A few years ago I semi-jokingly suggested Amanda Lear for the artist top tens. At that time we were still doing the Big Names for the first time, therefore an "novelty" artist like Amanda was out of the question (although it wasn't put in such harsh words).
I decided to take it like a man, and besides, several of her songs were suitable for the themed top tens (and "Fashion Pack" even won the Songs-That-Mentioned-Famous-People top ten).
But now it's happening anyway, and because I know it's done to please me personally, I like to elaborate on the subject.
Back in 1978 she had a hit with "Follow Me", but it wasn't
just a charthit. Eventhough I was very young, I had already noticed some sort of buzz/commotion but I didn't know exactly what it was until a cousin of mine presented the 7" single to me and her sister.
Look what I've just bought, she's that woman who sounds like a man!
Naturally I was intrigued by the prospect of experiencing such an obscurity.
"Booiiiing" - the dramatic gong intro almost sounded like a foreboding, and - long story short - it was love at first sound.
Now I'm not sure if she actually sounded like a man, or that it was because they told me so.
A lot has been said and printed about Amanda Lear, mostly the gender issue.
Personally I've never had a reason to believe she was born as a man, but if the stories about the operations are true then it won't change anything, and certainly not the music.
Amanda Lear hadn't planned to become a disco star, I believe the producer (Anthony Monn) and the record label (Ariola) had decided that for her.
She enjoyed her success, but apparently disco wasn't even her "thing" (she doesn't consider herself a disco-queen, but it doesn't help if you keep recording disco songs year after year, even after she had ended her contract with Ariola - who had forced her, by contract, to record the fourth and fifth album. At least that's how I understand it).
Anyway, looking at her performances, I think there's something flawed about it, as if she has to play the role of sultry disco diva but doesn't really know how.
There's often too much awkward mannerism, and I believe that
a man who wants to be woman would be able to perfect that.
Wouldn't it be ironic if she feels she's a man trapped in a woman's body?
Although it must be said that music performances in the 70s were very different from what we see today.
It was not unusual to "act" the lyrics e.g.
he smoked a cigarette and then the singer pretends to smoke. And there were models and dancers acting as the song's characters.
View attachment 5143
Sort of a videoclip-on-stage.
I had to have those first LPs, and I played them and played them until the needle coudn't find the grooves anymore.
Yes, there are quite a few disco songs on those records, but they're definitely not by numbers "get up and boogie" disco albums.
It's an interesting mix of glamour, gothic, cabaret and sexual provocation (like the man-hungry vixen songs).
But there's also a hint of protest against that fabulosity and shallowness ("Pretty Boys" is actually more than a hint) and some of those songs sound surprisingly melancholic. Not the standard concept for a disco album, I think.
A lot of dedication went into those albums: the producers, musicians and of course the background singers who
sang most of the songs.
And this was the prologue to my Amanda Lear top ten.
www.theguardian.com
