Andy Warhol: A Biography - Wayne Koestenbaum - Google Books

song by David Bowie

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

Background

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 corrects him.

Scott then solemnly reintroduces the take with the correct pronunciation, and Bowie asks if the tape is rolling.

Andy warhol autobiography book review

Tastemakers cycle in and out of the collective consciousness, with the rare exception of a few who become mainstays, weathering the whims and follies of fleeting trends. One such artist, Andy Warhol, would probably be delighted that he has long surpassed his allotted fifteen minutes of fame. For the better part of a century, his star has continued to rise, casting a halo on any who sparkled in his constellation—there have been countless movies, songs, and novels that orbit his influence. And for good reason: At his best, Warhol was a provocateur, probing the limits of art, film, and attitude with equal measure. Many in his galaxy plummeted back to earth eventually—perhaps cloaking him, his superstars, and hangers-on in even more mystery and fascination.

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 , but her version of the song was not released until on her album Weren't Born a Man.

Bowie produced Gillespie's version and Ronson also plays guitar.^[2] Gillespie performed the song in on the Dutch television programme TopPop.^[3]

Warhol's reaction

Bowie, an admirer of Warhol, sent him a copy of Hunky Dory and performed "Andy Warhol" for him in person at Warhol's studio the Factory in New York in September , before the album was released.

But due to Warhol's typically minimal reaction, Bowie was never sure if he liked it.^[4] Tony Zanetta, who had brought Bowie to the Factory and later portrayed Warhol in Warhol's first play, Pork (), maintained that Warhol "didn't say anything but absolutely hated it".^[1]

Other releases

The song was released as the B-side of the single "Changes" in January ^[5] It also appeared on the Japanese compilation The Best of David Bowie from 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 boxed set Five Years (–).

Live versions

A performance sung by Dana Gillespie was recorded for BBC Radio's In Concert strand on 3 June , presented by John Peel and first broadcast on 20 June that year.^[6] Bowie played this song at BBC's Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris on 23 May This was broadcast on 19 June , and in was released on the Bowie at the Beeb album.

A performance recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October has been released on Santa Monica '72 and Live Santa Monica '72. The song was a regular performance, but it was not played again until the Outside Tour with Nine Inch Nails.^[7] One live performance from was released in on the live album Ouvre le Chien (Live Dallas 95).

Andy warhol biography Andy Warhol: A Biography. Wayne Koestenbaum. Eligible info. Switch to the audiobook. An intimate depiction of the visionary who revolutionized the art world A man who created portraits of the rich and powerful, Andy Warhol was one of the most incendiary figures in American culture, a celebrity whose star shone as brightly as those of the Marilyns and Jackies whose likenesses brought him renown.

A November tour rehearsal recording of the song, which originally aired on a BBC radio broadcast in , was released in on the album ChangesNowBowie.^[8]

Personnel

Homages

A riff from "Andy Warhol" (at ) is quoted in Metallica's song Master of Puppets (at ). It is an homage made by Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett to whom Bowie was a huge influence.^[10] Rock band Stone Temple Pilots covered the song in their MTV Unplugged performance in

References

Works cited

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