"Andy Warhol" is a song written by English singer-songwriter
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
in 1971 for the album ''
Hunky Dory
''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...
''. It is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's early artist inspirations, the American pop artist
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
.
Background
The album track opens with a series of strange electronic tones which fades into studio chatter in which producer
Ken Scott
Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is a British record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, the Jef ...
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. 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
Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...
on acoustic guitar.
Originally the song was written for
Dana Gillespie
Dana Gillespie (born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie, 30 March 1949) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved in the recording of over ...
, who recorded it in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1973 on her album ''Weren't Born a Man''. Bowie produced Gillespie's version and Ronson also plays guitar. Gillespie performed the song in 1974 on the Dutch television programme ''
TopPop
''TopPop'' is the first regular dedicated pop music television series in the Dutch language area. The Netherlands broadcaster AVRO aired the programme weekly, from 22 September 1970, to 27 June 1988. Presenter Ad Visser hosted for its first fift ...
''.
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
The Factory was Andy Warhol's studio in New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famed for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities and Warhol's superstar ...
in New York in September 1971, before the album was released. But due to Warhol's typically minimal reaction, Bowie was never sure if he liked it. Tony Zanetta, who had brought Bowie to the Factory and later portrayed Warhol in Warhol's first play, ''
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
'' (1971), maintained that Warhol "didn't say anything but absolutely hated it".
Other releases
The song was released as the B-side of the single "
Changes
Changes may refer to:
Books
* ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series
* ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
" 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, as it was on the US single version, is included on ''Re:Call 1'', part of the 2015 boxed set ''
Five Years (1969–1973)
''Five Years (1969–1973)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in September 2015. The period of Bowie's career from 1969 to 1973 is summarised over twelve discs and thirteen LPs. Exclusive to the box sets is ''R ...
.''
Live versions
A performance sung by
Dana Gillespie
Dana Gillespie (born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie, 30 March 1949) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved in the recording of over ...
was recorded for BBC Radio's In Concert strand on 3 June 1971, presented by John Peel and first broadcast on 20 June that year. Bowie played this song at
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
on 23 May 1972. This was broadcast on 19 June 1972, and in 2000 was released on the ''
'' album. A performance recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 has been released on ''
''. The song was a 1972 regular performance, but it was not played again until the 1995 ''
. One live performance from 1995 was released in 2020 on the live album ''
''. 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''.
(at 6'19"). It is an homage made by
to whom Bowie was a huge influence.