From Marianne Faithfull to The Smiths: the pioneering music videos of Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman always worked firmly in the world of independent cinema, where he had the freedom to experiment with themes and stylistic techniques not easily accepted by the mainstream. He was a true artist, through and through, studying at the Slade School of Fine Art in the 1960s, where he started playing around with 16mm film.
His first feature wouldn’t come until 1976, however, when Jarman released Sebastiane, a landmark addition to the LGBTQ+ cinematic canon. While homosexuality was incredibly taboo in the United Kingdom at the time, having only been decriminalised in England less than a decade before (although it was hardly widely accepted), Jarman made an unapologetically homoerotic exploration of male bodies. It was this demonstration of artistic boldness and integrity that set the tone for the rest of his career.
His next film, Jubilee, was a punk masterpiece, capturing the essence of the era through its outrageousness and cast stacked with notable figures from the scene. It remains one of his best-known movies, and it has helped to establish him further as a leading indie auteur. From there, he made works such as the groundbreaking Caravaggio, the beautifully poetic The Last of England, and the experimental Shakespeare adaptation The Tempest.
Jarman’s advocacy for gay rights is evident in all of his work, with the very nature of his movies – shocking, subversive and non-commercial – acting as a structural attack on the mainstream. One of his last films, Blue, made when he was dying of AIDS-related illness, is one of his most profound. The titular colour remains on the screen, reflecting the way AIDS had caused his deteriorating eyesight, while Jarman talks about his life, knowing he is reaching the end.
In addition to making films, Jarman also made music videos for several popular artists. This wasn’t simply a case of the director selling out so he could pay the bills – he was extending his artistic practice into another medium, using a similar style, often with a distinctively political edge, to make these videos. He’d already shown a penchant for something akin to music videos with the ‘Rule Britannia’ scene in Jubilee, so it made sense for him to enter this territory.
In 1979, he made three videos for Marianne Faithfull, including one for ‘Broken English’. He went on to collaborate with artists like Throbbing Gristle, Orange Juice, Bryan Ferry, and Wang Chuang, whose video for ‘Dance Hall Days’ featured colour home video from Jarman’s infancy.
One of the biggest bands that Jarman worked with was The Smiths, making a short film in conjunction with the release of their album The Queen of the Dead. Consisting of several songs, such as ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’, the film utilised Jarman’s experimental aesthetic, which was the perfect fit for The Smiths’ sound. He also made the video for ‘Ask’, which featured grainy clips of actors dancing together outside, seemingly dressed from different eras, overlaid with colourful clips of Morrissey singing.
Jarman worked with The Pet Shop Boys several times – a band who were openly gay, directing the videos for ‘It’s A Sin’, ‘Violence’ and ‘Rent’. With the former, which inspired the name of the Channel 4 drama about university students facing homophobia and the AIDS crisis, Jarman used religious imagery to explore the Catholic Church’s condemnation of homosexuality, as reflected in the lyrics. The video remains incredibly influential, and it also helped to popularise the track even further.
By bringing his uniquely experimental vision to the art of the music video, a phenomenon becoming increasingly popular at the time – and particularly influenced by cinema – Jarman was able to leave his stamp on the music world, too.