Jobriath was the stage name of Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - August 3, 1983) a glam rock singer of 1973 and 1974. Signed to Elektra Records for a reported $500,000, he was advanced by his manager Jerry Brandt as the great American glam singer. A huge marketing campaign ensued, with Jobriath's naked torso on buses, in music magazines, and on a 43 x 41 billboard in Times Square. Jobriath is credited as the first mass-marketed pop star, and the first to be openly gay. On both counts, it was thought to be too much. Jobriath's first LP (self-titled) was well-reviewed, but commercially was not a huge success. The public seemed, not frightened, but puzzled by the performer who sang of hard sexual themes, posed as an alien (not unlike David Bowie), sang in a range of styles and voices, and name-checked everyone from Jesus to Marlene Dietrich.Losing interest in the act, Brandt cancelled their much-talked-of stage show. Jobriath himself drifted off into a strange, private hell of gender contortions. A second LP, Creatures of the Street (songs from the same extensive sessions) was released, but to little interest. Glam itself was fading, and by mid-1974, had all but died. Jobriath and his band embarked on a brief American concert tour, and the act folded. Other members of the band included Jim Gregory, Steve Love, Greg Diamond, and Hayden Wayne. Over the next decade, he became known as one of the industry's most expensive blunders. He did, however, retain a cult of admirers, particularly among British popstars like Morrissey, Mark Stewart of The Pop Group, Siouxsie Sioux, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, and Gary Numan.Jobriath himself sought to distance himself from his solo career, taking a new name, Cole Berlin, and adopting a new style - cabaret. He played the rest of his life in local diners and at parties. Under contract to Brandt for 10 years, he could not record music, but worked privately on a series of musicals, including the fabled "Popstar." When the contract was up, Jobriath was dying of AIDS. He died in August 1983, by then indifferent to the fate of his music. In November 2004, Morrissey oversaw Jobriath's first CD re-issue. Morrissey had previously tried to hire Jobriath as his supporting act for the Your Arsenal tour, not realising that the singer had died.
Update 2009
Welcome to the myspace page: "Jobriath A.D." the forthcoming feature documentary on the life and career of the legendary Jobriath. Many of you are already familiar with the story of Jobriath, as well as his music, but I hope that by having the page up while we are currently in production with the film, it will help spread the word not only about the documentary, but about Jobriath and his brief but timeless musical output. If anyone reading this had any kind of connection with Jobriath or think they may have something worthwhile to share with us about him, please email us at: [email protected]
and as always, you are welcome to post on our page, as well. Please help spread the word about our page and stay tuned for more news.
Thanks for your support.
Kieran
