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Jangles
From "Class
Clown" to the People's Clown
As is the case with many great artists, the name of Jangles
the Clown (20
April, 1965; Buffalo, NY)
may be an unfamiliar one to many readers. It is a travesty, really,
this fact, when one considers the tremendous impact Jangles has
had on the world over the span of the last two decades. It is
for that reason that we at Got Help? felt compelled to pay tribute
to the world's greatest clown.
First things
first, you might be wondering to yourself, "What impact can
a clown have on the world?" The answer is simple, yet full
of rich detail in its elaboration: Jangles is not just a clown;
he is a musician, an actor, a writer, a juggler, but most importantly
he is a visionary, creating new worlds, with his art, that many
of us can only dream of truly understanding.
Jangles' influencial
element came into effect at the very moment of his birth - some
even date it to before then, claiming his presence could be felt
even when he was still in the womb. Others have even gone so far
as to say his influence was prominant even prior to his conception,
as though he were a bodhisattva of sorts. All of this is debatable,
however everyone is in agreement that, at the very latest, he
was marked out, at the moment of his birth, as a very special
being.
Jangles developed
much more quickly than other children. By the time he was a mere
boy of three, he was speaking in rapidly iterated rhymes, expressing
himself in a highly precocious manner that many people could not
entirely understand. His method of talking was so unusual that
people began to talk about it, and therefore gave it a name. Due
to the rapidity of his poetry, they called it 'rap'. The year
was 1968.
In school, Jangles
was immediately recognised as an entertainer. When he was seven,
he became known as the class clown, a title that was to become
prophetic. Jangles would perform acts of hilarity for his fellow
students, but more importantly he became recognised as a highly
skilled juggler. His talent was not overlooked by his teachers
and, in 1973, one Mrs Coppenhoffer became the most important gym
teacher of all time, for she consulted Jangles' parents and convinced
them to look into ways to develop their child's special talents.
Jangles' parents
decided to send their son to a local school for the arts. At this
school, Jangles refined his juggling abilities to such a degree
that Perfection itself would have been embarrassed, and Jangles
stood out as being multi-talented: he would write scripts, and
then act them out for his peers, and he would always include a
musical number.
However Jangles'
style was all his own, and so no one really knew how exactly to
cultivate it. There were no teachers who could explain to him
anything more than the basics, and so he took lessons in violin,
piano, singing, drumming, guitar, acting and creative writing
- and ended up teaching more to his instrucctors than they him.
At the age of twelve, Jangles was already recognised as a potential
hero.
Jangles idolised
such talents as David Bowie, and began dressing rather outrageously
and wearing make-up. When the goth scene hit, Jangles was enthralled,
and he immediately took to painting his face white, however he
wasn't satisfied that the gloomy demeanor suited him, and so he
chose to accompany his white fact with extravagantly bright clothing.
People began referring to him as Jangles the Clown. In 1980, Jangles
got his face registered at the National Clown Institute, and made
it official. He was 15 years old.
Jangles didn't waste any time in kick-starting
his career. He immediately joined the New York state circus company,
and was an instant hit with his class act juggling routine (which
he choreographed himself). The circus managers were so impressed
that Jangles became the lead clown within just three months. News
spread across the country that Jangles was a hot act, and he soon
became a part of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily Circus.
During his time
touring the nation with the circus, it became apparent that Jangles
was destined for even greater achievements. His talents lay beyond
the world of clowns. He was an artist, with a style all his own.
He wouldn't merely throw pies; he would rap, and breakdance under
pies that were tossed with so much grace audiences wondered why
he didn't twirl batons.
His first step
in furthering his career was to spend some time abroad, mostly
in France, a country that had always attracted him. This time
on the continent had a vast impact on him, and he began to study
international cultures, with plans forming in his mind.
In late 1981,
Jangles released his first musical endeavor - a six-track album
entitled Masquerade. It was a landmark record. It incorporated
a wide variety of elements taken from several different genres.
He blended new wave and post-punk with reminiscences of glam rock
and psychedelia, and rapped over it with an inimitable tightness
of rhythm. Not only that, but his lyrics were multilingual. The
height of perfection on the album, a 21-minute-long song called
'Grotesque' (named for a French style of clown), contains lyrics
in English, French, German, Russian, Italian and Arabic. Each
section rhymes, in each language, creating a poetic geography
over layer after layer of samples, strings, pianos, loops, guitars,
accordians, mandolins, sarangis, and much more.
Despite its
length, 'Grotesque' was released as a single and played in its
entirety on radio stations in all six inhabited continents. Where
there were human ears, there was Jangles. His fans were countless,
one of whom happened to be Austria's very own Falco, who was so
impressed by Jangles' blend of singing and rap that he adopted
the style himself when he released his debut album in 1982.
Following the release of Masquerade, Jangles
went on to collaborate with such known acts as RUN-DMC, Public
Enemy, Blondie, The Cure, Falco (of course), Pop Will Eat Itself,
Iggy Pop and even his childhood idol David Bowie. Jangles released
four more albums over the next three years: Seltzer (1983);
Red Nosing (1984); The Neverending Handkerchief
(1985); and the Christmas album, Jangles' Bells (1985).
All four were critically acclaimed, as well as highly influential.
But Jangles wanted even more.
Not satisfied with changing the face
of just music, Jangles went into acting. He began with a small
role on 'Days of Our Lives', the only soap opera that welcomed
a clown as a valid character. He enjoyed his work there so much
that he remained a part of the cast until 1988, when he finally
decided to record another album, this time collaborating more,
and creating a pop record with an edge to it that, like his previous
albums, made it stand out from all other music at the time. The
result was called The Juggler Vain, and it included vocal
appearances from popular acts such as Janet Jackson, and Pete
Burns of Dead or Alive. The album also contained the title track,
an inspiring and moving collaboration with Danny Elfman, whose
work with Oingo Boingo had interested him for several years.
In 1989, Jangles
recorded two songs with new-comer Paula Abdul, and released them
as a double A-side. The single went straight to number one in
its very first week, and it remained there for five weeks, when
it finally began to slowly descend. Jangles was a massive success
and, fearing it may be the climax of his career, he took advantage
of his current popularity and did what he had always dreamt of
doing: he made a feature-length film.
In 1990, inspired
greatly for years by the work of Yahoo Serious, Jangles released
his first, and sadly his last, movie, aptly titled I'm Gonna
F*** S*** Up. It was an unusual film, filled with many explosions,
scenes of random nudity, swear words, ballet, juggling, romance,
and the odd musical number, complete with Busby Berkeley style
dance sequences. Critics were unsure of what to make of the film
(Comments ranged from 'A unique artistic menagerie' to 'The work
of the modern John Wayne Gacy'), but the United States censorship
board were very sure; the film was banned, and Jangles went underground,
becoming a symbol of rebellion for the new generation.
Over the next
year, vicious rumours began to spread. One journalist published
a photograph of Jangles and claimed he looked 'like he [was] saluting
the Third Reich'. The journalist then went on to point out that
Jangles shares his date of birth with Hitler. Soon people all
over began to accuse Jangles of having Nazi affiliations. All
claims were untrue, of course, yet people will talk, and so the
gossip spread like wildfire, ruining Jangles so soon after his
peak of success. He was just 25 years old.
In the time that followed, Jangles seemed
to have vanished, until he surprised everyone with his 1995 come-back
album, Why Stop at Eleven? It was a moody album, deeper
and darker than his others, heavier and filled with eerie carnival
music, standing out in a time of eurodance. The album produced
a strange effect, for people began protesting his return, only
to be counter-attacked by faithful Jangles fans. It proved to
be fantastic publicity for the album, sending it to number two
in the charts, and it was clear that Jangles' time of exile was
over.
In 1997, Jangles
released his autobiography, This Killer Klown's from Inner
Space, and revealed a sensitive intellectual side that had
been lost in his career. A new Jangles was introduced to the world,
allowing him to refresh his mass success, and so Jangles returned
to acting. He made a cameo appearance on 'Days of Our Lives',
at the request of a friend, actor Drake Hogestyn, and went on
to do cameos in several films, acting alongside such famous personalities
as Keanu Reeves and Dolly Parton.
The following year, Jangles collaborated
with the Wu Tang Clan, creating the most important rap single
of the 90s, the hardcore song 'Wobbly'. This catapulted Jangles
back into the forefront, along with his new album It Wouldn't
Be a Circus if it Wasn't for the Clown.
Soon, everyone
wanted to be a clown, and the group ICP took advantage of this,
claiming fame through copying Jangles' style. However, they couldn't
imitate Jangles' true finess, his range of multiple talents, or
his originality and inspiration.
In 2001, Jangles took to acting once more,
this time in a Christmas special of the British children's show
'The Tweenies'. He softened his act and played the role of a clown
unable to perform, who, with the help of Tweenie Jake, gains the
confidence and ability to become a great clown. 
Obviously this was a difficult
role for Jangles, considering his actual level of unmatchable
expertise, but he, of course, carried it off with perfection and
grace, entertaining children all over the country. On the flip-side,
he released an album called J. Clo, controversial for its
risque cover.
In March of
2002, the ban was finally lifted off of Jangles' movie, leaving
fans feeling vindicated, at last. As for current projects, it
has been rumoured that Jangles has plans to collaborate with the
prolific Boi Band Triplitz, something he has always wanted to
do.
And yet somehow
the name of Jangles the Clown goes unrecognised by so much of
today's youth. How this can be possible is really quite a mystery,
for Jangles is a legend. he is more than just a clown, or a musician,
or an actor, or even a juggler. Jangles is an interpreter and
portrayer of the human spirit. Jangles is a friend to all. Jangles
is the People's Clown.
Jangles with
good friend Drake Hogestyn
Links
The Tweenies - Story Time - Jangles
the Clown
Purchase the Tweenies Christmas
Video
Highly Strung - A Description of
the Tweenies Special (With Songs)
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