Bow wow wow - would you go see them?

[learydeary]

I remember there was some fuss about the album cover...

She was 15 at the time I think and if they released the cover as it was they where gonna get charged with distributing obscene pics of a minor

Carn't rememmber if they put a sticker over her,changed the cover for a bit or, delayed the release date a bit till she turned 16

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I remember there was some fuss about the album cover...

She was 15 at the time I think and if they released the cover as it was they where gonna get charged with distributing obscene pics of a minor

Carn't rememmber if they put a sticker over her,changed the cover for a bit or, delayed the release date a bit till she turned 16

They relelased the album just after her 16th birthday, a bit of a gimmick in itself.

 

[Groucho]

Lyrics to Louise Quatorze

I'm happy that I liked them when I was at school and that is part of my youth, but McLaren was deliberately playing the er Lolita strategy. See here>>>

When he comes bursting thru that door, mama leaps and hits the floor
Calling himself Louis Quatorze, he's so young and dangerous!
Oh I love it when he says so seriously
With his gun in my back, "Honey, close your eyes and think of England"
Just one second
It's his genuine act, as a matter of fact, Louis was horrible to me
He tears down my defenses, he pretends that I'm against him
Chorus:
Louis, Louis, Louis did love me, Louis Quatorze made love to me
Come back again, don't tell me when, Louis Quatorze, always surprise me
.... Louis's gonna shoot me, Louis, Louis's locking my door, Louis's serious, I'm delirious....
No plays, he just doesn't care, Louis Quatorze starts to undress me
With his gun in my back, I start to undress
You just don't mess with Louis Quatorze
He's my partner in this crime of happiness, 'cos I'm just fourteen
Oh I love it when he says so seriously
With his gun in my back, "Honey, make love to me"
...

Nice ditty though.

But isn't Louis Quatorze a period of furniture?

 

[Structaural]

Ha ha. But how old were you when you liked it? I was still at school so it was ok, plus I was broadly unaware of issues of exploitation etc. Now I'm older and wiser and am merely indulging in nostalgia for my youth.

McLaren knew what he was doing the slimy old git. Just don't listen to the lyrics to Louis Q

that's true - I was about 11 or 12.

 

[BEARBOT]

i saw them in new york at the height of their career

they were exciting to watch but i wasnt a huge fan or anything(only saw them cos a pal wanted to go,alas she REFUSED to accompany me to teardrop explodes around the same period i so MISSED them),

annabella was very professional/talented on stage
came across as much older than 15/16(or maybe i think that cos i was an unpoised teen)...maybe she attended stage school or similiar?

i didnt think the nude cover was too cool at the time,thought it was exploitative in fact...from what i remember she didnt play up the sex angle much on stage.....

im hoping maclaren isnt a humbert humbert or "kim fowley type", kim was the runaways manager(70s girl rock band) who used to totally control the band and constantly berate their abilities and even make the band(themselves about 16) watch him fuck young girl fans ..IMO the runaways played up the sex angle WAY more than annabella,she was more posh/ladylike than would be porn star as i remember

ps.i wouldnt pay money to see them live,but the one time in my life i tried kareoke i sang one of their tracks!

 

[learydeary]

I think in this interview that they admit that they are still being exploited!!

But hey it's fun

interview pt1

 

[RubyToogood]

I was slightly startled when I bought a Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens (South African band) album a few years later to find that I knew half the songs already cos Bow Wow Wow had covered them and had hits with them - hence the nonsense words - they'd just made up bullshit to stand in for the original lyrics.

 

[BEARBOT]

i watched those interviews leary(tho not all of the second one would play)
pretty interesting
i was suprised that annabella was working in a dry cleaners at 15,for some reason i thought she was from a very posh background
i feel bad for them...doesnt seem right that maclaren is getting 100% royalties
as far as them ripping off mahotella queens well maybe the mahotella queens need to sue maclaren,tho im guessing it was the guys in the band who had the idea to copy/cover those south african songs(without giving credit of course!)
i guess a lot of adam ants music is copied from african acts too...wonder if its just stolen beats or entire songs?

 

[RubyToogood]

According to this page:

Bow Wow Wow was spawned by Malcolm McLaren after hearing the Mahotella Queens. Not content with one mbaqanga rip-off group, he also created Adam and the Ants who used the same rhythm. If the Mahotella Queens ever heard Bow Wow Wow's "See Jungle" they certainly didn't comment, or call their lawyers -- it's a note-for-note rip-off of their "Umcolo Kawupheli" (heard on SOWETO NEVER SLEEPS). They were busily taking the world by storm themselves.

It's right - half the album was as they say lifted note for note - I really didn't realise they got no credit or £ or anything.

 

[Groucho]

im guessing it was the guys in the band who had the idea to copy/cover those south african songs

You know, I doubt it. McLaren wrote some of the lyrics too. He pretty much created the band in most respects.

 

[belboid]

Annabella's appearance on Tiswas was a classic that should be up there with Matt Bianco on Swap Shop.

Sally James: So, is it true that Malcolm discovered you singing in a launderette?
Annabella: Not really, no. It was a brothel.
SJ: Right, mmm, okay...I think its time for a commercial

 

[learydeary]

Annabella's appearance on Tiswas was a classic that should be up there with Matt Bianco on Swap Shop.

Sally James: So, is it true that Malcolm discovered you singing in a launderette?
Annabella: Not really, no. It was a brothel.
SJ: Right, mmm, okay...I think its time for a commercial

Remember a scene like that

OH MY GOD

have we discoverd a clip too obscure for youtube

 

[editor]

Well, I played "Go Wild" in the Albert tonight.

Top fucking tune!

 

[pk]

I remember there was some fuss about the album cover...

She was 15 at the time I think and if they released the cover as it was they where gonna get charged with distributing obscene pics of a minor

Carn't rememmber if they put a sticker over her,changed the cover for a bit or, delayed the release date a bit till she turned 16

I happen to have both versions of the cover, the nude one and the hastily assembled one where it's just a black and white shot of the band - got to be worth some money, surely?