The Guess Who tried to use the cover picture on David Bowie's 1973 album "Aladdin Sane" with a circle around it saying "Not Just Another Pretty Body" in an ad campaign they were launching for this single. Needless to say, they didn't get away with it. In this case, I can't agree with the target choice. Bowie was not just a pretty body - he was a vaudevillian, a social commentator, a superb lyricist, a storyteller and a musical revolutionary wrapped into one. Still, I'm also a big fan of Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Clash and many other seminal punk bands. Bowie aside, glam was becoming somewhat oppressive in its entirety, and songs like this had to be written in order to pull rock 'n' roll back down to where it came from. Spectacle is great for a while. Then it becomes detached and disassociated, and leads to depression.
P.S. Another fact in Bowie's defence was that, regardless of whether or not you dig his work, he always did whatever he was doing to perfection. It wasn't just throwing on some makeup and a dress. His performances were a work of art, akin to Cirque Du Soleil and its magnificent shows. Perhaps that's what this song is harping at - the costumes and sets that ate away so much of the artist/band's finances that they ended up living in cheap motels while they paid of their debts. In retrospect, it's all rather amusing.
@NellieWhiskey Burton Cummings on "Glamour Boy" in 2016.[3]
@NellieWhiskey Burton Cummings on "Glamour Boy" in 2016.[3]
One of my all time favourites. It was originally inspired by David Bowie, and now that he's gone I can kinda do it as a tribute to his amazing career. I was very threatened ... I felt very threatened when David Bowie came along, because it all changed. Music took second or third place to the appearance, and then theatrics came into Rock n Roll...
One of my all time favourites. It was originally inspired by David Bowie, and now that he's gone I can kinda do it as a tribute to his amazing career. I was very threatened ... I felt very threatened when David Bowie came along, because it all changed. Music took second or third place to the appearance, and then theatrics came into Rock n Roll...
The Guess Who tried to use the cover picture on David Bowie's 1973 album "Aladdin Sane" with a circle around it saying "Not Just Another Pretty Body" in an ad campaign they were launching for this single. Needless to say, they didn't get away with it. In this case, I can't agree with the target choice. Bowie was not just a pretty body - he was a vaudevillian, a social commentator, a superb lyricist, a storyteller and a musical revolutionary wrapped into one. Still, I'm also a big fan of Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Clash and many other seminal punk bands. Bowie aside, glam was becoming somewhat oppressive in its entirety, and songs like this had to be written in order to pull rock 'n' roll back down to where it came from. Spectacle is great for a while. Then it becomes detached and disassociated, and leads to depression.
P.S. Another fact in Bowie's defence was that, regardless of whether or not you dig his work, he always did whatever he was doing to perfection. It wasn't just throwing on some makeup and a dress. His performances were a work of art, akin to Cirque Du Soleil and its magnificent shows. Perhaps that's what this song is harping at - the costumes and sets that ate away so much of the artist/band's finances that they ended up living in cheap motels while they paid of their debts. In retrospect, it's all rather amusing.
@NellieWhiskey Burton Cummings on "Glamour Boy" in 2016.[3]
@NellieWhiskey Burton Cummings on "Glamour Boy" in 2016.[3]
One of my all time favourites. It was originally inspired by David Bowie, and now that he's gone I can kinda do it as a tribute to his amazing career. I was very threatened ... I felt very threatened when David Bowie came along, because it all changed. Music took second or third place to the appearance, and then theatrics came into Rock n Roll...
One of my all time favourites. It was originally inspired by David Bowie, and now that he's gone I can kinda do it as a tribute to his amazing career. I was very threatened ... I felt very threatened when David Bowie came along, because it all changed. Music took second or third place to the appearance, and then theatrics came into Rock n Roll...