|
1971: Glam Rock explodes, challenging the sincerity of the flower generation with glitter and savage sounds - thrilling and shocking the world.
At the center is Brian Slade. Turning mods and rockers on their heads, he takes the UK by storm, inspiring countless teenage boys and girls to paint their nails and explore their sexuality, until finally, Slade devours himself. Unable to escape the persona his stardom has created, he stages a fake assassination. When his fans find out, the star falls into oblivion, and Brian disappears.
Arthur Stuart, a journalist, is charged by his editors with writing an anniversary article on Brian Slade's staged assassination. As a boy in Manchester, Arthur had been more than a fan of Slade's. He reluctantly takes on his assignment and begins to investigate his fallen lipsticked idol.
Velvet Goldmine explores the rise and fall of Brian Slade through Arthur's investigation. Arthur begins to focus on the complicated relationships Brian had with his wife, Mandy, and his American inspiration, rock star Curt Wild. Arthur finds Mandy working in a decrepit cabaret and gathers her memories of the music scene of the early seventies. She reluctantly gives her narrative of Brian's life: his tortured rise, his obsession with Curt Wild, his love and betrayal of Mandy, and his eventual fall. Mandy's story leads Arthur to Curt - and finally to Brian himself.
--from the screenplay
|