Walk on the wild side (the Begbie train-spotting ukulele version)

The lyrics of this song are a bit controversial and they refer to a series of individuals and their journeys to New York City, They are the regular "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio, The Factory, namely Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Jackie Curtis and Joe Campbell (referred to in the song by his nickname Sugar Plum Fairy).

Holly Woodlawn (born October 26, 1946) is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash (1970) and Women in Revolt (1972).

Candy Darling died of leukemia on March 21, 1974, aged 29, at the Columbus Hospital division of the Cabrini Health Center. In a letter written on her deathbed and intended for Andy Warhol and his followers, Darling said, "Unfortunately before my death I had no desire left for life . . . I am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death.

Joe Dallesandro starred in Flesh as a teenage street hustler. Rolling Stone magazine in 1970 declared Trash the "Best Film of the Year", making him a star of the youth culture, sexual revolution and subcultural New York art collective of the 1970s. He currently manages a hotel in the heart of Hollywood, where he lives with his wife and cat Booky.

Jackie Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder, Sr. and Jenevive Uglialoro. He performed as both a man and a woman throughout his career. While performing in drag, Curtis would typically wear lipstick, glitter, bright red hair, and ripped and torn dresses and stockings. Curtis pioneered this unique style, a combination of trash and glamour which has prompted assertions that Curtis inspired the "Glitter rock" or "Glam Rock" movement of the 1970s.

The faces behind the names can be found here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=nAHRAKQMfzA

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• scottish
• walk on the wild side
• Lou Reed
• David Bowie
• Begbie
• Nutter.
• candy darling
• Joe Dallesandro
• Holly Woodlawn
• Jackie Curtis
• ukulele

[KenMiddletonUkulele]

Excellent Robert. And really informative.

[weegingayin]

@KenMiddletonUkulele  Yes it is a surprise that the song is about real people.

[TheBeestoncowboy]

What a great version.....LOVE it

Les

[weegingayin]

@TheBeestoncowboy Thanks Les. I often sing songs with an uncouth Scottish accent just to hear what they sound like. Often it comes out as a mixture of Billy Connolly and Rab C. NEsbit

[ljped]

Great accent and treatment of that classic song!

[weegingayin]

@ljped Yes but what we want is a tubaridoo providing the bass line. This song is perfect for the Addled Zen Ramblers, especially if it was done with an Ian Paisley accent

[maiemm]

you're the man ! very gooooood cover , very personal and creative !

[tanglewoodtw400n]

Hey man how come I've no been hear before noo. Like your style big man chonged. Fav

[cinderellalifestyle]

late, better than never......this is a gem....:-) bios are a bit sad..., I think....we are forever estranging ourselves from the past, with each new day (or in some cases, each death)....Thanks for info you almost always give so freely--i read it all.....Blessing to you...musical, poetic friend.

[Wrongemboyo3]

love it

[JuKeBox661]

Great version, everything else is already written. I like it too :)

[ljped]

@weegingayin Funny enough we used to do this in our sessions many moons ago.....we must revive it!

'Tubaridoo' is the perfect name for that contraption :))

[weegingayin]

@russbuss415 I wanted to do Begbie the Robert Carlyle character from Train Spotting but it turned out more like Mrs Doubtfire

[russbuss415]

very cool rendition. accent as thick as it is wild.

[weegingayin]

@raffaport That would have been something if Jimmy Shand and Andy Stewart gave it a go

[UKISOCIETY]

@weegingayin loved it! I tittered too.

[raffaport]

Dear Rab C Taggart, that was braw! I wish they'd done that at the White Heather Club on New Year's Eve all those years ago. Regards, Lou.

[weegingayin]

@waterdog226 Thanks. It is perhaps the best two chord song ever.

[weegingayin]

@UKISOCIETY How can you get a two chords song consisting of a Plagal cadence so wrong... after hitting the wrong chord I nearly lost it... just a small titter... then a brilliant recovery.

[UKISOCIETY]

Sugar Plum Fairy almost knocked ya over. I like this version.

[waterdog226]

Thanks for the history. I did not know any of this, Nice work too!