Nick Cave and “comedy” aren’t two things often mentioned in the same sentence, but Melbourne’s master of morosity clearly has a sense of humour in there somewhere. In 1995, he guested on ex-girlfriend Anita Lane’s cover of “Bedazzled,” a song written and recorded by Peter Cook & Dudley Moore for the 1967 film of the same name.
In the film, Dud plays a hapless young chap who calls upon the services of the Devil to help him win the girl of his dreams, Margaret. Every time he comes up with a girl-winning scenario, the Devil – Peter Cook – puts it into play, only to insert himself into proceedings as Dud’s usurper. The scene in which the song appears features Dud as a clean-cut young pop star whose rapturously-received TV appearance is completely forgotten the moment that futuristic new sensations – the fabulously named Drimble Wedge and the Vegetation (Drimble is, of course, Peter Cook’s Devil) – take the stage.
The act and the song are both quite prophetic. There’s more than a little bit of Bowie, early Roxy-era Bryan Ferry, Kraftwerk, Human League and Pet Shop Boys about Drimble Wedge’s demeanour. The classic line “You fill me with inertia” anticipates Johnny Rotten’s “...and we don’t care!” attitude with eloquence and humour. Sadly that’s the one line in the tune that Anita Lane changes – she replaces it with “You make me sick” – which perhaps suggests that she lacked something of a sense of humour after all. Still, it showed great taste to revive the song in the first place, so let’s hear her and Nick's version and then the Peter & Dudley-composed original.
If you’ve never seen the original Bedazzled, it’s a work of comedic genius set against the backdrop of 1960’s Swinging London. It is vastly superior to the Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley remake from 2000.
Nick Cave & Anita Lane
Peter Cook
Catch Nick Cave's upcoming Livestream, Idiot Prayer: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace broadcast live, July 23rd at 8pm AEST. It's a one-off event with no pausing, rewinding or watching back later! Get your tickets here.
Listen to Nick Cave on Spotify:
Listen to Nick Cave on Apple Music:
