Is Jerry Cornelius a Jester?

[RitaMaria]

Hi for all!

Recently I have heard "The Great Sun Jester". Nice music, cool lyrics (I have loved it).
I was thinking about it and I have two questions:
1) It is known Mike have made "The Great..." for the deceased Bill Burtle, but
the character in this music, can the Great Sun Jester be part of the myth of the Eternal Champion? A lost version of the EC?
2) There are influences of the commedia dellآ´arte in the Mikeآ´s works. The commedia dellآ´arte used jester characters and I was meditating about Jerry Cornelius: Is he not a jester? Or perhaps his brother Frank...?

Rita.

[xidrep]

Check out J Carnelian's sojourn and epithet in The Nursery at the End of Time, too....

[Michael Moorcock]

Commedia doesn't have a 'jester' as such, RM, though the 'joker' is I guess a version of Harlequin or, in other functions, Pierrot. Bill was more of a jester than a joker, if that makes sense. A sort of gadfly. But The Fireclown was a closer link, as someone recently pointed out.
I can't remember the nursery ref, P.

[RitaMaria]

Check out J Carnelian's sojourn and epithet in The Nursery at the End of Time, too....

Perdix,

Please, could you show to us the reference whose you have commented?
Thanks.
Rita.

[RitaMaria]

Commedia doesn't have a 'jester' as such, RM, though the 'joker' is I guess a version of Harlequin or, in other functions, Pierrot. Bill was more of a jester than a joker, if that makes sense. A sort of gadfly. But The Fireclown was a closer link, as someone recently pointed out.
I can't remember the nursery ref, P.

Thanks, Mike.
Your lyrics are really very, very nice. ("Sonic Attack" and "Starcruiser" for example). I would loved to read/hear news lyrics/music of yours. Have you any plans about this?
Rita.

[DeeCrowSeer]

Answers 'R' Us:

In Chapter Eight of The Hollow Lands (Chapter Title "Children of the Pit").

The Nurse robot discovers Jherek amongst the other children, and allows him to join their class. She introduces all the boys with alliterative nicknames (Freddie Fearless, Danny Daring, Mick Manly, etc.) then asks Jherek what his name is...

'Jherek Carnelian, Nurse.'
'A strange, unlikely name.'
'Your children's names all seem to have a certain similarity, if I may say so . . .'
'Nonsense. Anyway, we'll call you Jerry - Jerry Jester, Always Playing the Fool, eh?'
Jherek shrugged.

(p. 242 of the Orion edition of The Dancers at the End of Time).

In the following chapter the other boys also refer to him by that name, after he makes the outlandish suggestion that he might be an adult.

'That's Jerry the Jester', said Dick Dreadnought, 'always playing the fool! Life wouldn't be nearly so much fun without you, Jerry.'

(p. 247 of the Orion edition of The Dancers at the End of Time).

[xidrep]

That's the one, O EncycloDeepia Multiversa.
Do we get gold stars? :P

[Jeremiah]

Re: Is Jerry Cornelius a Jester?

Hi for all!

2) There are influences of the commedia dellآ´arte in the Mikeآ´s works.

See [link expired] for my minor dissertation on the Commedia.

Jeremiah

[RitaMaria]

Answers 'R' Us:

In Chapter Eight of The Hollow Lands (Chapter Title "Children of the Pit").

The Nurse robot discovers Jherek amongst the other children, and allows him to join their class. She introduces all the boys with alliterative nicknames (Freddie Fearless, Danny Daring, Mick Manly, etc.) then asks Jherek what his name is...

'Jherek Carnelian, Nurse.'
'A strange, unlikely name.'
'Your children's names all seem to have a certain similarity, if I may say so . . .'
'Nonsense. Anyway, we'll call you Jerry - Jerry Jester, Always Playing the Fool, eh?'
Jherek shrugged.

(p. 242 of the Orion edition of The Dancers at the End of Time).

In the following chapter the other boys also refer to him by that name, after he makes the outlandish suggestion that he might be an adult.

'That's Jerry the Jester', said Dick Dreadnought, 'always playing the fool! Life wouldn't be nearly so much fun without you, Jerry.'

(p. 247 of the Orion edition of The Dancers at the End of Time).

Thank you very much, Deer! :)
Your quote points directly to my question about Jerry Cornelius is a jester.
Rita.

[Michael Moorcock]

Aha! Cheers!

[Dead-Air]

Commedia doesn't have a 'jester' as such, RM, though the 'joker' is I guess a version of Harlequin or, in other functions, Pierrot. Bill was more of a jester than a joker, if that makes sense. A sort of gadfly. But The Fireclown was a closer link, as someone recently pointed out.
I can't remember the nursery ref, P.

Thanks, Mike.
Your lyrics are really very, very nice. ("Sonic Attack" and "Starcruiser" for example). I would loved to read/hear news lyrics/music of yours. Have you any plans about this?
Rita.

God, I'd actually forgotten that Mike wrote "Sonic Attack". Cruel as that must have been to the hippies tripping in the audience, I put that track as one of my biggest influences as an artist on so many levels.

[Michael Moorcock]

Martin Stone and I are talking about doing some music when I come back to Paris, probably next year. Martin, of Savoy Brown and a dozen other great bands, backbone of Stiff, has recently put out an album called Les Homewreckers. He's one of the best guitarists out there.

[Anonymous]

Hi Mike. I hope that comes off and gets recorded. It's sad how little attention Stone has gotten as a guitarist even if he doesn't seek it. You've said before that he played on a lot of Stiff records-- do you know what they are? I know only of a Pink Fairies 45 and a Wreckless Eric Xmas ep.
At least Stone gets his due in the book collecting world. I've heard there's a small published tribute to him priced at $5000. I'm holding out for the $3500 paperback edition....

[Michael Moorcock]

Savoy Brown was an early band with Martin in it. The Stiff boxed set done a few years ago has a lot of his guitar on it -- various sessions.
I don't know if anyone's googled him. Might be worth it. He's had a wonderful career, including backing Howlin' Wolf. Two of my friends have had the pleasure of backing the Wolf! V. envious. Martin's own talent for book-finding is legendary, of course. I'll ask him when the paperback is due... :)