20 years after he was rewriting culture with The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol began building himself as a television personality via the once-cool MTV.
His show, Andy Warhol’s 15 Minutes, aired for two years between 1985 and 1987, standing as one of MTV’s earliest series. It became famed for hosting music, television, art and drama superstars with magnificent regularity…. for instance the group you see below.
Screened in 1987 on Andy Warhols’ 15 Minutes, this clip of Sir Ian McKellen reciting Shakespeare in front of the Fleshtones is showbiz perfection.
In a superb collision of Elizabethan high literature, grungey slacker rock and ’80s cheesiness, this particular segment pits actor Ian McKellen in front of garage group the Fleshtones, reciting Shakespeare’s beloved Sonnet 20.
Check it out below. Be sure you prepare yourself for just how damn sultry McKellen was back then.
Via Open Culture.
