A Tribute to William S. Burroughs

The year I was born, William S. Burroughs quite sadly passed away. Although I wasn’t aware of Burroughs or his work until somewhat recently, but Burroughs’ legacy, and impact is something which is apparent throughout the music world. If, miraculously, Burroughs would have been alive today, he would be celebrating his hundredth birthday today.

Although probably best known for his 1959 novel The Naked Lunch, Burroughs is a figure who made a huge amount of cultural impact since his first novel, Junky. A beat pioneer, novelist and poet, Burroughs is not only cited by people within the realms of literature as an influence, but many musicians also took inspiration from the work of William Burroughs.

Burroughs tackled almost taboo subjects in his work, as a homosexual heroin addict writing autobiographically inevitably would in the fifties. The Naked Lunch particularly made a real splash upon release. The book was released in France in mid-1959, but US laws prevented it from being released another three years.

But how has William S. Burroughs affected the music world…?

Perhaps most notoriously, jazz-rockers Steely Dan took their name from the dildo in The Naked Lunch, as the group were renowned fans of the beat generation.

A number of other fairly renowned artists have taken their name from the works of Burroughs. The Mugwumps, the Insect Trust and Thin White Rope all take their name from Burroughs and his work.

Joy Division’s Ian Curtis is very well known for being well-read- in fact the band takes their name from Yehiel De-Nur’s book The House of Dolls, which describes Auschwitz’s “joy division”. So it should be of no surprise that Curtis was a fan of Burroughs and his work. In fact, the electrifying penultimate track on Unknown Pleasures borrows its name from a Burroughs novel. Interzone, the Hook-Curtis duet at the close of side two, is named after the dreamlike state between consciousnesses that William Lee describes in The Naked Lunch.

Ian Curtis also used the cut-up technique popularised by Burroughs when writing Shadowplay, which was also on Unknown Pleasures. This technique was more famously used by David Bowie for Moonage Daydream in 1973, where Burroughs’ method spawned the infamous first verse I’m an alligator/I’m a momma-papa coming for you/I’m a space invader/I’ll be a rocking-rolling bitch for you. The cut-up technique dates back to T.S Elliot and his 1922 poem The Waste Land. Thom Yorke and Kurt Cobain have also been known to use this technique.

In 1992, Burroughs collaborated with Kurt Cobain for a musical recording of The Priest, They Called Him, one of his poems. It was released on a 10” picture disc of the cover art, and features Cobain playing a dark, gothic composition whilst Burroughs recites The Priest, They Called Him.

In short, Burroughs’ impact on music and the wider culture is almost unparalleled. Old Bull Lee’s (as Jack Kerouac refers to him) legacy regarding music is just the tip of the iceberg, as Burroughs was a huge influence on much of the art, music and literature that followed his long, wonderful career.

R.I.P William S. Burroughs