Andy Warhol (song)
"Andy Warhol" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's early artist inspirations, the American pop artist Andy Warhol.
| "Andy Warhol" | |
|---|---|
| Song by David Bowie | |
| from the album Hunky Dory | |
| Released | 17 December 1971 |
| Recorded | Summer 1971 |
| Studio | Trident, London |
| Genre | Glam rock, art rock, psychedelic folk |
| Length | 3:56 |
| Label | RCA |
| Songwriter(s) | David Bowie |
| Producer(s) | Ken Scott, David Bowie |
The album track opens with a series of strange electronic tones which fades into studio chatter in which producer Ken Scott mispronounces Warhol's name and Bowie repeatedly demonstrates how to say it properly. Scott then solemnly reintroduces the take with the correct pronunciation, and Bowie asks if the tape is rolling. Upon realising he is indeed being recorded, Bowie bursts into laughter and the song proper begins.
The song is memorable for a distinctive repeated riff played by Mick Ronson on acoustic guitar.
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.
Bowie, an admirer of Warhol, sent the artist an advanced copy of Hunky Dory and performed "Andy Warhol" for him in person at Warhol's The Factory in New York in September 1971, before the album had been released. But due to Warhol's typically minimal reaction, Bowie was never sure if he liked it or not.[1]
Other releases
- The song was released as the B-side of the single "Changes" in January 1972.[2]
- It also appeared on the Japanese compilation The Best of David Bowie from 1974.
- An edited version, with the dialogue in the introduction cut, as it was on the US single version, is included on Re:Call 1, part of the 2015 boxed set Five Years (1969–1973).
Personnel
- David Bowie: lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electronic sounds
- Mick Ronson: acoustic guitar, percussion
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.[3]
- Bowie played this song at BBC's Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris on May 23, 1972. This was broadcast on June 19, 1972, and in 2000 was released on the Bowie at the Beeb album.
- A performance recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 20, 1972 has been released on Santa Monica '72 and Live Santa Monica '72.
- The song was a 1972 regular performance, but it was not played again until the 1995 Outside Tour with Nine Inch Nails.[4] One live performance from 1995 was released in 2020 on the live album Ouvre le Chien (Live Dallas 95).
- A November 1996 tour rehearsal recording of the song, which originally aired on a BBC radio broadcast in 1997, was released in 2020 on the album ChangesNowBowie.[5]
Cover versions
- Part-time Bowie guitarist Spooky Ghost has been known to play this song live with his wife and daughter singing backup vocals.[6]
- Stone Temple Pilots covered the song several times in concert. A live version appears as a B-side of their 1994 single "Vasoline".
- John Frusciante, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, covered the song during some of his solo shows.
- Generation X covered the song at least once in concert, at the Paris Theatre on January 1, 1981.
- Treepeople recorded a version on their 1991 album "Guilt Regret Embarrassment"
- Dinosaur Jr.'s 1991 David Bowie cover of "Quicksand" (included in the EP Whatever's Cool With Me) begins with the flamenco opening of "Andy Warhol".
- London based band Serafin included a version as a b-side to their 2003 single "Things Fall Apart".
- Rachel Stevens' song Funky Dory is built around a sample of this song. David Bowie is credited as a co-writer.
- Chris Brokaw included an instrumental, Spanish guitar rendition of Bowie's "Andy Warhol" in his 2017 album The Hand That Wrote This Letter
References
- TheBestOfVoxPop (25 February 2013). "David Bowie: On Andy Warhol (Interview - 1987)" – via YouTube.
- "Changes" (Single liner notes). David Bowie. UK: RCA Victor. 1972. RCA 2160.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "11/01/2016, Marc Riley - BBC Radio 6 Music". BBC. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
- "Andy Warhol: David Bowie". Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (25 April 2020). "ChangesNowBowie – David Bowie". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- "Spooky Ghost Tour Statistics - setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm.
