Darcy Clay (born Daniel Robert Bolton, 5 December 1972 – 15 March 1998) was a New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician, who was made famous in 1997 for his Number 5 hit "
Jesus I Was Evil
''Jesus I Was Evil'' is an EP by New Zealand musician Darcy Clay. It was released on Antenna Records in 1997. All songs except for "In The Middle" were recorded on a 4-Track. "Jolene" is a cover of the Dolly Parton song
A song is a ...
", in which he recorded all of the instruments in his bedroom on a
4-track recorder. He was signed to
Antenna Records
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
.
Background
Darcy grew up in
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. When he was 14 years old he spent 9 months living in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia and later lived for 18 months in the
Blue Mountains of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia with his Aunt, Che, her husband, Peter, and his cousin, Madelaine.
Darcy Clay's favourite bands were
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...
,
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...
,
AC-DC,
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, and a variety of other metal bands and a broad variety of country and other western music. He very much enjoyed "The Highwaymen" and had a deep appreciation of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
. All of his songs on the EP "Jesus I was Evil" were written (except "
Jolene"), played (all instruments and vocals), recorded, and produced by Darcy Clay alone.
Music
Clay's entire career output consisted of two six track
EPs, ''Jesus I Was Evil'' and (posthumously) a live EP ''Songs For Beethoven'', recorded on
DAT tape when he opened for
Blur's 1997 New Zealand performance (including a solo performance of
Candle in the Wind
"Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier.
In 1997, John perfor ...
, the tribute to
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
written by
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
and
Bernie Taupin
Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...
who later re-recorded it as a tribute to
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, who had died less than two months beforehand). The two EPs were reissued back to back as an album entitled ''Darcy Anthology'', featuring a bonus CD of all of Darcy Clay music videos, interview footage and press clippings created before his death in 1998.
His music has been described as "country-fried punk rock" - his ''Jesus I Was Evil'' EP featured a cover of
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
's ''
Jolene'', amongst other somewhat country-flavoured rock songs.
Clay's song "All I Gotta Do" was covered by English rock band Hot Leg as the b-side to their 2009 single "Cocktails".
Clay's song "Jesus I Was Evil" was covered by Australian group Butterfingers.
Awards
Death
Darcy Clay died by suicide on 15 March 1998. At the time of his suicide Clay was scheduled to perform on 9 April 1998 at the Levi's Life Festival, a suicide prevention and awareness event.
References
External links
Darcy Clay profile audioculture.co.nz
Darcy Clay, ten years on The Sunday Star-Times
The ''Sunday Star-Times'' is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand. ...
, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Darcy
1972 births
1998 suicides
APRA Award winners
New Zealand male singer-songwriters
20th-century New Zealand male singers
Suicides in New Zealand