The Crimson Idol was the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., originally released by Capitol Records in 1992 (1993 in the United States). The album is a concept album, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel.
The album took nearly three years to complete, and was originally recorded as a Blackie Lawless solo album, but Lawless bowed to fan pressure and released it under the W.A.S.P. moniker.
The Crimson Idol World Tour unusually...
The Crimson Idol was the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., originally released by Capitol Records in 1992 (1993 in the United States). The album is a concept album, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel.
The album took nearly three years to complete, and was originally recorded as a Blackie Lawless solo album, but Lawless bowed to fan pressure and released it under the W.A.S.P. moniker.
The Crimson Idol World Tour unusually took place 15 years after the release of the album to mark its 15th anniversary, starting on October 26, 2007 in the Principal Club Theater, Thessaloniki in Greece. It also marked the first time that the film recorded for The Crimson Idol was ever shown in public. This was played along with the band as they performed their tracks in synch with the film. This show marked the only time that the album has ever been played from start to finish by the band since recording the album. The show also featured "Mephisto Waltz" the seventh track from the 1989 album The Headless Children as the intro to the show before playing the first track of The Crimson Idol, "The Titanic Overture". All shows had a long encore section ranging from 2-6 songs, containing classics and "Take Me Up" from the new album Dominator.
The story of The Crimson Idol revolves around a teenager named Jonathan. He is the son of William and Elizabeth Steel, and brother of Michael Steel. Michael is the favored son of his parents, but Jonathan is a complete failure in their eyes. He runs away from home after his brother is killed in a car accident, and starts to wander the streets, getting addicted to drugs and alcohol. When he walks past a music store, he sees a guitar and wants to become a rock star, therefore breaking the display window with a bottle of booze and thus his journey into acclaimed excess begins.
He plays the stolen crimson guitar as often as he can, to try to obtain money to record an album. Then he meets a man, "Chainsaw" Charlie, the president of a major record company. He promises to make Jonathan a star, and introduces Jonathan to Alex Rodman, who will become his manager. Jonathan becomes a rock star, but he finds out that life is not as glamorous as it seems. Jonathan has fame and fortune, but not the one thing he always wanted, the love and acceptance of his parents.
One night before a concert, Jonathan calls his parents in an attempt to reconcile their differences and heal the emotional wounds between them. According to the story "less than fifty words were spoken" the last four of which being "we have no son."
Jonathan realizes that he will never be accepted by his parents and decides to commit suicide. During the aforementioned concert, Jonathan removes the strings from his guitar, shapes them into a noose and hangs himself. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
