Jet Boy, Jet Girl
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| "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "Pogo Pogo" |
"Jet Boy, Jet Girl" is a song by Elton Motello about a 15-year-old boy's sexual relationship with an older man, who then rejects him for a girl.
Composition
"Jet Boy, Jet Girl" has the same backing track as Plastic Bertrand/Lou Deprijck's "Ça plane pour moi". A few months before the vocals for "Ça plane pour moi" were recorded, the record firm used the same backing track with the same musicians to release "Jet Boy, Jet Girl".[1] Alan Ward recorded his song in English.[citation needed]
Lyrics and controversy
Alan Ward, the singer behind Elton Motello, was circumspect about the lyrics. "We have all been ripped off at some point in our lives," he said in a magazine interview:
but judging by the emails I receive, my lyric has touched many more people and seems to ring a chord in many more hearts than the French one will ever do. That's why I wrote it. If I was meant to be rich it would have happened. But I am rich in the knowledge that my thoughts will never disappear.
In 1989, the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC), acting on a complaint from activist Jack Thompson fined radio station WIOD $10,000 for allowing talk host Neil Rogers to play the song. Thompson considered the song obscene and the FCC agreed with him.[2]
Personnel
- Elton Motello
- Alan Ward/Alan Timms – vocals
- Jet Staxx/Mike Butcher – guitar
- John Valke – bass
- Bob Dartch – drums
Cover versions
The song has been covered by numerous bands, including Captain Sensible & the Softies, The Damned, Chron Gen, the Bamboo Kids, and Crocodiles. The original version received renewed attention when it was included on John Waters' 2007 compilation CD A Date with John Waters.
See also
References
- ^ "Interview: Alan Ward and Mike Butcher". Attacking the Beat. March 2, 2009.
- ^ "FCC Record, Volume 6, No. 13 Pages 3571 to 4108, June 17 - June 28, 1991". University of North Texas Digital Library. Retrieved 2015-10-16.