It's a great song but it's imprint on the general consciousness now is nonetheless such that I was 99pc sure opening the thread that it was going to be a death notice (as opposed to just randomly stating what a great song it was)
Was used on some shyt ED pill advert a few years back which isn't so great but at least kept it in play a bit
Yes, I mentioned that I actually met him on a thread that I started earlier today on this. He actually was a very well-read guy and very interesting in many ways despite being a bit of an egomaniac (but deffo not Brainiac!)
When I lived out near canning town our local was a boat on royal victoria dock. Every friday the publican would get his acoustic out and sing cockney rebel (I am fairly sure it was the onky thing he could play).
Good lad.
Invented windsurfing.*
*whilst that sounds like a cross between a chambers anecdote and dr evil, it is actually true. There is even a court case deciding it
Long ago, ‘when I were a lad’, I was taken to a big event at Crystal Palace where Steve and Cockney Rebel were headlining (at the height of their fame).
The stage there had a significantly sized pool of water in front of it and when Harley played one of his biggest hits ‘Mr Soft’ which contained the lyrics …”put your feet upon the waters and play Jesus for the day”, Steve Harley to everyone’s amazement started himself to walk out on the water over the pond.
A clever trick - he’d had a walkway secretly constructed just below the waterline - and was an unusual form of self-marketing which critics used against him to re-enforce his ‘egomaniac’ image, but, hey, as the episode was talked about in media circles for years afterwards he may well have taken the view that ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ anyway!
That song alone will keep his family safe for generations. I never got into them generally tbh, all a bit mannered, but you can see the glam influence in velvet goldmine, an underrated film.
his family won't earn a further bean from it - he sold his catalogue last year and did an interview in The Times about how it was a great decision. I guess he was death-cleaning? He was big into the gee-gees and cars - he was selling all sorts of stuff last year.
i gather that there's an interesting story behind that song, as it doesn't actually appear on any of their original albums.
As was often the case in those days the Record Companies principal means of publicity for their artists was to get radio play, and when they listened to the new album which was ready to go out, some senior guys complained: "good album, but I don't hear the single".
So Steve Harley just said: "Ok, then, I'll write you one" and a few days later 'Judy Teen' was cut and ready to be released, essentially just as a promo.
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Love that song. Generation thing perhaps OG. What do today's kids know eh?
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Fabulous music back then. Talented artists.
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One of the biggest tunes of the 70s. Immense.
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It's a great song but it's imprint on the general consciousness now is nonetheless such that I was 99pc sure opening the thread that it was going to be a death notice (as opposed to just randomly stating what a great song it was)
Was used on some shyt ED pill advert a few years back which isn't so great but at least kept it in play a bit
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Another one is 'Here Comes the Sun'. That was originally written by the great George Harrison.
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Harley wrote that song when he was in a big dispute with the rest of the band. The acoustic guitar solo is timeless.
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Yes, I mentioned that I actually met him on a thread that I started earlier today on this. He actually was a very well-read guy and very interesting in many ways despite being a bit of an egomaniac (but deffo not Brainiac!)
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The guy who did the guitar solo was Jim Cregan who later worked with Rod Stewart. I think Tina Charles was one of the backing singers.
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Wasn’t it prominent in the full Monty as well? It was a massive hit again in the 90s based on a British film anyway, that’s how I became aware of it.
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I liked Judy Teen.
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When I lived out near canning town our local was a boat on royal victoria dock. Every friday the publican would get his acoustic out and sing cockney rebel (I am fairly sure it was the onky thing he could play).
Good lad.
Invented windsurfing.*
*whilst that sounds like a cross between a chambers anecdote and dr evil, it is actually true. There is even a court case deciding it
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Long ago, ‘when I were a lad’, I was taken to a big event at Crystal Palace where Steve and Cockney Rebel were headlining (at the height of their fame).
The stage there had a significantly sized pool of water in front of it and when Harley played one of his biggest hits ‘Mr Soft’ which contained the lyrics …”put your feet upon the waters and play Jesus for the day”, Steve Harley to everyone’s amazement started himself to walk out on the water over the pond.
A clever trick - he’d had a walkway secretly constructed just below the waterline - and was an unusual form of self-marketing which critics used against him to re-enforce his ‘egomaniac’ image, but, hey, as the episode was talked about in media circles for years afterwards he may well have taken the view that ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ anyway!
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That song alone will keep his family safe for generations. I never got into them generally tbh, all a bit mannered, but you can see the glam influence in velvet goldmine, an underrated film.
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his family won't earn a further bean from it - he sold his catalogue last year and did an interview in The Times about how it was a great decision. I guess he was death-cleaning? He was big into the gee-gees and cars - he was selling all sorts of stuff last year.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/steve-harley-interview-cockney-rebel-come-up-and-see-me-uncovered-album-9m29p8qdm
and this piece from the Times last year was much nicer than the obit they cobbled together: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/steve-harley-rock-star-i-looked-like-a-teacher-3hltnc9n3
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I am a fan of the 70's glam rock era. I have never seen 'Velvet Goldmine' but will put it on my to see list.
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How much did he get for it?
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I liked Judy Teen
i gather that there's an interesting story behind that song, as it doesn't actually appear on any of their original albums.
As was often the case in those days the Record Companies principal means of publicity for their artists was to get radio play, and when they listened to the new album which was ready to go out, some senior guys complained: "good album, but I don't hear the single".
So Steve Harley just said: "Ok, then, I'll write you one" and a few days later 'Judy Teen' was cut and ready to be released, essentially just as a promo.
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A well worn story. But how much did he get for his catalogue?
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