Brad Pittance/Cliff Richer

MUSIC REVIEW

“BEING FAMOUS”

 BY BRAD PITTANCE/AKA FEATURING CLIFF RICHER

by Colette Coleman

Sixties creator of pop art Andy Warhol once opined that “in the future everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes”. A glance at today’s showbiz filled tabloids or at television schedules crammed with talent shows and celebrity vehicles would suggest his prophecy has been fulfilled. Remote controls and the click, click, philosophy of the internet result in a perpetually challenged attention span but our hunger for unsavory information on a chosen few seems greater than ever.

Cue an appraisal of today’s “15 minuters” who grace the front pages and plasmas one day but can be replaced by a new “wannabe” faster than they can invent their latest press release. 

The entire scenario is superbly outlined in a track entitled “Being Famous” by Singer/Songwriter, Brad Pittance aka/featuring Clifford Richer (if you follow!). The song kicks off with Warhol’s quote is part original composition, part pastiche and gives a critique on the vagaries of fame while taking a tongue in cheek swipe at celebrity.

Homage’s to Bowies “Fame”, the Bros chart topper “When will I be famous” and Sting’s cameo vocal on the Dire Strait’s track with the line “I want my MTV” are all teasingly combined with the latter intended in much more personal fashion. “Being Famous” features a solid drumbeat, thumping bass-line, tremolo guitar, soaring fender rhodes and angst driven vocals which veer between Marc Bolan, Morrisey and somewhere else altogether. A stadium rock chorus with Megaphone vocal ensues, suggesting it’s better to get a real job than to be a celebrity. Lyrics are clever without being “too clever for their own good” whilst the vocal style is distinctive but remains difficult to place.

Kate Moss, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Simon Cowell and if I’m not mistaken, which I’m confident I’m not, George Michael and Robbie Williams are just a few of the celebrities to come to Pittance/Richer’s attention.

Plastic surgery, almost a pre-requisite for long established A-listers (think Cher, Maddonna, John Travolta) is cited as part of the deal, a penchant for religion ties in the likes of Tom Cruise and Travolta again, drink and drugs comes up too which covers everybody from Keith Richard to Amy Winehouse and sex is also thrown in which covers just about everybody else who enjoys a higher profile in the gossip columns than in their supposed discipline.

MTV brought the music video into our homes and no less than 30 separate music channels now air on Sky digital alone every day. Is Celebrity “Being Famous” for 3 or 4 minutes at a time?

There are some wonderful ideas and some interesting parodies in “Being Famous” and this song and the doubtless ensuing video are definitely going to be around for more than 15 minutes.