Unsung Podcast

• The Dark Side of David Bowie and 1970s Groupie Culture - 376

  Bowie fans have long found ways to make peace with some of the more unsavoury aspects of his character and behaviour during that decade. His Thin White Duke persona highlights what, by his own admission, were “the darkest days” of his life. And while he was quick to distance himself from that character as he grew older, its influence on certain members of the British far right certainly left a mark. Yet there is a much darker period of his life than this. It is now a matter of record that he was in sexual relationships with both Lori Maddox and Sable Starr — perhaps the two most infamous “baby groupies” of the early ’70s — when they were just 13 and 15 years old, respectively. Grim stuff all round. We’ll be exploring both of these aspects of his life in this week’s episode, as well as the wider “baby groupie” culture of the era. This episode raises questions about separating the art from the artist, the role of 1970s rock culture, and the personal responsibility of fans. Join us as we navigate the challenging waters of moral grandstanding and personal hypocrisy, questioning if, and how, we can reconcile admiration for Bowie’s art with the transgressions of the man himself. Highlights 00:00 Introduction 00:38 Unfinished Business with David Bowie 02:26 Trigger Warnings 04:05 David Bowie's Complex Legacy 13:57 Fascism and Controversial Statements 38:50 Sexual Misdeeds and Allegations 41:05 Introduction to Statutory Rape in Rock Culture 41:30 The Story of Dana Gillespie and David Bowie 42:34 Lori Maddox and the Baby Groupies 43:29 Sable Starr and the Rock Scene 45:05 The Culture of Underage Groupies 47:24 Laurie Maddox's Relationship with David Bowie 56:51 Jimmy Page and Laurie Maddox 01:00:06 The Wider Problem in Rock Culture 01:07:45 Modern Reflections on Past Actions 01:14:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Is The Warrior by Scandal a True Unsung Classic? - 375

  We're back after a fairly shambolic three weeks in our lives (redundancy sure does suck) with this slice of fried gold from the 1980s. You've almost certainly heard the lead single from this record. In fact, the question as to who the singer is of the song "The Warrior" has quite likely come up on a pub quiz at some point, and you've quite likely got the answer wrong. The answer is not, as you may think, Pat Benetar. It's Patty Smyth. The single this album is named after was an 80s hit, and penned by the legendary Holly Knight. We won't go into a huge amount of detail on her here, but suffice to say we think she's criminally underrated given some of the ginormous tunes she penned in the 80s. Indeed, we cover that in extensive detail in our episode on her short-lived band Device. Scandal imploded soon after this record was released, and members of the band, Patty included, went on to have varying degrees of success in the late 80s and early 90s. Patty Smyth's story itself is a fascinating one, so fascinating in fact that we actually forgot to talk all about her marriage to Television's Richard Hell. That one glaring omission aside, we do a pretty deep dive into Scandal and her career afterwards. HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00 Introduction and Pub Quiz Banter 00:35 Scandal and Patty Smyth: The Early Days 01:22 The Warrior and MTV Success 03:29 Classic Bands and Radio Challenges 05:03 Band Dynamics and Touring 07:24 Patty Smyth's Solo Career and Label Issues 18:31 Declining Van Halen and Family Priorities 21:19 Reunions and Later Years 27:12 Unreleased Tracks and MTV Hits 27:25 Goodbye to You and Other Hits 28:46 Fun Facts and Jimmy Fallon Appearance 29:39 Brian Adams Cover and Other Tracks 31:53 Christmas Album and Charity Work 33:22 The Warrior Album Review 34:44 Songwriting and Collaborations 38:40 The Warrior Music Video 43:12 Journey Song and Album Critique 45:10 Legacy and Final Thoughts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• The Spotify Techsodus - Should Artists Really Be Leaving the World's Biggest Streaming Platform? - 374

  This week we're diving into why bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor and King Gizzard are pulling their music from Spotify - and why it probably won't change anything. It's a trickier situation than it seems, but the whole mess starts with Napster in 1999. 80 million people sharing MP3s illegally crashed the music industry, dropping revenue 15% in four years and creating a chain reaction that led to piracy running rampant for much of the 00s. Enter Daniel Ek in 2006 with Spotify, which was built initially using pirated music from The Pirate Bay, telling you everything about how much they value artists. But it worked. By offering free access to entire music catalogues (with ads), Spotify created something no competitor can match without hemorrhaging money. Today, 412 million people use Spotify's free tier. That's the foundation of their dominance - not the 263 million paying subscribers. But this creates an impossible situation for artists. Big names with established fanbases can afford to leave, but new artists risk invisibility. Record labels and promoters judge bands by Spotify monthly listeners and post-gig discovery relies on easy music access, meaning that pulling your music from this platform could be potentially damaging for their careers. The "just use Bandcamp" argument misses the point - it's a different business model entirely. Bandcamp is buying a car; Spotify is hiring any car you want. And as it turns out, a LOT of people prefer hiring now. But the real problem isn't Spotify - it's "technofeudalism." Tech platforms operate like medieval fiefdoms where users become trapped serfs. Artists complain about Spotify royalties while creating free content for Instagram and TikTok, which monetise their labour through surveillance capitalism. The arms investment angle (Daniel Ek's €600m in AI weapons) sounds damning until you realise Google runs military AI projects for Israel, Meta builds battlefield AR for the US military, and all big tech props up the military-industrial complex. Their conclusion is bleak: there's no way out. The market expects free music and won't change. Mass boycotts might work but won't happen. The only real solution is direct artist support - gigs, merch, Bandcamp purchases, because it's almost impossible for anyone to truly extricate themselves from terrible machinery of the current internet era. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction: Bands Leaving Spotify 00:15 The Techsodus Idea and Streaming Services 02:23 History of Music Piracy: From Napster to Spotify 07:01 Spotify's Rise and Artist Payments 16:15 Technofeudalism and the Creator Economy 28:34 Spotify's Business Model and Market Dominance 34:58 The Spotify Dilemma: Free Access and Market Expectations 35:15 Apple's Potential and the iTunes Model Revival 35:53 Bandcamp: A Hopeful Alternative? 39:17 The Discoverability Advantage of Streaming Platforms 47:15 The Moral and Practical Dilemma for Artists 59:52 The Broader Issue: Platform Capitalism and Tech Giants 01:15:00 Supporting Artists Directly is The Only Real Solution Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• The Mystery of Q Lazzarus - 373

  As stated at numerous points in this episode, a lot of the things discussed here can be found in the documentary Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus. We urge you to go check out that film here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/qlazzarus as it is a brilliant piece of work. For long time pod fans, this episode could technically be classed as part of our unsong series. But the reality is that the story of Q Lazzarus is so interesting, that it simply bursts out of the constraints of that format. Q Lazzarus/Diane Luckey, is best known for the song "Goodbye Horses", a track that you've almost certainly heard at some point in your life. It's most notable use was in the Jonathan Demme classic Silence of the Lambs, but it has been used in a bunch of films since then, and covered by an array of artists. It is, in fact, that only "official" release by Q Lazzarus. She would later go on to appear in Demme's next film, the wonderful Philadelphia, singing a cover of Roxy Music's classic tune "Heaven". After that, though, she would simply vanish from the industry entirely. So what happened? Why did this seemingly promising up and coming artist, who had two huge brushes with fame, suddenly disappear without trace? Well, it's a rather complicated, and compelling, story that touches on industry discrimination, artist exploitation, and the music business's treatment of unique talents. This week we dive into that story, with the help of a remarkable documentary film called Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus - a film that came about through an almost impossibly serendipitous encounter between filmmaker Eva Aridjis Fuentes and her mysterious subject. The documentary is available on Vimeo and you should absolutely check it out for yourself, alongside the Sacred Bones compilation of her previously unreleased works. Please note that this story deals with some heavy themes and doesn't have the resolution we might hope for, but it's an important and deeply affecting tale that deserves to be told. Highlights: 00:32 Discussing Q Lazarus and 'Goodbye Horses' 02:30 The Mystery Behind Q Lazarus 03:19 Q Lazarus's Musical Journey 05:36 The Impact of 'Goodbye Horses' 07:19 The Search for Q Lazarus 12:01 Eva Aridjis Fuentes and the Documentary 17:58 Q Lazarus's Early Life and Career 30:37 The Duality of Q Lazarus and Diane Luckey 31:36 The Role of Luck in Diane's Life 32:52 Career Setbacks and Personal Struggles 34:00 Heartbreak and Disillusionment 34:57 Descent into Darkness 38:10 A Glimmer of Hope: Motherhood and Redemption 39:47 The Unreleased Works and Legacy 42:12 The Battle for Royalties 44:17 The Impact of Goodbye Horses 53:16 The Unfulfilled Potential and Legacy Tours 57:31 Final Thoughts and Reflections Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Is Hulk Hogan's Entrance Music the Best Wrestling Theme Ever? - 372

  Everyone knows Hulk Hogan's entrance music, but how many know the fascinating story behind Rick Derringer's "Real American"? With the recent passing of Hulk Hogan, we thought we’d revisit a previous episode and update it with new information. Oh, and also to film the whole dang thing as we weren’t doing that back then. So, this week we’re exploring the unlikely journey of a song that became one of wrestling's most iconic themes, examining its cultural impact, political appropriation, and the complex legacy of both its creator and, in some ways, Hulk Hogan too. From Rick Derringer's impressive musical pedigree (The McCoys, collaborations with Steely Dan, producing Weird Al) to the song's evolution from US Express theme to Hogan's signature tune, we unpack how a piece of 1980s excess became a cultural touchstone - and political football. We also talk about Rick Derringer's extensive musical career and connections, the origins and evolution of "Real American"; WWE's "Rock and Wrestling Connection" era in the mid to late 80s; the song's political appropriation across decades; Hulk Hogan's controversial legacy and recent passing; the music video's gloriously over-the-top 80s aesthetic and more. Let’s fight for the right of every man. Or everyone, depending on the version you prefer. Episode Highlights 00:00 - Introduction and Hulk Hogan's recent cultural relevance 01:30 - Rick Derringer's impressive musical CV and career highlights 03:00 - The creation story: "The most patriotic song of all time" 05:30 - Wrestling music history and the Rock and Wrestling Connection 12:00 - How "Real American" became Hogan's theme (it wasn't originally!) 15:00 - Hulk Hogan's controversial legacy and recent scandals 18:00 - The Wrestling Album and WWE's musical ambitions 22:30 - The song's political life and cultural appropriation 28:00 - Iron Sheik's legendary Twitter feuds with Hogan 31:40 - Rick Derringer's own political evolution and re-recording 36:30 - The gloriously cheesy music video breakdown 41:00 - Why this song represents the 1980s perfectly 44:00 - Final thoughts on Hogan's impact and the song's enduring legacy Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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