pure-imagination

Coldplay and Oberhofer pay tribute to Gene Wilder with "Pure Imagination" covers

pure-imagination

The world lost Gene Wilder yesterday and there have been an outpouring of tributes to the comic icon, including a lot from musicians. (My twitter feed seemed to be entirely Wilder-related yesterday.) Those include a few musical tributes, with both Coldplay and Oberhoffer covering “Pure Imagination,” the song Wilder sings in Willy Wonka when the kids first get to experience the “everything’s edible” factory. Coldplay played the song live at the Pepsi Center in Denver last night, while Brad Oberhofer worked up a very Oberhoferian studio version, saying “I’ve never identified with a character as much as i have with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder is a hero.” You can check out both below.

Oberhofer plays Brooklyn Bowl on Wednedsay (8/31) with Zuli, TK the Architect and BlackJeans. Tickets are on sale.

“Pure Imagination” was written by Anthony Newley, whose score (but not the song) was nominated for an Oscar, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. You can check out Anthony Newley’s take on the song, and a few other artists from over the years as well, below.


(via Stereogum)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2pt2-F2j2g