Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx Cultural and literary references in Foxx lyrics

It seems every time I listen to John's music, and particularly his early material with Ultravox!, I find more and more references, themes and ideas that are endlessly fascinating.

Perhaps others feel the same?

It would be great to properly chat about the nitty gritty of those songs and get right inside the metaphors, references and context.

For example...

In THE WILD, THE BEAUTIFUL & THE DAMNED, any idea who Foxx is referring to as the "New York Führer"??

The conversation on social media runs something like this:

Warhol?
Interesting. How so?
Just thinking that he controlled the scene around him and had a pretty severe wedge haircut, plus JF was an art student so AW probably lurked large in his personal pantheon...
Oh, Warhol certainly did that. I reckon you have a good theory there
He's mentioned in "Artificial Life", too...
"She ran through divine light, chemicals, Warhol, scientology..."
And "I Want To Be A Machine" of course
We may be on to something...
Which begs the question, in Artificial Life, of "Mary Mary..." is that obliquely a reference to Catholic theology?

Bowie's flirtation?
there was a great deal in the music press 1975-76 about Bowie's apparent flirtation with fascism and his possible seig heil at a London railway station, having returned from the US
Given when this song was written, 76 etc, Britain was in a dark place. Economic meltdown etc and Powell's speeches on Social disorder...

Lou Reed?
the Velvets were quite pivotal to a lot of alternative music, plus there is the Lou Reed LP Berlin about lives being torn apart. Anyhow if nothing musically Lou was one of the first to talk about vicious nasty themes in popular music.
Well, well. Now this I like too because of the New York connection... I even have that album. Caroline Says is one of my all time favourite songs.
Looking at the lyrics, I do see a lot of connection to Lou, the verses are about things that Lou has sung about a lot, Calling Cards of madness: Lou having had ECT and writing songs about it such as Kill Your Sons. Break my legs politely; Vicious I don't know but I have read a lot of Lou Reed as poetry it gives a different light on it.
I am drawn towards your conclusion, with a healthy dose of Warhol to cloud the water

Feel free to add your owns thoughts, Forum people

Not a lyric but a title Hiroshima, mon amour 50's nouvelle vague French movie with the screenplay written by Marguerite Duras
Can't believe I was actually in Hiroshima last Tuesday
well that's enough of me being cultured I'm back off to my Footy/ctcling thread Only the second to have made 4 figures on here
*beams with pride*