Andy Warhol (song)

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"Andy Warhol"
Song

"Andy Warhol" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's greatest inspirations, the American pop artist Andy Warhol.

The song starts with some studio chat where Bowie explains to producer Ken Scott, who has just been heard to mispronounce Warhol's name when introducing the take, the right way to say it. Scott solemnly reintroduces the take with the correct pronunciation. There follows several seconds of silence before Bowie asks if the tape is rolling. Upon realising they are indeed recording, Bowie bursts into laughter and begins playing.

The song is memorable for its distinctive, flamenco-sounding opening riff on the acoustic guitar, which continues through the track. This riff was borrowed by Metallica for the midsection of their song 'Master Of Puppets', as confirmed by Kirk Hammett in an interview with journalist Mitch Lafon shortly after Bowie's death.[1]

Originally the song was written for Dana Gillespie, who recorded it in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1973 on her album Weren't Born a Man. Both versions feature Mick Ronson on guitar.

Other releases

  • It was released as the B-side of the single "Changes" in January 1972.
  • It also appeared on the Japanese compilation The Best of David Bowie from 1974.
  • An edited version, with the dialogue in the introduction cut, features on the 2005 compilation The Collection.

Personnel

Live versions

  • A performance sung by Dana Gillespie was recorded for BBC Radio's In Concert strand on 3 June 1971, presented by John Peel and first broadcast on June 20 that year.[2]
  • A performance recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 20, 1972 has been released on Santa Monica '72 and Live Santa Monica '72.
  • Bowie played this song at BBC's Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris May 23, 1972. This was broadcast June 19, 1972, and in 2000 released on the Bowie at the Beeb album
  • The song was a 1972 regular performance, but it was not played again until the 1995 Outside Tour with Nine Inch Nails.[3]

Cover versions

References

  1. http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/kirk-hammett-david-bowie-was-a-pretty-huge-influence-on-me-and-other-people-in-metallica/
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. http://www.setlist.fm/stats/spooky-ghost-7bd3c2ac.html

External links