The music world is full of mavericks, outsiders and artists that can’t help but commit commercial suicide when they’re on the brink of success, John Otway is one such man, a singer-songwriter who always seems to manage to snatch a defeat in the jaws of victory. A performer who’s decisions always seems to have cost that one big breakthrough, whether it’s a sudden change of style or a wonderfully over ambitious world tour attempt, Otway has always mastered that one move that’ll bring him crashing back to earth after a recent high.
Rock And Rolls Greatest Failure is a brilliant, funny and often touching portrayal of Otway as he talks us through those highs and lows, showcasing the pitfalls of attempting to live the rock n’ roll dream.
During the film Otway as well as various producers, managers and collaborators try to explain just how these crazy ideas manifest and the results of these madcap schemes.
The film opens with archive footage of John performing at a large festival to rapturous applause, showcasing him to be on the cusp of the punk scene with a wild rendition of his top ten hit Really Free, a track that saw Otway appear on The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top Of The Pops, however instead of continuing the wild anarchic nature of spasmodic punk, he decided to “build of the success” with a somewhat turgid orchestral piece entitled Geneva, quickly alienating his fan-base.
From there we see the various attempts to hit those previous dizzy heights with all manner of crazy stunts from self-releasing a Xmas single (to various radio stations) with the Warner Brothers label attached to hiring out the Royal Albert Hall for a birthday party, then marching the audience to the nearest HMV to encourage them to buy the new single, to often collaborator Wild Willie Barrett using Otway’s skull as a battering ram on the song, Headbutt.Headbutt.
One of the other interesting factors of this film is the devoted fanclub that Otway develops and how they help him realise various ideas including the making of this very film and how they’ve helped inspire other media campaigns (such as the successful Rage Against The Machine For Xmas number one)
Otway is a likable madcap genius throughout the movies duration and by the end of the film you’re left routing for one of his schemes to finally pay dividends and give John the success and adulation he so desperately craves. Ironically the film itself looks set to be Otways greatest success with the likes of the Guardian readers voting it the second best movie of 2013 and a successful showing at the Cannes Film Festival.
If you only buy or indeed watch one music documentary this year I highly recommend you make it Otway The Movie, it’s a touching, heart-warming film of a man and his dreams of success and who can really begrudge that.
Rhythm & Booze Rating 10
www.otwaythemovie.com
Competition Time:
I have two copies of Rock And Roll’s Greatest Failure: Otway The Movie to give away if you can email me the answer to this very simple Otway related question:
John Otway had a follow-up hit to Really Free with a disco sampling track entitled Bunsen……?
email your answers to [email protected]