Brian Molko, singer and songwriter of Placebo, explains that 'Nancy Boy' was about reclaiming the homophobic insults hurled at him for his androgynous appearance. 'I’d walk into a bar and people would react vociferously, or guys would think I was a girl then get really aggressive when they found out my name was Brian,' he says. 'I thought I could regain some power by writing a celebration of debauchery that was so brazenly sexual it would infuriate the people who insulted me.'
Inspiration and motivation
Molko also cites Suede singer Brett Anderson, who had told NME he was a 'bisexual man who’d never had a homosexual experience.' Molko recalls, 'I thought that was bollocks. I thought he was being a sexual tourist. We know each other now and he’s a fantastic person – back then we all said cheeky things for effect – but part of my motivation was to write a song about a bisexual man who has had a bisexual experience.'
Writing and recording
Living on income support in Deptford, Molko came up with the chorus but worried the chords were too catchy. When he played them for Stefan Olsdal, who lived with his parents, Olsdal said, 'Man, that’s such a hook.' In the rehearsal room, it became a distorted punk track. The lyrics almost wrote themselves, telling a story of a wild night out: 'Alcoholic kind of mood, lose my clothes, lose my lube.' The line 'Had some help from insect ways' refers to Spanish Fly or GHB, then available in shops. 'Eyeholes in a paper bag, greatest lay I’ve ever had' reclaims an insult from school. Molko admits, 'I was a very green songwriter and they’re not my best lyrics.'
The first recording for their debut album lacked live energy, so they re-recorded it with Phil Vinall, who helped turn up the distortion. When performed on Top of the Pops, there were 43 complaints because viewers couldn't determine Molko's gender. 'This song changed everything for us and had a purpose: it made people who felt like outsiders feel less lonely, and they became our audience,' Molko says.
Stefan Olsdal's perspective
Bassist Stefan Olsdal notes that in 1994, when they wrote 'Nancy Boy,' he was in an illegal relationship because the age of consent for gay men was 21. 'That was probably in the ether for Nancy Boy,' he says. After hearing Molko's chords, he was hooked by the idea of wrapping dark, subversive lyrics in a melodic tune. They made a demo in Deptford, hiring a studio between midnight and 6am for lower cost. The tape somehow reached David Bowie's tour bus, leading to Placebo supporting Bowie before their debut album was even released.
The first proper recording didn't work, so they tried overdubbing fast drums but lacked punch. By the time they re-recorded it, they had more live experience and were frustrated with the earlier version, channeling that energy into the final track. Olsdal is uncertain how the song got radio play, but suggests the wordplay helped. 'There are no expletives in Nancy Boy,' he notes. Touring brought challenges: 'We got the shit kicked out of us in Middlesbrough, and in the conservative southern US supporting Weezer we were pelted with coins, but mostly we were embraced.'
Legacy
The song's success brought freedom and confidence. 'As human beings discovering who they were in the public eye, it gave us a lot of confidence, and artistically we realised we could push at boundaries and didn’t have to pander to any expectations,' Olsdal says. 'Nancy Boy is a snapshot of a moment, but 30 years later it’s very much a part of who we are.' Placebo Re:created is out now, and the band's 30th anniversary tour reaches the UK in November.
