26 May 2005

Peter Noone - Oh You Pretty Things

RAK
RAK114
1971




When Peter Noone's manager Mickie Most heard the gazillion demos Bowie recorded in late 1970/early 1971, he decided that Oh You Pretty Things was the ideal launchpad for the solo career of the erstwhile Herman's Hermits singer and proto-Austin Powers.

With Bowie himself playing piano on this version that predates his own take on Hunky Dory, it's a marvel of clashing worlds.

Never mind that the song is about dark things, primarily the sudden onset of a schizophrenic episode. Paste on yer cheery gameshow host shit-eating grin and sing it for all you're worth, Peter.

Which, in point of fact, is not very much.

[MP3 deleted to make room for new ones. Sorry!]

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is kind of interesting (if predictable) how in Peter Noone's hands this song goes from cabaret into fey music-hall-via-paul-mccartney. More importantly, it's just funny to hear him sing the line "Gotta make way for the homo superior!" with seemingly no grasp of the double entendre.

Anonymous said...

Peter's follow-up 45 Walnut Whirl (also on RAK) is a lost classic. The flipside Right On Mother is a fantastic Oh You Pretty Things-alike.

Anonymous said...

Oops- sorry : forgot the "com" bit of my address ! It's :
http://www.livejournal.com/users/steviecat.

merrick said...

Stephen, thanks for posting that. Right On Mother is another Bowie composition, and Bowie plays piano on Noone's version.

Bowie's own demo is available in the Audio section of this fantastic Bowie site

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOODNESS!
i'd love to have this. :]
elvisneverdies@verizon.net