Darcy Clay

Last updated

Darcy Clay
Birth nameDaniel Robert Bolton
Born(1972-12-05)5 December 1972
Died15 March 1998(1998-03-15) (aged 25)
Years active1997–1998

Darcy Clay (born Daniel Robert Bolton, 5 December 1972 – 15 March 1998) was a New Zealand singer, songwriter and musician, who was made famous in 1997 for his Number 5 [1] hit "Jesus I Was Evil", in which he recorded all of the instruments in his bedroom on a 4-track recorder. He was signed to Antenna Records.

Contents

Background

Darcy grew up in Birkenhead, Auckland. When he was 14 years old he spent 9 months living in Atlanta, Georgia and later lived for 18 months in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia with his Aunt, Che, her husband, Peter, and his cousin, Madelaine.

Darcy Clay's favourite bands were Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, AC-DC, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and a variety of other metal bands and a broad variety of country and other western music. He very much enjoyed "The Highwaymen" and had a deep appreciation of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. All of his songs on the EP "Jesus I was Evil" were written (except "Jolene"), played (all instruments and vocals), recorded, and produced by Darcy Clay alone.

Music

Clay's entire career output consisted of two six track EPs, Jesus I Was Evil and (posthumously) a live EP Songs For Beethoven, recorded on DAT tape when he opened for Blur's 1997 New Zealand performance (including a solo performance of Candle in the Wind, the tribute to Marilyn Monroe written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin who later re-recorded it as a tribute to Princess Diana, who had died less than two months beforehand). The two EPs were reissued back to back as an album entitled Darcy Anthology, featuring a bonus CD of all of Darcy Clay music videos, interview footage and press clippings created before his death in 1998.

His music has been described as "country-fried punk rock" - his Jesus I Was Evil EP featured a cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene , amongst other somewhat country-flavoured rock songs.

Clay's song "All I Gotta Do" was covered by English rock band Hot Leg as the b-side to their 2009 single "Cocktails".

Clay's song "Jesus I Was Evil" was covered by Australian group Butterfingers.

Awards

AwardsYearCategoryWorkResult
RIANZ [2] 1998 Single of the Year"Jesus I Was Evil"Nominated
Most Promising Male VocalistWon

Death

Darcy Clay died by suicide on 15 March 1998. [3] At the time of his suicide Clay was scheduled to perform on 9 April 1998 at the Levi's Life Festival, a suicide prevention and awareness event. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shihad</span> New Zealand alternative rock band

Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin, Phil Knight and Jon Toogood, who were joined by Karl Kippenberger in 1991. The band were known as Pacifier between 2002 and 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don McGlashan</span> New Zealand musician, songwriter, composer

Donald McGlashan is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who Is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cinema and television. Among other instruments, McGlashan has played guitar, drums, euphonium and French horn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disco Inferno (band)</span> English band

Disco Inferno were an English experimental rock band active in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Initially a trio of guitar, bass, and drums performing in an identifiable post-punk style, the band soon pioneered a dynamic use of digital sampling in addition to standard rock instruments. While commercially unsuccessful during their existence, the band is considered to be a key post-rock act.

Rock music in New Zealand, also known as Kiwi rock music and New Zealand rock music, rose to prominence first in 1955 with Johnny Cooper's cover version of Bill Haley's hit song "Rock Around the Clock". This was followed by Johnny Devlin, sometimes nicknamed New Zealand's Elvis Presley, and his cover of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy". The 1960s saw Max Merritt and the Meteors and Ray Columbus & the Invaders achieve success. In the 1970s and early 1980s the innovative Split Enz had success internationally as well as nationally, with member Neil Finn later continuing with Crowded House. Other influential bands in the 1970s were Th' Dudes, Dragon and Hello Sailor. The early 1980s saw the development of the indie rock "Dunedin sound", typified by Dunedin bands such as The Clean, Straitjacket Fits and The Chills, recorded by the Flying Nun record label of Christchurch. New Zealand's foremost hard rock band Shihad started their long career in 1988.

Jakob is a New Zealand post-rock band, based in the Hawkes Bay city of Napier. The band consists of guitarist Jeff Boyle, bassist Maurice Beckett, and drummer Jason Johnston. They have been compared to such bands as Mogwai, Sonic Youth, and High Dependency Unit, though they largely eschew any vocals or samples in their songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Phoenix Foundation</span> New Zealand indie rock band

The Phoenix Foundation is a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Wellington in 1997.

<i>Natures Best</i> 2002 compilation album by Natures Best series

Nature's Best is a two-disc compilation album of thirty New Zealand popular music songs, selected by a panel as the top thirty New Zealand songs of all time.

Minuit(pronounced min-wee, French for midnight) were an electronic band from New Zealand, formed in Nelson.

Happy Flowers was an American musical group, formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1983 by two members of the Landlords, John Beers and Charlie Kramer, both students at the University of Virginia. This duo combines improvisational noise punk guitar and drums with lyrics often written in the first person from the perspective of a child, with childlike intonation and grammar. Their humorous songs are mainly about freak childhood accidents and common childhood gripes.

Head Like a Hole is a rock band from Wellington, New Zealand. The group is named after the Nine Inch Nails song of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybodys Jesus</span> 2005 single by Butterfingers

Everybodys Jesus [sic] is a "double b-side" released by Australian hip hop group Butterfingers on 24 January 2005 on the Valley Trash label. The CD single feature the songs "Jesus I Was Evil" and "Everybody's Ugly", the latter which later appeared on the album The Deeper You Dig....

<i>Jesus I Was Evil</i> 1997 EP by Darcy Clay

Jesus I Was Evil is an EP by New Zealand musician Darcy Clay. It was released on Antenna Records in 1997. All songs except for "In The Middle" were recorded on a 4-Track. "Jolene" is a cover of the Dolly Parton song. The title track became Bfm's number one most played song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opal (band)</span> American rock band

Opal was an American rock band in the 1980s. They were part of the Paisley Underground musical style. The band's name is derived from "Opel", a song by Syd Barrett.

Forgotten Tomb is an Italian metal band from Piacenza. It was founded in 1999 by Ferdinando "Herr Morbid" Marchisio as a one-man black metal project after the disbanding of his previous black metal band Sacrater. The lyrical themes of the band's early albums revolve mostly around depression and suicide, while the recent albums' lyrics deal with negativity and nihilism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Devlin</span> New Zealand singer, songwriter (born 1938)

John Lockett Devlin is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and rock musician, who has been compared to Elvis Presley.

Rapture Ruckus was a Christian hip hop and rock band from Wellington, New Zealand signed to BEC Recordings. They have released four albums: Rapture Ruckus in 2002, I Believe in 2006, Rapture Ruckus Live at World's End in 2008, and Rapture Ruckus in 2010 as debut album with BEC Recordings. I Believe won an award for Best Gospel/Christian Album at the New Zealand Music Awards, Rapture Ruckus Live at World's End debuted at No. 7 on the New Zealand album charts and Rapture Ruckus (2010) was nominated for a Dove Award for Best Rap/Hip Hop Album. Headed by Brad Dring, they have been a headline act at Parachute Music Festival several times and now in the US at Jesus Jam, Creation Festival, Sonshine Festival Three Rivers Festival and Festival One.

The Tin Syndrome was an alternative rock group from Wellington, New Zealand, active in the early to mid 1980s. Led by quirky songwriter/guitarist Mark Austin, the band was noted for its off-beat sound, energetic delivery and frenetic lyrics, as found in such early songs as "Random Wellingtonian" and "Plastic Bag". From late 1981 to mid 1984 The Tin Syndrome was a popular live act in its home town of Wellington, where its unique and complex arrangements had an enduring influence on the local music scene.

The Eversons are a four-member indie pop band originally from Wellington, New Zealand, currently living in London. Self-dubbed "a guitar group," vocals are handled by all members. They released their self-titled debut EP in 2011 on Lil' Chief Records, with a follow-up LP, Summer Feeling, released in 2012 through Lil' Chief Records in New Zealand and ThisTime Records in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicideboys</span> American hip-hop duo

Suicideboys are an American hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana, founded in 2014 by cousins Ruby da Cherry and Scrim. Via the music sharing platform SoundCloud, the duo rose to popularity for their abrasive, self-produced beats, as well as their harsh lyrical content and themes prominently featuring substance abuse and suicidal ideation. They own and operate their own label, G*59 Records, under which all of their music is distributed by Virgin Music Label & Artist Services.

<i>Alan Vega 70th Birthday Limited Edition EP Series</i> 2008 EP series by various artists

Alan Vega 70th Birthday Limited Edition EP Series is a series of eight EPs with contributions from various artists paying tribute to Alan Vega and his band Suicide. The individual 10" vinyl EPs were pressed in limited quantities and released through the London-based label Blast First Petite. According to the project's press release, the series was originally intended to be a monthly year-long series across 12 EPs, but ended up being released periodically over three years starting in 2008, continuing into 2010. The series launched with simultaneous releases of Dream Baby Dream and Shadazz on October 28, 2008. Each EP features one or two artists covering either a Suicide or Alan Vega solo track, paired with either a previously unreleased live or demo version of a Suicide or Vega solo song. Most releases in the series featured what Blast First referred to as a "major" artist and also an "upcoming" artist. Most of the EPs were also released digitally around the time of the 10" vinyl release, with some seeing limited-edition CD releases as well.

References

  1. ↑ "NZ Charts". charts.nz. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "NZMAs". nzmusicawards.co.nz. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  3. ↑ "Musician dies", Dominion , Wellington, New Zealand, p. 3, 16 March 1998
  4. ↑ Fyfe, Anna (17 March 1998), "Anti-suicide festival star takes own life", Dominion, Wellington, New Zealand, p. 7
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.