"Desdemona" is a song by the English

cult band A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

John's Children John's Children were a 1960s rock band from Leatherhead, England that briefly featured future T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. John's Children were known for their outrageous live performances and were booted off a tour with the Who in Germany in 19 ...

. The song was composed by

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

, who at the time was a member of John's Children. It was released in 1967 and failed to chart in Britain, possibly due to the fact it was banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for the controversial lyric "lift up your skirt and fly." However, the song was a minor hit in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It was also recorded by the band Fresh, on their album, "Fresh Today" (RCA LSP-4427), in 1970. This revision was co-produced by John's Children producer

Simon Napier-Bell Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Sinéad O'Co ...

and Ray Singer, who provided vocals. It was later covered by

Radio Stars Radio Stars are an English punk rock band formed in early 1977. They released two albums and had one UK Singles Chart, UK Top 40 single. Career Radio Stars were formed by Sparks (band), Sparks exile Martin Gordon (bass, songwriter) and also i ...

(featuring former John's Children singer

Andy Ellison Andrew Ellison (born 5 July 1945 in Finchley, London, England) is an English musician and vocalist, best known as the frontman in John's Children, Jet and Radio Stars. Biography He attended Box Hill School in Surrey, where he met Chris Tow ...

) (1978) and Marsha Hunt (1969), with

The Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

additionally known to have played the song live.

External links

Marc Bolan fan site
the text of "Desdemona" can be found under the button ‘lyrics’.

References

1967 singles Songs written by Marc Bolan Track Records singles 1967 songs Obscenity controversies in music Polydor Records singles Songs banned by the BBC {{1960s-single-stub