Jobriath

Rating: 10/10 (2 September 2005)

For all of you interested fans in glam and Velver Goldmine, I thought I'd give you a link to check out.
http://www.glam-ou-rama.co.uk/reviews_show.asp?id=77 Brian Slade, although resembling Bowie throughout the film, is actually based on the true story of Jobriath, an extremely obscure glam rock star who fell from stardom after a failed publicity stunt in which he faked his own death on stage. While Bowie was ambiguous about his sexuality, Jobriath flat out said "I'm a true fairy (which is quoted in VG, with the introduction of Jack Ferry's character...another possible reference?)". Thus, Bowie's career took off while America shunned Jobriath. I mean, cmon...saying "I'm a true fairy" in 1972...in America...warns't the smartest career move. Bruce Cambell was his real name (not to be confused with the "Evil Dead" star), and was diagnosed with schizophrenia early in his career, so he himself thought quite literally that he actually DID kill his alter ego, Jobriath, on stage. Jobriath is considered to be one of the biggest failures of rock n roll's hype machine, fueled this time by flashy exec and producer Jerry Brandt, who wanted to promote Jobriath as the next Elvis. Brandt is obviously given credit in Velvet Goldmine with Eddie Izzard's fantastic performance. Fascinating but tragic story about the backlash of an over-hyped washout rocker. He changed his name to Cole Porter after his rock career flopped, and was one of the 1st reported cases of dying of AIDS.