The Bewlay Brothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “The Bewlay Brothers” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Song by David Bowie | |||||
| Album | Hunky Dory | ||||
| Released | December 17, 1971 Rykodisc Reissue January 30, 1990 |
||||
| Recorded | Trident Studios, London April 1971 | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 5:27 | ||||
| Label | RCA | ||||
| Writer | David Bowie | ||||
| Producer | Ken Scott, David Bowie | ||||
| Hunky Dory track listing | |||||
|
|||||
"The Bewlay Brothers" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. The last track written and recorded on Hunky Dory, this ballad has been described as "probably Bowie's densest and most impenetrable song".[1] The composer himself supposedly told producer Ken Scott that it was a track for the American market, because "the Americans always like to read things into things", even though the lyrics "make absolutely no sense".[2]
Some commentators have also seen references in the song to Bowie's stepbrother Terry, a schizophrenic, while others such as Tom Robinson have discerned a "gay agenda".[3] The coda features Bowie's voice distorted by varispeeding; NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray likened the effect to the Laughing Gnome, but "in considerably more sinister guise".[1]
Bowie named his publishing company in the late 1970s Bewlay Bros. Music and used the name as a pseudonym for himself, Iggy Pop and Colin Thurston as producers of Pop's 1977 album Lust for Life.
The song was performed live for the first time on BBC Radio 2 in 2002.
[edit] Other releases
- It appeared in the Sound and Vision box in 1989.
- An alternate mix was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc CD release of Hunky Dory in 1990.
[edit] Cover versions
- Replicants on Replicants (1995).
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.41
- ^ David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: pp.114-115
- ^ Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.37
