Quadrophonia biography, Quadrophonia discography
He doesn't work because
he wants to or through a desire to further a career.What better way could there be to exasperate his parents (Michael Elphick and Kate Williams) and
chat up birds like Steph (Leslie Ash) and Monkey (Toyah Wilcox)?Unfortunately it's only then that Jimmy realises that
Kevin is a Rocker, the sworn mortal enemies of Mods, forcing him to make an excuse and leave.Out in the suburbs, the opportunity arises and soon everyone is swaying to the top
sounds of the day.The problem for Jimmy is that Steph is all caught up, leaving him to the tender mercies
of Monkey.Jimmy is unwillingly in the firing line.The appeal for someone as vulnerable, impressionable and
confused as Jimmy is obvious though, since it's all about getting to grips with life.As such, Quadrophenia
lovingly recreates both the period detail and the sense of alienation that many teenagers suffer.However, while the action on the screen has
dissolved into chaos, director Franc Roddam keeps a firm hand on the proceedings, orchestrating the
violence beautifully.Hence, while the riot is both nasty and quite scary, the film never loses sight of the
principal figures (Jimmy and Steph at this point).That it's all
smoke and mirrors is something that rapidly becomes obvious.Perhaps the greatest triumph of Quadrophenia is that it captures the zeitgeist perfectly.Jimmy's actions and
feelings adds to the authentic feel.Jimmy's imagination and loyalty, only to
unwittingly shatter his world.While he works as a symbol, it would be rewarding to just know more about
him (especially as he only gets a few, muffled lines).Writers:
Dave Humphries (screenplay) andMartin Stellman (screenplay) ...Plot Summary:
London, 1965: Like many other youths, Jimmy hates the philistine life, especially his parents and his job in a company's mailing division...Plot Synopsis:
This plot synopsis is empty.Cast overview, first billed only) Phil Daniels ...Kevin (as Raymond Winstone)Garry Cooper ...Jimmy watches and an album sleeve at the house party, but also a portrait of Pete Townshend is upon the boy's bedroom wall.Goofs:
Continuity: During the beach fight, John is fighting a rocker in the sea, however in the next shot of the gathering in the narrow street he is bone dry.Sorry, there was a problem collecting your vote.Not only a great adaptation of The Who's landmark, but one of the greatest motorcycle movies ever made.As Jimmy goes through parties, fights,
a little love with a girl (Steph, played well by Leslie Ash), a riot,
and problems with his parents and job, he enters a downward spiral.By the
time the third act reaches it's heated peak, the music starts to
perfectly embody what the character's going through.It also doesn't
come off as cheesy due to the power of the songs.Not to mention it
rivaled Tommy in its ambition via the compositions, the entertainment
value, etc.So I was almost hesitant to watch the film, as I thought I
might have my expectations raised too high and it would be too loosely
translated and made as not my kind of rock musical (i.Brighton
by the beach and feeling the need for competition, acceptance, and then
anger and loneliness.Who fans alike, though for Who fans the added treat is that the the
emotion and strength of the group and songs translate excellently in
the film.You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers.Terms and Privacy Policy under which this service is provided to you.Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film based on the 1973 rock opera album Quadrophenia by The Who.The film also stars Toyah Willcox, Mark Wingett, Leslie Ash, Ray Winstone, Timothy Spall, Phil Davis, Michael Elphick, Kate Williams, Sting, Gary Shail and John Altman.This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.Please improve this article if you can (September 2007).The Mods are always fighting with Rockers, who in turn wear black leather and ride motorcycles.Jimmy only finds an outlet for his teenage angst with his mod pals Dave, Chalky and Spider.But when Jimmy is arrested during the Brighton riot, which was based on the real life "Second Battle of Hastings" Brighton area Bank Holiday riot of 1964, his life begins to go downhill.This article does not cite any references or sources.In the famous ending, we see the scooter fly off a cliff without Jimmy in dramatic fashion, crashing on the rocks below.This has led people to debate on whether or not Jimmy purposely went off the cliff himself to commit suicide.Arguments to Jimmy surviving claim that it is Jimmy watching the bike, and also that the opening scene of the film is an epilogue to the story.It is arguable that what eventually frustrates Jimmy about the Mod lifestyle is its tendency to accommodate itself too readily with mainstream society.Jimmy comes to detest the world of work, but a friend tells him, "You've got to work if you want money, and I love money".Similarly, Jimmy demands something more from Steph than her casual attitude towards their relationship.The crashing of the Ace's bike represents Jimmy's final rejection of Mod in favour of some form of search for personal truth or identity, rather than absorption into the confomrity of either gang culture or the world of steady jobs.VHS release, featuring photos of the production, includes several shots of Jimmy falling from the scooter as it approaches the cliff edge.On the DVD Commentary, director Franc Roddam states that the ending can be perceived as ambiguous, and that many viewers disregard certain facts and have their own beliefs concerning Jimmy's fate.Furthermore, the film shows Jimmy as an enthusiastic participant in the Mod lifestyle who only becomes disillusioned towards the end, after the beating of his rocker friend Kevin, his disappointment with Steph, and the revelation about Ace's job.Jimmy also makes a return to Brighton by train in the film, but this follows on almost immediately from his visit with his Mod gang, rather than after a period of two years.Response
The film was received mostly negatively by critics and was panned for its large amounts of sex, violence, profanity and drug use, which at the time were fairly uncommon in film.Sting's appearance in it also benefitted his band The Police despite their music being wholly incongruous with traditional mod tastes.Who album, focusing more on the album's subplot of the Mod vs Rocker battles of the 1960s.The film was almost canceled when Keith Moon, a member of The Who, died, but in the words of Roddam, the producers, Roy Baird and Bill Curbishley, 'held it together' and the film was made.Franc Roddam, who shot the scene from a helicopter, was almost hit.Following this in the US was a special edition by Rhino, which included a remastered but matted wide screen transfer, a commentary, several interviews, galleries, and a quiz.The film was digitally remastered and included a brand new commentary by Franc Roddam, Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash.Like their previous DVD, it was the complete, longer version, and like the US DVD it was a matted wide screen version rather than the original full screen.This page was last modified 11:52, 20 January 2008.For the film based on this album, see Quadrophenia (film).Its story involves social, musical, and psychological happenings from an English teenage perspective, set in London and Brighton in 1964 and 1965.It was also tied in to the Quadraphonic sound schemes then being introduced.LP set with a butterfly jacket and a thick booklet containing lyrics, a text version of the story, and photographs illustrating the tale.The remastered CDs of 1996 include the full original booklet in miniature."Love Reign O'er Me"), a year that also produced The Who's singles "Join Together", "Relay" and "Long Live Rock" (the latter not actually released until 1974).However, by the time Quadrophenia was released, the band's role in the story was only symbolic, via Jimmy's four personalities.The band views the tour in support of the album as disastrous.Performances were plagued by malfunctioning sound effects tapes.Once the tapes started, the band had to play to them.On the first night of the U."The music is the best music that I've ever written, I think and it's the best album that I will ever write."Story
The story covers about five days of the life of a certain Jimmy, a participant in the circa 1964 Mod lifestyle in England."The story is set on a rock!"The narrative is difficult to derive from the lyrics alone, but becomes clearer with the benefit of a short story (also written by Townshend) related from Jimmy's first person perspective, that is included in the album's booklet.Halfway through the opera he sings "I've Had Enough", finds himself kicked out of his home when his parents find his box of 'blues' (blue pills of some unnamed drug, possibly amphetamine) (this happens in the song Cut My Hair).During his stay near the beach in Brighton, he encounters the former "Ace Face", the leader of a group of Mods, whom he admires greatly.Ironically, this is the very same hotel Ace Face had smashed the windows of two years before.Jimmy is disgusted to learn that the person he had admired as a Mod had "sold out".At this point, Jimmy is inconsolable.Musical structure
Each of Jimmy's four personalities is supposed to be associated with one of the four musicians in The Who.The liner notes illustrate this concept as follows (names added):
A tough guy, a helpless dancer.John Entwistle)
A bloody lunatic, I'll even carry your bags.Keith Moon)
A beggar, a hypocrite, love reign o'er me."The Rock" however ends with a combination of the four different themes, using the "Bell Boy" theme as the chord sequence, the "Helpless Dancer" theme as the melody, the "Is It Me?"The four themes also surface on many other songs throughout the album; the most subtle example being when the "Helpless Dancer" theme appears on "Bell Boy" (the main song) played on synthesizer as a brief interlude.Some themes from other songs also make "surprise" reappearances here and there.Theme
Like much of Townshend's work, Quadrophenia is about a teen establishing his identity.Some of the themes include belonging, rejection, rebellion, and trying to define oneself.However, he is frustrated and sequentially betrayed by everything he tries to be a part of, including his family, his job, drugs, his friends, love, and being a mod.In the end, Jimmy triumphs by realizing that he doesn't have to define himself or try to be part of anything at all.Critical reaction and impact
In 2000 Q magazine placed Quadrophenia at number 56 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.In 2003, the album was ranked number 266 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.Subsequent productions
In 1979 the film Quadrophenia was released, with three additional songs written by Pete Townshend for the soundtrack.In the film, the music was largely relegated to the background, and was not performed by the cast as if a rock opera.Bellboy, Stephen Fry as the hotel manager (screaming, "Bellboy!"Trevor McDonald as the newsreader and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour as the bus driver.For the subsequent extensive tour of the UK and the U.Daniels was replaced and Gilmour's role was taken over by Simon Townshend.DVD box set released by Rhino Entertainment, also featuring a live performance of Tommy from 1989 as well as other hit songs performed live.Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey provided special commentary, and an interview with Billy Idol was also included.The album was covered in its entirety by Phish on October 31, 1995 as part of the band's "Halloween musical costume extravaganzas", which was later released as Live Phish Volume 14.Live at Madison Square Garden .In November 2005, Luna C Productions staged a theatrical version of Quadrophenia in Los Angeles, starring Stephen Shareaux as Jimmy.Additional performances occurred in March and November 2006.Drama staged "the first independent theatrical production (of Quadrophenia) blessed by Pete Townshend" at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, Wales.On the episode of the Simpsons, Behind The Laughter, the cover of the Krustophenia record is a parody of Quadrophenia.The original soundtrack
This version of Quadrophenia contains some of the music that was used in the film.It also includes 3 tracks by The Who that did not appear on the original two disc edition."The Who Vh1 Mexico Interview Part 1", VH1, February, 2007.This page was last modified 02:20, 23 January 2008.The album where all that has gone before comes together into one perfect package.QUAD was the only Pete Townshend production for his band, which may be the reason for this.Unlike TOMMY, which was a fantasy, QUAD is almost stark in its realism.Then Jimmy sees the girl he loves with his best friend, which seems to be the final straw, and is upset enough to crash the bike.Click here to buy the DVD.The film:Against the backdrop of riots in 60s Brighton, Quadrophenia perfectly captures the teenage need to belong, and identify, with your peers.Universal Pictures releases the Special Edition of Quadrophenia, the classic film that has inspired generations of youths since its release in1979.This truly is a landmark British film.Captures a fierce, dizzying excitement!Mod Ace Face (played by none other than Sting).Repertory
screen is programmed by Bruce Goldstein.Not to be reproduced
without permission.
|
