Not a great film, but one that really impressed me as a 12-year old fan of Manfred Mann. Paul Jones up to this time (1967) was the lead singer for the band Manfred Mann, and he left to go solo, but also starred in this odd film about a pop star being set-up by the Government to control youth. It's an interesting commentary on pop stardom as well as the nature of marketing in the pop music world. He and his management would wear 'almost-like' military formal wear and clearly, this is a projection of pop music in the 1970s.
Mike Leander, record producer, hustler, and the genius behind future star Gary Glitter, wrote the soundtrack, with a handful of Paul Jones vocals. The songs sung by Jones on the soundtrack are superb. "Free Me," is so angst driven, that it could have been a Morrissey song from the 1990s. Patti Smith did a cover of "Free Me," which is equally fantastic. The other great song here is "I've Been A Bad, Bad Boy." Paul Jones had the ability to sing gritty blues to light pop. An underrated vocalist, who was once a friend of Brian Jones, and one time was the original singer for The Rolling Stones. Paul could have done great in that band.
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