Velvet Goldmine

Velvet Goldmine (1998) is a British drama film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s; it tells the story of the fictional pop star Brian Slade. Sandy Powell received a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. The film utilizes a non-linear structure to interweave the vignettes of the various characters.

Plot

Set in a dystopian, grey version of 1984, gay British journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) is writing an article about the withdrawal from public life of 1970s bisexual glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and is interviewing those who had a part in the entertainer's career. As each person recalls their thoughts, it becomes the introduction of the vignette for that particular segment in Slade's personal and professional life.

Part of the story involves Stuart's family's reaction to his sexuality, and how the gay and bisexual glam rock stars and music scene gave him the strength to come out. Rock shows, fashion, and rock journalism all play a role in showing the youth culture of 1970s Britain, as well as the gay culture of the time.

Velvet Goldmine (song)

"Velvet Goldmine" is a song written by David Bowie and recorded during the The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars sessions.

Recorded on 11 November 1971, the song did not make it onto the album despite being chalked up on the original master tapes running order. Its slot was effectively replaced by "Starman" after Bowie was told by RCA's A&R department that they needed a "hit single" for the album.

The song was originally titled and demoed as "He's a Goldmine". A mid-tempo rock song, it very much fitted in with the heavier cuts on Ziggy and contains the usual craftsmanship of Mick Ronson's Les Paul signature guitar licks. In a radio interview in 1972 (prior to it being dropped from the album) Bowie said he felt "Velvet Goldmine" was a "lovely thing" and "very David Bowie".

"Velvet Goldmine" was eventually released as the B-side (along with "Changes") of the UK re-release of "Space Oddity" in 1975 which went to Number 1 in the UK singles charts and gave Bowie his first UK chart topper. Bowie, who had moved to LA at the time of the release said later of the song's inclusion "The whole thing came out without my having a chance to listen to the mix. Somebody else had mixed it - an extraordinary move".