"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" is a song by the English musician

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 ...

from his 1999 album '' Hours''. Written by Bowie and

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

, its title references past songs such as "

Oh! You Pretty Things "Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on his 1971 album ''Hunky Dory''. It was the first song he wrote for the album. Bowie recorded the song as a demo before giving it to singer Peter Noo ...

" and

the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

' ''

Raw Power ''Raw Power'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Stooges (credited as Iggy and the Stooges), released on February 7, 1973 by Columbia Records. The album departed from the "groove-ridden, feel-based songs" of the band's first two ...

'' track "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell". On ''Hours'', the song is a rockier number that contains elements of 1970s

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

. The lyrics offer views on disillusionment and aging. The song was first released in a different mix in the film ''

Stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

'' before being released as the first single from the album in Australia and Japan, replacing " Thursday's Child". An unreleased

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was filmed that depicted Bowie encountering several of his past personas. It was performed live in 1999 and 2000.

Writing and recording

"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" was written by

and

between late 1998 and early 1999 for a proposed solo album for the latter. Unlike other tracks written for what became the '' Hours'' album, the track was not planned for the '' Omikron: The Nomad Soul'' video game. The track was also written in a more conventional style reminiscent of Bowie's mid-1980s works, compared to the experimental cut-up nature of his other 1990s recordings. Bowie wrote lyrics using an instrumental track as a basis; the final track's title references ''

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 ...

'' "

" (1971), ''

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on ba ...

'' "Pretty Thing" (1989), the 1960s group

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song "Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Unit ...

(whom Bowie covered on 1973's ''

Pin Ups ''Pin Ups'' (also referred to as ''Pinups'' and ''Pin-Ups'') is the seventh studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 19October 1973 through RCA Records. Devised as a "stop-gap" album to appease his record label, it is a cove ...

'') and

' ''

'' track "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell", mixed by Bowie. The song was recorded between February and June 1999 between Looking Glass and

Chung King Studios Chung King Studios was a recording studio that operated in New York City under that name from 1986 to 2015. It was founded by producer John King and engineer Steve Ett with financial backing from the Etches brothers, occupying three different locat ...

in New York City. Bowie and Gabrels performed most of the instruments themselves, with

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

by bassist

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, D ...

and drummer Mike Levesque. According to Gabrels, the song was one of the first recorded but one of the last to receive vocals. He later said: "I thought that it was going to remain unfinished but it lived through David's period of dislike for it to become a fan favourite." According to Plati, he and Gabrels went for a "bonehead" sound, or "playing the simplest Neanderthal part possible". He also said that Levesque played under the influence of a biography on

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

drummer Keith Moon, leading to, in Chris O'Leary's words, a mirage of "wild fills and kick and snare hits spiced with tambourine and cowbell".

Music and lyrics

"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" is the rockiest piece on ''Hours'', meshing a glam-

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

baseline with guitar elements of " Little Wonder" (1997) and percussion of "

Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...

" (1974). Author Dave Thompson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

describes the song as a "guitar-scything glam anthem" that dates back to the glam-era tracks "

All the Young Dudes "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to ...

" (1972) and "

Rebel Rebel "Rebel Rebel" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released in the UK in February 1974 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album ''Diamond Dogs''. Written and produced by Bowie, the song is based around a distinctiv ...

" (1974). Conversely, author James E. Perone likened the song to late 1970s and early 1980s

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

and new wave. David Buckley calls the guitar riff the finest Gabrels ever wrote for a Bowie song. For the lyrics, Bowie was inspired by the "bright young things" in

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

's ''

Vile Bodies Vile may refer to: Characters * Vile (Mega Man X), a character from the Mega Man X game series * Doctor Vile (Dr. Weil), a character from the Mega Man Zero game series * V.I.L.E., a fictional villain group in the ''Carmen Sandiego'' franchise ...

'' (1930), the same novel that influenced 1973's " Aladdin Sane". He explained: "I think their day is numbered. So I thought, well, let's close them off. They wore it well but they did wear themselves out... there's not much room for that now. It's a very serious little world." With humorous comments such as "they wore it out but they wore it well", the lyrics focus on disillusionment and match the general mood of the ''Hours'' album, offering looks on aging and cultural critiques similar to "

Teenage Wildlife "Teenage Wildlife" is a song written by David Bowie in 1980 for the album '' Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)''. Running at almost seven minutes, the song was the longest track on ''Scary Monsters'', and Bowie's longest composition since "Station ...

" and "

Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

" (both 1980). Perone calls the song a "strong counterbalance" to the "positivism" of "Thursday's Child".

Release

''Hours'' was first released through Bowie's website

BowieNet BowieNet was an Internet service provider launched by singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1998 and active until 2012. History Bowie was an early user of the Internet, reportedly using email as early as the late 1980s, and in 1996 he released the son ...

on 21 September 1999, followed by an official CD release on 4 October through

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

; it was the first album released for download through the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. On ''Hours'', "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" was sequenced as the seventh track, between "What's Really Happening?" and "New Angels of Promise". Before its release on ''Hours'', "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" first appeared in remixed form in the film ''

''; the soundtrack album mix differs from the film mix, and another variant appeared on the CD single for " Survive". The ''Stigmata'' version also featured in the ''Omikron: The Nomad Soul'' game. Thompson describes the ''Omikron'' version as "unfamiliarly relaxed, but nevertheless entertaining". The original ''Hours'' version replaced "Thursday's Child" as the first single from the album in Australia and Japan in September 1999. A shortened US promo edit, plus the two ''Stigmata'' mixes, later appeared on the 2004 bonus disc of ''Hours''. An unreleased

for "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" was shot by "

I'm Afraid of Americans "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released as a single from his album '' Earthling'' on 14 October 1997 through Virgin Records. The song was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno and originally recorded during th ...

" directors

Dom and Nic dom&nic is the working name of directors Nic Goffey and Dominic Hawley. They have been directing music videos and commercials since 1994. They have won numerous awards for their work, including the Gold Lion at the 1999 Cannes International Adv ...

on 7 September 1999 at the Kit Kat Club in New York. In it, Bowie rehearses the song on stage while encountering four life-size puppets of his past personas: Ziggy Stardust, the dress-wearing Man Who Sold the World,

the Thin White Duke The Thin White Duke was the persona and character of the English musician David Bowie during 1975 and 1976. He is primarily identified with Bowie's 1976 album ''Station to Station'' and is mentioned by name in the title track, although Bowie h ...

and

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''Pi ...

from " Ashes to Ashes". The puppets were built by

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

's Creature Shop for a reported £7,000 each. According to Pegg, the figures represent Bowie's "constant struggle to avoid being overwhelmed by his own past". Canadian actor Chad Richardson portrayed a younger version of Bowie. Discussing its unreleased status, Bowie stated that the directors failed to achieve the proper lighting with the puppets. He quipped: "I'm sure it will make its way onto a video compilation one of these days – to be a source of amusement to you all and another form of Chinese torture for myself." The video later leaked online in 2014. "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" was performed throughout the 1999

Hours Tour The Hours Tour was a small-scale promotional concert tour by David Bowie comprising a handful of live performances and numerous television appearances in support of the album ''Hours'' in late 1999. Several live songs from the tour were included ...

and 2000 summer shows. A live version recorded in New York City on 19 November 1999 was released on some formats of the single " Seven" in July 2000. ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' placed the single at number 99 (out of 119) in a list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best in 2016.

Track listing

CD: Virgin / 7243 8 96293 2 3 (Australia)

# "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" – 4:40 # "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (edit)" – 3:59 # " We Shall Go to Town" – 3:56 # "1917" – 3:27

CD: Virgin / DPRO-14338 (US)

# "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (edit)" – 3:59 # "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (Call out hook #1)" – 0:11 # "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (Call out hook #1)" – 0:11 # "Thursday's Child (Radio edit)" – 4:25 # "Thursday's Child (Call out hook #1)" – 0:12 # "Thursday's Child (Call out hook #2)" – 0:12

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: *

– lead and backing vocal, keyboards *

– lead and rhythm guitar, synthesiser *

– bass *Mike Levesque – drums, tambourine, percussion Technical *David Bowie – producer *Reeves Gabrels – producer *Kevin Paul – engineer *Mark Plati – engineer

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pretty Things Are Going To Hell, The 1999 songs 1999 singles David Bowie songs Songs written by David Bowie Songs written by Reeves Gabrels Song recordings produced by David Bowie Virgin Records singles