Identity Performance in Music: How Musicians Adopt Characters

 

 

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now

know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will

be to know and understand.

– Albert Einstein

 

 

Music industry and media work conjointly to grow and monetize not only the artists’ work but their personalities, too. Fame, as we know it in contemporary culture, wouldn’t exist unless the media platforms such as TV, radio, magazines, etc. provide it the exposure needed to spread popularity. Some academic research into the inner workings of fame production has been made, however, the focus has usually been put on the capitalistic nature of fame – its uses, productions, and profits. In this writing, I will be exploring the processes behind the musicians’ character development as well as its psychology and cultural value. The research will be drawn from various fields such as media, psychology, cultural studies and fan studies. Particularly, I will be focusing on the concept of performed identity, analysing and attempting to understand its workings. Moreover, I will be exploring the musicians’ use of media to create the mental images of themselves for the audiences to believe in. I will be using the lives and practices of David Bowie and John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols) as the case studies for this research. Both being very bold and ‘authentic’ personalities they are concrete examples of performed identities, additionally, they both practiced very unusual ways of interacting with media. Within this research I will be applying the same criteria for both case studies – attempting to explain their success through the context of the time, their public identity, their performativity and authenticity, their use of media. Understanding the artists’ personal relationship between their authentic personality and performed identity assumes a lot of speculation due to the nature of the topic, however, I will attempt to gather and analyse a wide array of research.

 

In stardom, performance is an essential device; it produces and maintains the mental settings for the audiences to build their associations within. Often, the performances imply upholding a fictional identity. Although it can be argued that every individual’s identity is a made up performance, this concept takes on a greater scale when it is looked at through the cult context. The culture is accustomed to the emergence of characters as stars - the world is fascinated with performances rather than people. This cultural phenomenon creates a platform for various psychological and emotional connections to occur between the audience and musicians. Therefore, further research into the psychology of performed identities from both the audience’s and the musician’s perspectives will be beneficial to the understanding of the inner workings of the music industry and culture.

 

 

 

[Character Identity Patterns]

Fame is a complex social concept which is believed to occur since human societies developed first forms of communication (Boyle, 2018). English aristocrat and philosopher Margaret Cavendish (1656) suggests that fame in humans is desired as a device for achieving ‘immortality’ – the same theory is supported by the psychology expert Cooper Lawrence in her book ‘Cult of Celebrity’ (2009). Indeed, the communal knowledge of the person assumes their immaterial existence and as consequence they might remain relevant and affect the world even after demise. In the music industry fame implies that a musician’s art and character live on, too - strong cult following is often associated with musical acts due to their performativity. Authors Wayne Jancik and Tad Lathrop (1995) explain that often musical performers’ image and music are either ‘conventional enough to appeal to the largest number of people’ or their ‘singular artistic visions inspire enthusiastic loyalty among distinct groups of fans’, too. Lawrence suggests that there is a natural need for people to have these various projections of assumed flawless ways of being. Such idolisations can produce personal fulfilment with one’s identity as they can be adopted by the audience - relating to the performer’s experience through their art is crucial. Cultural products such as music often relate explicitly and purposefully to their current audiences. Similarly, it seems that stardom often accommodates to or reflects the experiences of their consumers, hence creating strong emotional connections and attracting fan bases. Drawing comparisons between oneself and others seems natural, too - the ability to relate to someone and recognise them as being somehow ‘similar’ means that seeing that person living a ‘successful’ or desired life triggers personal satisfaction. This aspect of fame helps to create musical fan bases or cults within which people can relate to each other by supporting their common ‘idol’ or rather their common belief of an idolised person. Group identities, therefore, are created and encouraged by the feeling of (comm)unity, fans are heartened from identifying themselves as members of a commune who share common interests and oppose common challenges. In fact, the fascination with the presence of such groups comes as a surprise for a lot of new fans; their pleasure in discovering that they are ‘not alone’ fulfils their social compulsion. (Jenkins, 1997)

 

A public image of a musician is produced through social activity, visual identity, media posts and cultural presence turning them into a product designed for audience’s consumption (Lawrence, 2009). Their performed lives are tightly attached to the preconceived notions of the ways for being. However, Lawrence also mentions that the audience itself is responsible for the emergence of these produced ways of life – audiences create and encourage their idols. It is essential to understand that the society projects onto the famous characters everything they wish they could be. In this process real lives of stars are dismissed and replaced with produced identities; for them, their way of living is a practice and a performance which has to be maintained whenever they are exposed to the public. For the society, they symbolise a form of unattainability which grants them the position and the power they hold. If anyone could effortlessly be alike the ‘stars’, their value and fascination factor would disappear altogether. Furthermore, the more the audiences fall into their forged world, the more they fall into an impracticable realm. The fiction of the performed identities is often misleading as it presents the continuous role playing as reality and their characters as real authentic selves. There are numerous examples of very strong characters in the music history. Further in this writing I will be analysing the character of two of the most prominent musical idols – David Bowie and Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols.

 

The second half of the 20th century has seen a drastic rise in the use of music media; TV platforms such as Top of the Pops and MTV channel have been introduced. The coverage of the music culture in printed media has also been widely extended by the emergence of music magazines such as Rolling Stone, Smash Hits, NME, etc.

 

[Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols]

In his biographical book ‘Anger is an Energy’ (2014) the Sex Pistols’ leader John Lydon paints the environment he grew up in – the post-war implications, poverty, rigorous communities. Socially, these severe conditions encouraged a new mentality of populist individualism – similar ethic to David Bowie’s perpetual self-reinvention as he states "one isn't totally what one has been conditioned to think one is." (Sandbrook, 2015) The challenge of everyday life encouraged the individualism and even subtle mental isolation which can been picked up in a few artists that came out of the 1970s era. At the time the music industry has mainly been conforming to the mainstream notions of what music was supposed to be - TV shows of the early 1970s such as Top of the Pops would mostly cover traditional jazz bands, mainstream rock, funk and, occasionally, glam rock which then lead to the emergence of the short-lived music phenomenon - punk. Inspired by the freedom of expression that artists such as Marc Bolan of T. Rex and David Bowie presented and the earlier garage rock bands, punk bands expressed their responses to the current state of affairs with extreme, chaotic, fast music. The poor musical quality of the punk genre was compensated by the powerful politically and socially concerned lyrics.

 

The Sex Pistols are considered by critics one of the most influential bands in the history of popular rock music (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2006). Both musically and visually the band reinforced an aggressive, rebellious, nihilistic image, social and political outrage. Their shows regularly caused problems with the venues, managers and authorities, and public appearances repeatedly instigated fights, arrests and chaos. The Sex Pistols challenged the social conformity in the UK instilled by the morally constricting political context and initiated one of the most momentous cultural panics. Their shocking and provocative behaviour during their appearance on the Bill Grundy’s 1976 TV show has exposed them to the wider mainstream public providing the biggest gain in their popularity.

 

During the interview, Siouxsie Sioux mentioned that she had "always wanted to meet" Bill Grundy to which he replied, "Did you really? We'll meet afterwards, shall we?" This incited the following conversation between the Sex Pistols member Steve Jones and Bill Grundy:

 

Jones: You dirty sod. You dirty old man.

Grundy: Well keep going, chief, keep going. Go on. You've got another five seconds. Say something outrageous!

Jones: You dirty bastard.

Grundy: Go on, again.

Jones: You dirty fucker.

Grundy: What a clever boy!

Jones: What a fucking rotter.

(Daily Mirror, 1976, p. 9)

 

The obscene confrontational behaviour, blunt honesty and immature but vigorous anger brought international success to the Sex Pistols. Their vision evolved into a communal identity - major bands such as Joy Division, The Smiths, The Fall and The Buzzcocks were all formed at a single The Sex Pistols’ concert in Manchester (Kelly, 1996). Their exaggerated authenticity and controversy made them stand out against the repetitive commercial circles of the current popular music industry. Simon Reynolds (2009), a music journalist, features in his book of post-punk interviews Malcom Maclaren, the bands’ manager accepting that punk as a genre was never meant to become commercially successful and sell itself. The controversial attitude and the momentariness of the movement facilitated its stirring nature – its purpose in the music industry seems to have been hitting the well-settled mainstream music market and show the audiences a new perspective. The Sex Pistols vision went beyond just musical, the nihilistic socio-political concept overruled the sonic presentation of the band. Furthermore, the punk subculture is equally known for its distinctive fashion and visual aesthetic, which often was prioritised over musicality. Johnny Rotten commented on the inclusion of Sid Vicious to the band, "Everyone agreed he had the look, but musical skill was another matter.” (Strongman, 2007) The emphasis that the Sex Pistols put on the visual identity of the band added to their concrete image and performance.

 

Throughout his career John Lydon has established an infamous relationship with the media. In fact, it can be represented by the multiple Youtube videos titled ‘Johnny Rotten vs MTV’ or similar. Many interviewers have talked about their intimidation and concern regarding interviews with Lydon. For example, in one of the MTV recordings their presenter Kurt Loder (1996) introduces him as “born John Lydon but he'll always be known by the word he adopted as a stage surname, it's also a word that describes the way he tended to make our VJs feel every time they encountered him – Rotten.’ His aggressive attitude in the interviews seems to be pre-established; it seems that he is aggravated by the idea of an interview itself. The authenticity of this act is questionable since it seems to solely provoke and scandalize yet this nature remains throughout his life coming across as extremely authentic. The controversy remains a general attribute of Lydon’s media presence – not caring for his image becomes his image which ironically might be designed by Lydon himself. Essentially, Lydon reinforces his controversial public image through his scandalous and aggressive interviews which almost always involve heavy swearing, ridiculing and even leaving the set. One of the most famous interviews contains a censorship beep which lasts continuously for 7 seconds (Grey, 1976). However, the media seemed to have learnt from his behaviour and even abused it later to produce the provoking spectacle out of it for their own profit. When Lydon first emerged in the media scene, he authentically caused chaos by not following the rules and acting out the aggression. But with TV soon understanding his nature, he himself started to get provoked by interviewers showing him content or asking question that would aggravate him. For example, on the Mark Goodman 1986 interview John Lydon was shown a film accusing him of having sold out all the punk fans which resulted in him swearing and leaving the set. It seems that he became a tool implemented to gain attention to the shows and raise their ratings. It might even be speculated that the interviewers themselves would play out their shock as a part of the stunt – all to produce selling content. Ironically, if Lydon intended to provoke, at this point, he would have to give an untroubled interview. This is the risk that comes with adopting a scandalising character – it can not possibly be sustainable. Hence, Lydon’s later media appearances are very scarce and generally calm. In his 1987 interview by FBC he says ‘As you can tell, I’ve mellowed out’. Indeed, although he continued to often act controversially his stubborn and blunt aggression has dissolved eventually.

 

The concrete punk identity that was performed by the Sex Pistols established a strong cult following. Their visual and sonic identity created a scene which can be related to by a distinct group of people and due to its socio-political ideology it is potentially perpetually relevant. Musical critic Bill Wyman (2011) notes that Johnny Rotten's "fierce intelligence and astonishing onstage charisma" were significant elements of the band’s act, but ultimately states that his real value was defined by his provocative media conducts. Considering the context of the time, the aesthetics of rebel and provocation were intuitive and therefore became successful and gained followers internationally making the Sex Pistols extremely influential not only creatively but politically and socially, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Bowie]

David Bowie is one of the most notable performers and musicians of the past century. Idolised by so many people, generation after generation, he has created an immense world out of his art and his life, hence, being the perfect example for the study of the identity performance concept. He like no one else has mastered the art of living a creative life directing its narratives in way that turned his persona into a character, even a story. In her article ‘David Bowie: a creative force like no other’ an author Eleanor Black (2016) writes “at the heart of it, David Bowie was a storyteller. A brilliant, kooky, highly original storyteller”. Indeed, it seems that no matter the medium Bowie’s creative forces have always been focused on creating an imaginary world around him and his audience to reproduce inspirations, ideas and creative energy. His eccentric performative identity played an integral role in this process – through his music and fashion he sent out the signals into the world about how he felt, how he saw himself and who he was at the specific time. He expressed these aspects of his identity with passion exposing to the world his complex visions. Rhana Devenport (2015), an art curator and director comments "He was ultimately a narrator of the imagination. I think the work was no different, whether the medium. It was all part of an incredible woven fabric of his creative output”. Bowie used masterfully the semiotics of culture to produce specific aesthetics and style which played into his various personas – from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke. He transformed his own life into a medium of expression demonstrating that creativity knows no boundaries.

 

Bowie’s influences are incredibly vast, he combined various parts of the culture mixing them into his unique collection of references. From the mime performances to the William Burrough’s collage writing methods – Bowie’s inspirations are put through his own perception turning the most obscure aspects of culture into popular music. Through that process Bowie educates his audience about all of his ambiguous influences and knowledge, elevating his seeming pop music to a form of art and experimentation. Theatre has always been a very strong influence in Bowie’s work explaining his finely tuned sensibility to performativity of creative life. The Urban Shepherd (2016) writes:

 

‘An actor before he was an actor, part of this stems from how Bowie theatrically imbued heavy portions of himself into his alter-egos. His claim that what he did on stage was “theatre, and only theatre…” is perfectly valid, but that just drives the interest in what fueled this actor’s method.’

 

Each of his alter-egos didn’t just represent a new aesthetical or musical interest – Bowie’s perpetual change of character and identity created an act out of this constant reinvention.

 

This tendency, however, seemed to be directly linked into Bowie’s personal identity. It is impossible to understand how genuine his reality was due to its constant performativity. Bowie’s characters become him which can be proved by a simple internet search for his most famous invention, Ziggy Stardust – most of the links soon redirect to David Bowie himself, his alter-ego isn’t virtually accepted as an individual character. Furthermore, in a 1976 BBC radio interview Bowie has expressed the confusion toward his personal creative identity:

 

I thought, "Well, here I am, I'm a bit mixed up creatively, I've got all these things I like doing at once on stage ... I'm not quite sure if I'm a mime or a songwriter or a singer, or do I want to go back to painting again. Why am I doing any of these things anyway ..." and I realised it was because I wanted to be well known [...] I wanted to be the instigator of new ideas, I wanted to turn people on to new things and new perspectives ... I always wanted to be that sort of catalytic kind of thing. (Changes, 1976)

 

Bowie’s aspiration toward public influence was superior to his creative methods. Hence, it can be said that his performative identity and its attributes such as the rock’n’roll attitude, eccentric fashion and bright makeup, were merely an extension of his biggest project – himself. A fashion designer and museum director Doris De Pont (2013) notes that Bowie didn’t focus on leading the fashion trends, however, he realised the power of fashion style to “create an identity”. His stage antics were set out to shock the public through mediums such as fashion. Wearing heels, performing nude in a jockstrap, skin-tight bodysuits – Bowie tactically used his fashion to extend his on-stage performance often associating it with sexuality and gender matters. His androgynous looks in combination with prompting lyrics, music and performance as Ziggy Stardust challenged the audiences turning his alter-ego into a self-sufficient medium that transcended any categories. Essentially, through expressing a fictional personality Bowie provokes his audiences to critically question their own identity – as a performer, his charisma becomes his language and a personal story, even if fictional, becomes the core of the creative interest. A visual artist and writer Laura Fissinger (1983) states that if Bowie’s fans did not sense a person inside the performative spectacle, his act would have not been as exceptionally successful as it was. Essentially, he adopted his concrete alter-ego maintaining an insinuation of his ‘authentic’ self through accepting the mere performativity of it. The meaning which is expressed by performing a character nevertheless comes from Bowie himself once again assuming his alter-ego as a medium. A character is a very complex system of concepts, hence it works as a superior medium for communicating Bowie’s exceptionally sophisticated ideas and opinions. In his personal notes he writes:

 

Taking the present philosophical line, we don't expect our audience to necessarily seek an explanation from ourselves. We assign that role to the listener and to culture. As both of these are in a state of permanent change there will be a constant "drift" in interpretation. All art is unstable. Its meaning is not necessarily that implied by the author. There is no authoritative voice. There are only multiple readings. (Bowie, 1995)

 

Indeed, Bowie’s creative techniques challenge the concept of a single narrative, instead they are formed into an aesthetical world open for the audience’s imagination to evolve upon. However, despite the fact that no authority is imposed onto the audience, through his identity performance and lifestyle he influences their perceptions. As cited in Copetas (1974), ‘the rockstars have assimilated all kinds of philosophies, styles, histories, writings, and they throw out what they have gleaned from that.’ By creating such systems, Bowie revolutionised the notion of performance. .

 

 

Bowie’s ingenious use of media helped him immensely to trigger the fantasy narratives that he was projecting onto his audience. Media being the most obvious connection between the person behind the artist and the audience means that Bowie could manually construct his own image of what he wanted to be seen as and presenting it as reality and truth unconditionally. In the latest documentary ‘David Bowie: The Last Five Years’ (2017), Bowie admits in an interview that ‘part of my entertaining factor is lying to you.’ He accepts the deceiving factor of his media presence. Lying for Bowie becomes a part of his art, his identity is clearly fictitious, hence, he does not seem to see it as an actual human lie. In fact, it seems necessary for his creative expression, in a NME interview he also mentions – ‘I’m just an image person. I’m terribly conscious of images and I live in them.’ (1972) Bowie’s statements seemed to be another personal medium for creating the fantasies he wanted to trigger in his audience. The concept of acting out the role of a rock star rather than trying to be one was essential to his practice. Hence, presenting himself at core as an artist which uses his rock star identity to express his creativity. The author Simon Reynalds (2016) says ‘Bowie’s theatre of war was the media, where victory is measured in think pieces and columns, controversy and the circulation of carefully chosen, eye-arresting photographs.’ Indeed, his calculated statements to the press and media have played an integral role in his creative success. Bowie was known and talked about due to his often scandalous acts and appearances which kept his audience and the rest of the world entertained, therefore, bringing his art to the pop industry and gaining major success not only as an artist but as a pop star, too.

 

The creative processes practiced by Bowie are complex and he became their medium himself using his visual and sonic languages to perform the adopted identity. In fact, he revealed that commodifying yourself as an artist can enhance the creative process and communication. Moreover, he proved that retaining multiple meanings in work can also be commercially successful. Bowie allowed his audience creative agency encouraging them to use their imagination and creative intuition to extract individual meanings. His sense for this intricate balance between exposing the meaning and allowing for it to be sensed seems to have sustained his extraordinary life-long creative success.

 

 

Personal identity is an essential part of any performer’s practice and can often become a part of their art turning their life into a creative medium. Musicians in particular benefit from presenting a solid identity which can attract their audiences. Creating a public image allows for audiences’ imagination to develop mental relationships with their idols by assuming their performed identity to be authentic. This can be projected through fashion, musical genres, live performances, interviews and public appearances. Moreover, performing personality in music can produce collective identity such as subcultures and cult groups allowing the music industry to maximise the audience reach and for the audiences to experience social fulfilment. Artists such as John Lydon and David Bowie have improved their creative success through not only exploiting their character but also using the media to sculpt their public image.

 

 

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my lecturer Dene October for the expert advice and supervision throughout this project, as well as my practice tutors Joel Karamath and Wesley Goatley.

 

Abstract

This research looks into the the concept of performed identity within the context of music industry. In order to understand its workings I gathered research from various academic fields on concepts such as fame, cult following, authenticity, media, etc. The case studies chosen for this analysis are David Bowie and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. I looked into their practice as musicians as well as their use of media and public appearances to explain their success not only as popular rock musicians but artists, too.