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New York Dolls performing in 1973
New York Dolls performing in 1973

New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls (pictured). It was released in 1973 by Mercury Records. In the years leading up to the album, the Dolls had developed a local fanbase by playing regularly in lower Manhattan after forming in 1971. Most music producers and record companies were reluctant to work with them because of their onstage cross-dressing and blatant vulgarity. The album – a mix of carefree rock and roll, influences from Brill Building pop, and campy sensibilities – explores themes of urban youth, teen alienation, adolescent romance, and authenticity, as rendered in lead singer David Johansen's colloquial and ambiguous lyrics. New York Dolls was met with widespread critical acclaim but sold poorly and polarized listeners. Despite its commercial failure, New York Dolls was an influential precursor to the 1970s punk rock movement. It has been named in various publications as one of the best debut records in rock music. (Full article...)

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Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After completing his education in Ireland and the UK, Wilde became associated with the philosophy of aestheticism and then settled in London. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, including plays, poems and lectures, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s, with works including Salome (1891), An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). He also wrote his sole novel The Picture of Dorian Gray around this time. At the height of his fame and success, Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men; he was convicted and jailed from 1895 to 1897. After his release, he spent his last three years impoverished and in exile in France before his death from meningitis. His last works included De Profundis (published posthumously in 1905), a letter discussing his spiritual journey through his trials, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a poem about the harsh rhythms of prison life.

Photograph credit: Napoleon Sarony; restored by Adam Cuerden

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