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“Private Dancer”: Good song! Mark Knopfler wrote “Private Dancer” with his band Dire Straits in mind before realizing that maybe a man shouldn’t sing a song from the perspective of a woman working as a stripper. Instead, Tina Turner recorded “Private Dancer,” with Jeff Beck on guitar, and it became the title track of her gigantic 1984 comeback album. The song was a hit all over the world. On Monday night, Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales covered “Private Dancer” at London’s Royal Albert Hall, though their version didn’t sound much like the theoretical Dire Straits version or the actual Tina Turner version of the track.
Jarvis Cocker and the Canadian musician Chilly Gonzales are past collaborators; they made the 2017 album Room 29 together. Cocker recently got done touring North America with Pulp, and they debuted new songs at a number of those shows. Chilly Gonzales, meanwhile, recently performed at the Paris Paralympics Closing Ceremony and released his single “Fuck Wagner.” Cocker was not a surprise guest at last night’s Royal Albert Hall show. Instead, Cocker was announced in advance for Gonzales’ concert, as was comedian Peter Serafinowicz, playing Elvis Presley.
Cocker joined Gonzales twice at the Royal Albert Hall: Once to sing the Room 27 song “Tearjerker” and once to cover “Private Dancer.” It’s hard to tell how much irony Cocker is putting into a cover like that. He remained straightfaced throughout, though the crowd did some tittering. But Cocker loves writing songs about finely observed protagonists who are not necessarily Jarvis Cocker, so it seems to me that he could mean it when he sings “Private Dancer,” another song written from a point of view that doesn’t directly reflect that of the songwriter. The Cocker/Gonzales version sounded nice. Below, watch fan footage of the performance, as well as Tina Turner’s original video.