Jobriath
It’s 1973 and the kids of England are caught in the Glam rock faction. America, still stuck in the dark ages of Led Zeppelin and the Peace and Love movement seeks to cash in on the new bi-sexual revolution. Enter in a kid from Philadelphia who proclaims himself “The True Fairy of Rock ‘N Roll” and a record producer who manages to wrangle $500,000 from Elektra to promote the boy and you have Jobriath, the first pop star to become a flash-in-the-pan cash-cow for the American music industry.
Jobriath,(AKA Bruce Wayne Campbell) came from a theatrically rich background. Classically trained and having gained notoriety from the musical “Hair” Jobriath had all it took to become a superstar. After a short, and ill-fated, stint with a band called Pigeon he was ready to stretch his wings and try a solo career. His fashion sense and homosexually aggressive lyrics were highly appealing to night club owner Jerry Brandt who managed to gain the largest record deal of the day for the young singer. Immediately a giant billboard with the soon-to-be star half naked was put up in New York. Rolling Stone printed positive reviews of the glam rocker’s debut album before it hit shelves. Elektra wanted to assure the masses of one thing: Jobriath was going to be the greatest pop star of the century!
Records hit shelves and finally America met the man they were supposed to love. He was not the doe-eyed crooner or leather clad rouge the generation had come to expect. Instead they discovered an openly-gay theatre boy posing as an alien. His voice, soft as a nightingale’s, was not greeted with the warm rejoice expected. His musical style, a cross between David Bowie and Neil Diamond, just didn't appeal to his audience. Jobriath was considered a flop before his time had come. He released one more album before he was given the cold shoulder by his record company.
Having signed into a ten year contract with Brant Jobriath was forced to live a life as a cabaret singer unable to record his own music. By the time the contract had ended Jobriath, who had now changed his name to Cole Berlin, had no light at the end of the tunnel. AIDs was claiming him and finally collected its due in fall of 1983. It seemed that world had lost it greatest star that never was, but someone out there was listening.
Come the early 1980’s a slew of famous (or soon to be) musicians had Jobriath Fever. Morrissey, Neil Tennant, Gary Numan, Siouxsie Sioux and Ann Magnuson were caught up in the broadways meets rock style of the glam star’s voice. Director and screen writer Todd Haynes even got in on the action in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine. Celebrity influences and glam re-birth alike lead listeners back to Jobriath causing the 2004 compilation Lonely Planet Boy to fly off shelves. As time mills on the name Jobriath has become less of a joke or oddity and more of a mark of genius. He was more than just a trendy scheme to make money gone awry, he was a musician ahead of his time.
Tracks:
Ecubyan
Ooh La La
Rock of Ages
Gone Tomorrow
