Venus of the Hardsell

"Venus of the Hardsell" is a song from the DC Comics/Vertigo comic book series Hellblazer. The song was written by Jamie Delano and has since been recorded as a song by the musical group Spiderlegs. The song is notable for being fictionally part of the Hellblazer stories, and was said to be written by John Constantine and his band Mucous Membrane.

"Venus of the Hard Sell"
Single by Spiderlegs
from the album Sample Platitudes, 2016
ReleasedApril 14, 2012
Recorded2006, 2012
StudioWaveCapsule
GenrePunk, Post-punk, indie rock
Length4:44
LabelWaveCapsule
Songwriter(s)Jamie Delano, words. Spiderlegs, music
Producer(s)Jef Pollard

Overview

The lyrics and video for the song were printed in Hellblazer Annual 1, written by Jamie Delano with art by Dean Motter. In the story, the song was the only single that Mucous Membrane, John Constantine's punk band, ever released. It was written by John Constantine and Gary Lester and released in 1978, by "Snot Music" record label.

It has gained a cult following, and many fan-made recordings were made. In 2006, fans of Hellblazer (including the music group Spiderlegs)[1] created a rough version of the song. It is unmixed and unmastered, and the vocals were never properly recorded; nevertheless, it can be found.[2] The song took another recording with a better quality and was released soon after. Spiderlegs sang the song with a fake accent. Spiderlegs said, "The goal was to try to make something so bad it was good."

Music style

Jamie Delano wrote the lyrics. The setting of the story which the song is written[3] is in the 1970-80. And so the lyrics is based much on history formed in that era, such as the Cold War and the Vietnam War. President Nixon and the Apollo missions were also referenced. But as this being a DC imprint, many of its elements are incorporated, such as a reference of Superman in the song. The lyrics itself contains elements of anarchy, pessimism, and violence by war.[4]

Music video

A video was created to accompany the music and was released on YouTube. The video is composed of layers from Hellblazer Annual 1, with panels from the story including the supposed to be composer John Constantine and the Mucous Membrane, and their concert in The Casanova Club in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Reception

The song gained a cult following in the comics community.[5] Upon hearing the song, Jamie Delano remarked, "Thanks for the MP3. I enjoyed the rendition. Very authentic late 'seventies atmosphere. Almost made me nostalgic."[6][7]

gollark: I always am except when I'm.not.
gollark: https://osmarks.tk/nemc ←TL;DR: scratch bad.
gollark: CF? Coefficient fluctuation?
gollark: I figure I could replace the RPNCalcs with it, as well as the beep generator and SVG image generator ideas.
gollark: That was mine.

References
  1. "Venus of the Hardsell". Spiderlegs. Dec 21, 2012. Retrieved Dec 21, 2012.
  3. Hellblazer Annual 1
  4. "Venus of the Hardsell lyrics". Straight To Hell. Feb 24, 2013. Retrieved Feb 24, 2013.
  5. ComicVine Mucous Membrane
  6. Hellblazer site
  7. MP3 Jamie Delano interview
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