Considering he was one of the most famous people on the planet, George Harrison probably didn’t need too much urging to sing about the damage that can be done by unfounded gossip. When he stumbled upon a clever phrase to represent this phenomenon, he was off and running.
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“Devil’s Radio” turned out to be one of the high-energy highlights of Cloud Nine, the 1987 album that rocketed Harrison back to the top of the rock and roll world. His sharp wit is ever-present on the song, although it can’t quite hide his obvious disgust for loose talk.
To Beat the “Devil”
The credits list for “Devil’s Radio” gives you an idea of how many big names were itching to work with George Harrison as he reentered the pop music arena after years away. Eric Clapton plays lead guitar, Elton John adds piano, producer Jeff Lynne handles the bass, and Harrison’s Beatle buddy Ringo Starr lays down the beat on drums.
They combined to make a formidable noise on the song. But it’s Harrison at center stage, as he was throughout the Cloud Nine album, writing, singing, and playing with renewed vigor. The song shows off Harrison’s winning sense of humor. But there’s a bite to those words as well, as George certainly knew firsthand how rumors could take on a life of their own and harm a reputation.
He didn’t exactly set out with a predetermined notion to write about this specific topic on the album. When driving his son Dhani to school, he came upon a sign outside a church on the side of the road that proclaimed gossip was indeed the “Devil’s Radio.”
Since the early part of his life, Harrison had been dealing with the side effects of being famous, chief among these the frustration with untrue things being said about him. With this song, he was able to take some of that frustration out via his art.
Examining the Lyrics of “Devil’s Radio”
In between choruses consisting of the single word gossip, Harrison makes his case for just how insidious it can be when Satan’s wireless is left unchecked. Words that thoughtless speak, he calls it, and he compares it to vultures swooping down below.
Harrison talks about the public’s inability to resist gossip when it appears: He’s in the clubs and bars and never turns it down / Talking about what he don’t know on the devil’s radio. According to the artist, there’s not much good to be found in those who would pass a rumor along: The soul betraying so and so on the devil’s radio.
The ubiquity of gossip, which Harrison references throughout the song, is what makes it so hard to contain. His descriptions of it are vivid and scary: It’s black and white like industrial waste / Pollution of the highest degree.
Not only is it everywhere, but once this issue sets in, it can change forever those who are affected by it, as Harrison makes clear: Runs thick and fast, no one really sees / Quite what bad it can do / As it shapes you into something cold. Disguising yourself is a last resort: Make us hide behind shades / And buzzing like a dynamo / The devil’s radio.
Early in the song, he confronts an acquaintance, although you can imagine he’s addressing the listeners: You wonder why I don’t hang out much. “Devil’s Radio” showed us how much George Harrison’s talent was missed, while also indirectly letting us know why he had stayed away for so long.
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