THIS WEEK IN 1999
Aussie film director Baz Luhrmann (‘Strictly Ballroom’, ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘The Great Gatsby’) doesn’t actually feature on the spoken word hit ‘Everyody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)’, nor did he create the melody. The words are narrated by voice actor Lee Perry while the song is a remixed version of Rozalla’s ‘Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)’ from 1991, used in Luhrmann’s film ‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet’.
The lyrics are from an essay called ‘Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young’ by columnist Mary Schmich, written as a mock speech to graduating students and published in the Chicago Tribune in 1997.
The essay giving various pieces of advice on how to live a happier life - including the wearing of sunscreen - went viral on email. Luhrmann and his team were working on the remix of the Rozalla song when they came across the words erroneously attributed to American writer Kurt Vonnegut. An internet search revealed the true author and the day before the song was recorded, Schmich gave permission for the use of the words.
‘The simple observations and ideas seemed to provide a profoundly useful guide for getting through life,’ said Luhrmann.
The unusual spoken word release was a top ten hit across Europe and later became an airplay smash in the US.
It reached number one in the UK and Ireland after BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles championed the song on his show and in the press. – JIM HAYES