Andy Warhol

"Andy Warhol" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's early artist inspirations, the American pop artist Andy Warhol. Background The album track opens with a series of strange electronic tones which fades into studio chatter in which producer Ken Scott mispronounces Warhol's name and Bowie repeatedly corrects him. Scott then solemnly reintroduces the take with the correct pronunciation, and Bowie asks if the tape is rolling. Upon realising he is indeed being recorded, Bowie bursts into laughter and the song proper begins. The song is memorable for a distinctive repeated riff played by Mick Ronson on acoustic guitar. Originally the song was written for Dana Gillespie, who recorded it in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1973 on her album Weren't Born a Man. Bowie produced Gillespie's version and Ronson also plays guitar. Gillespie performed the song in 1974 on the Dutch television programme TopPop.