The Thorn is a comic, religious satire movie released on May 24, 1974, as The Divine Mr. J. It was first shown as The Greatest Story Overtold at the Detroit Institute of Art in 1971. It was released on video in the early 1980s as The Thorn. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Alexander. Its release was legally challenged on grounds that its title and advertising deceptively exploited the fame of its co-star, Bette Midler.
The Thorn starred John Hassberger as Jesus Christ with supporting roles of Bette Midler as the Virgin Mary; James Harrison as Joseph; John Greenburg as John the Baptist; Fred LaBour as the Angel Fred; Richard Pollard as Rabbi Gabriel; Diana David as Salome; and Jack Castor and Chi Chi as queens.
All of these actors were unknown and had no other film credits, with the exception of Bette Midler who was just beginning to build her singing career, had acted in a Broadway musical, and had briefly played a lead role in the off-Broadway musical Salvation in 1969. Midler had a brief appearance as a boat passenger in the 1966 film Hawaii.
The Thorn is the only EP release by English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in 1984, in-between the albums Hyæna and Tinderbox, by record labels Polydor and Wonderland.
The Thorn features four of the band's album tracks recorded with orchestral instrumentation: "Overground" originally appeared on the Banshees' debut album The Scream; "Placebo Effect" was a song from their second album Join Hands, while "Voices" and "Red Over White" were previously released as B-sides of the "Hong Kong Garden" and "Israel" singles, respectively. The recording took place in Bavaria, in Germany.
The Thorn was released on 19 October 1984 by record label Polydor.
The purpose of the EP was three-fold: Siouxsie stated that she wanted to induct guitarist John Valentine Carruthers into the Banshees, to try out some string arrangements, and to simply re-record tracks that had evolved on tour. The songs from the EP were later included on the fourth disc of Downside Up, a collection of the band's B-sides.
every now and then i get
time alone so my
solitude gives me time to
roam through my ideals i
excogitate how i see the
world and how it sees me
sentence me all alone i
won't be on my own
take me as i am in
support of a populist
implicate yoursef those
who are impious i'm
disassociated for more
than just one reason
don't discount my