Cracked Actor (song)
Encyclopedia
"Cracked Actor" is a song written by David Bowie
, originally released on the album Aladdin Sane
in April 1973. The track was also issued as a single in Eastern Europe by RCA Records
in June that year.
Rolling Stone
suggested that Bowie's goal was "to strip the subject of his validity, as he has done with the rocker, as a step towards a re-definition of these roles and his own inhabiting of them". However NME
writers Roy Carr
and Charles Shaar Murray
considered that the song "reveals little else except that Bowie's capabilities with a mouth-harp
are decidedly limited".
". The timing was supposedly to cash in on publicity emanating from his trip through Eastern Europe on the Trans-Siberian Railway
in April–May 1973, shortly before his final Ziggy Stardust
tour in the UK.
"Cracked Actor" became a centrepiece of Bowie's 1974 North American tour when he would perform the song wearing sunglasses and holding a skull (à la Hamlet
), which he would then proceed to French kiss
. The track also gave its name to Alan Yentob
's documentary of the tour
. In 1983 Bowie revived the song and the sunglasses-and-skull routine for his Serious Moonlight
tour.
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, originally released on the album Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1973 . The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album Bowie wrote and released as a bona fide rock star...
in April 1973. The track was also issued as a single in Eastern Europe by RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in June that year.
Music and lyrics
One of the album's hard rockers, the song is about an aging Hollywood star in an encounter with a prostitute, the chorus including various allusions to sex and drugs:- Crack, baby, crack, show me you're real
- Smack, baby, smack, is that all that you feel
- Suck, baby, suck, give me your head
- Before you start professing that you're knocking me dead
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
suggested that Bowie's goal was "to strip the subject of his validity, as he has done with the rocker, as a step towards a re-definition of these roles and his own inhabiting of them". However NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
writers Roy Carr
Roy Carr
Roy Carr is an English music journalist. He joined the New Musical Express in the late 1960s and has edited NME, VOX and Melody Maker magazines...
and Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray is an English music journalist. His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz...
considered that the song "reveals little else except that Bowie's capabilities with a mouth-harp
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
are decidedly limited".
Release and aftermath
Following its release on Aladdin Sane, "Cracked Actor" was issued as Bowie's first single for the Russian market, backed with "John, I'm Only DancingJohn, I'm Only Dancing
"John, I’m Only Dancing" is a single by David Bowie, released in September 1972.-Recording and release:The song was widely believed to be concerned with a homosexual relationship, the narrator informing his boyfriend not to worry about the girl he's with because he's "only dancing" with her...
". The timing was supposedly to cash in on publicity emanating from his trip through Eastern Europe on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
in April–May 1973, shortly before his final Ziggy Stardust
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by English musician David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music...
tour in the UK.
"Cracked Actor" became a centrepiece of Bowie's 1974 North American tour when he would perform the song wearing sunglasses and holding a skull (à la Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
), which he would then proceed to French kiss
French kiss
A French kiss is a kiss in which one participant's tongue touches the partner's lips or tongue and usually enters his or her mouth. A French kiss is a slow passionate kiss which is usually considered intimate, romantic, erotic or sexual...
. The track also gave its name to Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob is a British television executive and presenter who has worked throughout his career at the BBC.-Early life:...
's documentary of the tour
Cracked Actor
Cracked Actor is a 53-minute-long BBC television documentary film about the pop star David Bowie. It was filmed in 1974. At the time he was a cocaine addict and the documentary has become notorious for showing Bowie's fragile mental state during this period...
. In 1983 Bowie revived the song and the sunglasses-and-skull routine for his Serious Moonlight
Serious Moonlight
Serious Moonlight may refer to:*Serious Moonlight ; a video album by David Bowie*Serious Moonlight ; a comedy film starring Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell and Justin Long...
tour.
Live versions
- The live version from the 1974 tour was released on David LiveDavid LiveDavid Live is David Bowie’s first official live album, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Recorded on the initial leg of Bowie’s US tour supporting Diamond Dogs in July of that year , it has been cited as one of the best live...
. This version was also released on Rock Concert. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on A Portrait in Flesh. - A live version recorded at the Hammersmith OdeonHammersmith ApolloHammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on July 3, 1973 was released on Ziggy Stardust - The Motion PictureZiggy Stardust - The Motion PictureZiggy Stardust: The Motion Picture is a live album by David Bowie, corresponding to the film of the same name. The music was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on , although the album was not issued by RCA Records until 1983...
. - A more recent performance of the song, recorded at the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio Theatre, Portland PlacePortland PlacePortland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London, England.-History and topography:The street was laid out by the brothers Robert and James Adam for the Duke of Portland in the late 18th century and originally ran north from the gardens of a detached mansion called Foley House...
, London on June 27, 2000, appeared on the limited edition bonus disk of Bowie at the BeebBowie at the BeebBowie at the Beeb is a compilation album by David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three CD set, the third, bonus CD being a recording on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre...
.
Other releases
- The track appeared on the Sound and Vision box set (1989).
Cover versions
- Big CountryBig CountryBig Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
- Single in 1993, included on the compilation Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, CD premium from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine - Chris Connelly - Single
- Duff McKaganDuff McKaganMichael Andrew "Duff" McKagan is an American musician and writer. He is best known for his twelve-year tenure as the bassist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
- Single in 1993 - Rancid Vat - Single "Bowiecide"
- Zeta Bane - Spiders from Venus: Indie Women Artists and Female-Fronted Bands Cover David Bowie (2003)
- Schlechtes Mord-Bumsen - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006)
- Okkervil River - Performed October 15, 2006 at the Bowery Ball Room in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- Clit 45Clit 45Clit 45 was a Streetpunk/Hardcore-band from Long Beach, California that formed in 1996. The band played traditional, fast punk, influenced by The Adolescents, Poison Idea and Bad Religion. Their second and third albums were published by BYO Records and distributed by Cargo Records in Europe...
- 2, 4, 6, 8... We're the Kids You Love to Hate (2006) - Dave Gahan - Performed the song at Club Nokia on May 6, 2011