibility of a future Pink Floyd tour, saying “I didn’t mind rolling over for one day, but I couldn’t roll over for a whole fucking tour.” He has since stated on a radio interview that he would be interested in the possibility of recording a new album with the rest of Pink Floyd as long as he had creative control. However, David Gilmour has said on several occasions that he is retired from extensive touring, shedding more doubt on the possibility of a Pink Floyd reunion tour.
However, more recently, Roger has become more open to the idea of a Pink Floyd reunion tour, stating during the BBC documentary “Which One’s Pink”, “It was really cool, I’d like to do more of it”, and at the end of the program, stated “I don’t think it will happen but I’d like…well, you can ask David when you speak to him.”
Waters is known to be working on two new solo albums; one has the working title of Heartland. Two new songs that might appear on this album have been released on Flickering Flame: The Solo Years Vol. 1: “Each Small Candle” and “Flickering Flame”. The other of the two albums deals with the theme of love, much in the vein of Pros and Cons. A work-in-progress, which may appear on this album and was dubbed “Woman” by bootleggers, was heard during the sound checks for the In the Flesh tour. However, in a recent telephone interview, he confirmed that the release of his next project has been delayed due to not having a concept to draw all the individual songs together into one piece.
Solid state laser system designed by Marc Brickman that depicted Dark Side of the Moon album art, used on Waters’ latest tour.
Solid state laser system designed by Marc Brickman that depicted Dark Side of the Moon album art, used on Waters’ latest tour.
Roger Waters toured Europe and North America during 2006 for his The Dark Side of the Moon Live Tour. As part of his performance he played a complete run-through of the 1973 Pink Floyd classic, The Dark Side of the Moon, as the second half of the show. The first half was a mix of Floyd classics and Waters’ solo material. Elaborate staging designed by Marc Brickman, complete with projections, and a full, 360 degree quadrophonic sound system were used. This new Waters’ solo tour is expected to be as successful as his previous In the Flesh tour. His former Pink Floyd bandmate, Nick Mason joined Waters on some of the tour dates. Richard Wright was invited to participate on the tour as well but he declined the offer to work on solo projects. There is also a 2007 leg of the Tour, starting in January in Australia, followed by New Zealand and going through Asia, Europe, South America, and finally North America in June.
Waters’ former bandmate Nick Mason began patching their relationship in 2002. After speaking to Mason and Bob Geldof about a possible Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8, Waters contacted Gilmour by phone and e-mail, and it appears that they have buried the hatchet since the historic concert and now communicate on a friendly basis. Waters has made overtures to Richard Wright, as well. Syd Barrett, who died on Friday 7 July 2006, remained an emotional subject for most of his friends and former colleagues. Waters said in interviews before Barrett’s death that it would be difficult and inappropriate for him to try to insert himself back into his old friend’s life. Waters performed another Dark Side of the Moon concert in the summer of 2007.
On July 7, 2007, Waters played at the American leg of the Live Earth concert, an international multi-venue concert aimed to raise awareness about global climate change, featuring the Trenton Youth Choir and his trademark inflatable pig. Waters has also recently become a spokesperson for Millennium Promise, a non-profit organisation that helps fight extreme poverty and malaria, and wrote a commentary for CNN’s website on June 11, 2007 about the topic. After wrapping up a performance at the Coachella Festival in April, Waters will continue his The Dark Side of the Moon Live tour in 2008.
Waters has made his views about the 2008 United States Presidential election clear. During his concert appearance at the Coachella Festival, he released the trademark Pink Floyd inflatable pig into the air with the words “Don’t be led to the slaughter” written on one side, next to a cartoon of Uncle Sam holding meat cleavers. “Fear builds walls” was written on the pig’s other side and “Impeach Bush” on the pig’s behind. On the pig’s belly was Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s name with a check mark beside it. Waters has referred to Hillary Clinton, another Democratic candidate, as “ghastly”. During an interview on the subject of the 2008 Presidential election Waters also revealed his atheism, saying: “Please, God – I’m an atheist so maybe I shouldn’t be asking God – but let Barack Obama finally win the Democratic nomination and elect a person who seems to be not just enormously intelligent but also deeply humane and seems to have an imagination.”
Pink Floyd songs composed by Roger Waters
* “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk” from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).
* “Julia Dream” from Single B-side to “It Would Be So Nice” (1968).
* “Let There Be More Light” from A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).
* “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” from A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).
* “Corporal Clegg” from A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).
* “Cirrus Minor” from Soundtrack from the Film More (1969).
* “The Nile Song from Soundtrack from the Film More (1969).
* “Crying Song” from Soundtrack from the Film More (1969).
* “Green is the Colour” from Soundtrack from the Film More (1969).
* “Cymbaline” from Soundtrack from the Film More (1969).
* “Grantchester Meadows” from Ummagumma (1969).
* “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” from Ummagumma (1969).
* “If” from Atom Heart Mother (1970).
* “Biding My Time” from Relics (1971).
* “San Tropez” from Meddle (1971).
* “Free Four” from Obscured by Clouds (1972).
* “Money” from Dark Side of the Moon (1973).
* “Brain Damage” from Dark Side of the Moon (1973).
* “Eclipse” from Dark Side of the Moon (1973).
* “Have a Cigar” from Wish You Were Here (1975).
* “Welcome to the Machine” from Wish You Were Here (1975).
* All tracks on Animals except “Dogs” (1977).
* All tracks on The Wall except “Young Lust”, “Comfortably Numb” , “Run Like Hell” and “The Trial” (1979).
* All tracks on The Final Cut (1983).
* “Embryo” from Works (1983).
Hits and awards
Waters’ solo singles have seen little chart activity; “What God Wants, Pt. 1″ reached #35 in the UK in September 1992. His first major solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, has been certified Gold by the RIAA, and his opera Ça Ira reached #1 on both the UK and U.S. Classical Charts. Waters has also been inducted into the U.S. and UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd, and received a “Media Event of the Year” award for mounting The Wall Live in Berlin.
Solo discography
For his work with Pink Floyd, see Pink Floyd discography between 1967 and 1983
28 November 1970 Music from The Body (with Ron Geesin)
30 April 1984 The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking
15 June 1987 Radio K.A.O.S.
10 September 1990 The Wall – Live in Berlin
7 September 1992 Amused to Death
5 December 2000 In the Flesh – Live
13 May 2002 Flickering Flame: The Solo Years Volume 1
26 September 2005 Ça Ira
1927 – Record executive Mo Ostin is born in New York. The artist-friendly legend ran Reprise with Frank Sinatra, signed Jimi Hendrix, and helped lure R.E.M. to Warner Bros.
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