Sebastian (song)

Background

Described by Harley as a "Gothic love song", the song features a 50-plus piece orchestra and choir alongside the band, with orchestral arrangements by Andrew Powell. In June-July 1973, Cockney Rebel recorded their debut album The Human Menagerie, including the song, at Air Studios, London, after having signed a deal with EMI Records.

Harley had first performed the song during his days of busking, before Cockney Rebel were formed in lat 1972. Having trained as a journalist for three years, Harley embarked on his musical career through "floor-spotting" within London folk clubs in 1971-72. In 1972, Harley began busking in London, in subways and runways under such places as Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Leicester Square and Covent Garden. In a 2007 interview with the Daily Express, he revealed:

"I started busking in the early 70's, which gave me a platform to experiment on the public with my songs. I had one called "Sebastian", which was six minutes of gothic poetry! I got absolutely no money."

In August 1973, "Sebastian" was released as the band's debut single, preceding the album, which was released in November. "Sebastian" failed to find success in the UK, and did not enter the UK Top 50. However, in continental Europe, the song performed much better and became a big hit in various countries. It peaked at #2 in both Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as #30 in Germany. In a 2014 interview with the Sunday Express, Harley spoke of the song's European success:

"Sebastian was a number one in most of Europe in 1974. It happened so quickly. I didn't pay many dues to be honest. That's what the NME [New Musical Express] held against me at the time."

The single's failure in the UK led EMI Records to feel that Harley had yet to record a potential hit single. In response, Harley went away and re-worked an unrecorded song of his called "Judy Teen", which became a UK Top 5 hit for the band in June 1974. However, before the release of the band's breakthrough single, EMI decided to hold the song back at the beginning of 1974 and re-issue "Sebastian" on 25 January (originally due to be 11 January), as the third time being released as a single. This was in hope of it becoming a chart hit, however "Sebastian" still did not make a chart appearance.

Since its release in the UK and Europe, "Sebastian" has gained reputation over the following years as one of Harley's greatest songs, and has been consistently been included in the Harley and the band's live concerts. While much debate has been made over its meaning, in 2008, Harley spoke about the song and its lyrics in a short documentary for the Netherlands programme Top 2000:

"It's poetry. It means what you want it to mean. "Sebastian" is the conduit, the tubes through which I took myself on that journey to write the story. I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't have been far away from tripping when I wrote "Sebastian". LSD, certainly, created so many incidents in your life, so many images, so much madness and mayhem, as well as great tranquility if you were lucky. I can't define its meaning. It's like most poetry, it's a lovely word."

In the liner notes of the BGO 2004 CD release of The Human Menagerie, Harley recalled:

"Sebastian is possibly a sort of Gothic love song, possibly not: I'm not really sure to be honest. But I do know that it has just three chords and a couple of riffs and that I had been busking it in the London subways and on Portobello Road for many months before EMI offered the lads and me, the first Cockney Rebel, a recording contact. Andrew Powell's enormous and wild arrangement for the classical bods and the choir turned the song into something different, of course."

In 1983, Harley would re-record the song with Mike Batt as producer. This version was released on the 12" vinyl edition of Harley's non-album single "Ballerina (Prima Donna)", which stalled just outside the UK Top 50. In the UK, the 12" vinyl actually swapped both tracks around so that "Sebastian" was the A-Side and "Ballerina" became the B-Side.

Release

The single was released by EMI Records on 7" vinyl in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Australia and Mexico. For its release as a single, the seven minute song was shortened down to just under four minutes. Harley was never entirely happy about having the song cut down, but understood it was more likely to receive radio-play in the UK as an edit.

All editions of the single featured the same B-Side "Rock and Roll Parade", which was written by Harley and produced by Harrison. The song was exclusive to the single. It would later appear on the 2004 CD re-issue of the The Human Menagerie album as one of two bonus tracks, and also on the 2012 EMI box-set compilation Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974. The Mexican version of the single was the only edition to feature a different B-Side; the album track "Death Trip". Aside from its release in the UK and Australia, all editions of the single were released with different picture sleeves, featuring a photograph of Cockney Rebel. Many of the sleeves used the same photograph as seen on the cover of The Human Menagerie.

Additionally, EMI released the song as a promotional single in America, which featured the A-Side on both sides of the vinyl; one in mono and one in stereo. In Italy, Columbia Records released a double A-Side 7" vinyl single, featuring "Sebastian" on one side and T. Rex's "Truck On (Tyke)" on the other.

Since its release as a single, and on The Human Menagerie, "Sebastian" has appeared on the majority, if not all, of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel compilations, while also featuring on a number of various artists compilations over the years. On the 2012 anthology Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973–1974, a previously unreleased early version of "Sebastian" was added to disc three, while the "DJ Edit" of the song was placed on disc one.

Promotion

Since its release, "Sebastian" has consistently been a regular inclusion in Harley and the band's live concerts, remaining a popular number. Various live versions of the song have appeared on a number of official releases as a result. On 22 January 1974, the band performed the song for a BBC 'Live in Concert' session. This version was later released on the 1995 compilation Live at the BBC, as well the anthology Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973–1974. On 3 June 1974, the band played at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands, which featured this song as part of their set. The performance was filmed.

On 14 April 1975, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel performed the song as part of their set at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. This concert was filmed and released as a film titled Between the Lines. This same performance of the song later appeared as the B-Side to the band's 1975 hit single "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)". In 1991, the live version would later appear as a bonus track on the first CD release of The Best Years of Our Lives album. In February 1976, the band performed a live set, including the song, at the "Beat Club" studio in Germany, which was filmed.

A live version appeared on the band's 1977 live album Face to Face. Later in 1984, the song was part of the band's recorded concert at the Camden Palace in London, which was filmed for a special TV broadcast. In 1985, the same concert, including the song, was released on VHS, titled Live from London. In 1989, a live performance of the song was professionally filmed during the band's "Come Back, All is Forgiven" tour. The footage, including the song, was released on VHS that year, titled The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live. Audio CD versions of the concert have since been released across Europe in many guises.

In October 1991, Harley was invited to play Night of the Proms, where he performed "Sebastian" and "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)". It was filmed and also later released on the Night Of The Proms - Volume 6 CD. A live version also appeared on the 1999 live acoustic album Stripped to the Bare Bones, as well as the 2004 live acoustic album Anytime! (A Live Set).

The song was included in the band's set-list at the Isle of Wight festival in 2004, which was released on DVD in 2005, titled Live at the Isle of Wight Festival.

On 8 January 2011, Harley performed the song live with his acoustic trio line-up and the "Herreavdelingen" radio show's orchestra at the NRK Marienlyst, Oslo, Norway. The performance was professionally filmed, along with "A Friend for Life" and "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)". On 24 November 2012, the band performed the song live at the Birmingham Symphony Hall. At this concert, Harley and the band, supported by an orchestra and chamber choir, performed the band's first two albums in their entirety, including "Sebastian". This live version appears on the CD and DVD release Birmingham (Live with Orchestra & Choir).

Track listing

1. "Sebastian" - 4:03
2. "Rock and Roll Parade" - 5:03

1. "Sebastian" - 4:03
2. "Death Trip" - 9:54

1. "Sebastian (Mono)" - 3:36
2. "Sebastian (Stereo)" - 3:36

1. Cockney Rebel - "Sebastian" - 3:50
2. T-Rex - "Truck On (Tyke)" - 3:06

Critical reception

In the 8 September 1973 issue of the New Musical Express, a review of the single commented: "The group's name sounds more applicable to a greyhound, but don't let it deter you from buying or borrowing (permanently) this wonderful record. It's a classically influenced ballad with the upper lead vocals placed, delicately, in the middle of the finest string and bass arrangement I've heard since the Titanic sank. The lyrics are a little contrived... but just you wait for the grand choral work. (Play it again, Sam.)"

Another review of the same date also appeared in the Melody Maker magazine, which noted: "The Rebel are a very interesting band indeed, and this is an adventurous and unusual performance." Another contemporary review of the same date from Record Mirror magazine wrote: "Concert-classical type of string sounds here, and a strained voice, and a beautiful mood as that aforementioned strained voice gets at it. Lyrics are excellent, production first-class... and well, just ask for it, and listen to it."

In the August 2004 issue of Classic Rock magazine, writer Geoff Barton reviewed the CD release of The Human Menagerie and stated: "It's about time "The Human Menagerie" was recognised as a classic. It begins hesitantly with "Hideaway," but builds insidiously until the arrival of the fifth track, the immense and immortal "Sebastian" (described by Harley as a 'Gothic love song' in his sleeve notes and also regarded as a gay anthem in some quarters). From there, there's no looking back."

In 2006, Carol Clerk of Classic Rock magazine reviewed the The Cockney Rebel – A Steve Harley Anthology set, and commented: "Sebastian was a brave first single with its choral and orchestral dramas, and while it flopped in Britain it was a success in Europe." Chris Roberts of Uncut magazine also reviewed the anthology set, writing: "Harley's ever-changing band slid perfectly into the post-Ziggy/Roxy slipstream, all mannered English vocals, florid lyrics and sexual-theatrical rock. Fan favourite "Sebastian" was a quite wonderful seven-minute epic with the unabashed self-importance of early Genesis."

Dave Thompson of AllMusic retrospectively reviewed The Human Menagerie, and noted: "The labyrinthine "Sebastian" and the loquacious "Death Trip" in particular, possess confidence, arrogance, and a doomed, decadent madness which astounds. Subject to ruthless dissection, Steve Harley's lyrics were essentially nonsense, a stream of disconnected images whose most gallant achievement is that they usually rhyme."

Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic retrospectively reviewed the 1976 compilation A Closer Look, and stated: "As for the epics, the most impressive ones are "Sebastian," a slowly building ballad that adds layers of orchestration and choral vocals as it lays out a gothic tale of a romantic obsession that gives way to insanity, and "Tumbling Down"..."

In a retrospective review of the album for his website, George Starostin said: "What would you do with a tune as weird as 'Sebastian'? Slow, gothic in stature (but not in tone), depressed and depressing, with a complaintive, humble, slightly electronically encoded vocal part and gorgeous orchestration, and a chorus that simply goes 'Somebody called me Sebastian... somebody called me Sebastian...' Harley seems to complain about his society-corrupted girlfriend in the lyrics, but what has that to do with being called Sebastian? What Sebastian? There's no answer, but there really shouldn't be one. There's just the depression of this decadent, ultimately meaningless world, which is what matters. Guess we should all be called Sebastian at some point."

In the 8 April 2005 issue of The Metro, Peter Hook of New Order chose six of his top tracks, which included "Sebastian". He revealed: "It's the first song that made me realise that there's more to music than pop. It wasn't throwaway. It builds up and down over nine minutes. Like "Bohemian Rhapsody", there's loads of different bits that go through it. The beauty of it is that you can listen to it over and over again and not get fed up with it."

Cover versions

Personnel