Billy Idol was a big fan of Johann Sebastian Bach in his younger days, and decided to write a song based
on three true stories involving his hero getting into trouble with the local authorities: [from wikipedia, not making
this up]
According to minutes from the proceedings of the Arnstadt consistory in August 1705, Bach was involved in a brawl
in Arnstadt:
Johann Sebastian Bach, organist here at the New Church, appeared and stated that, as he walked home yesterday,
fairly late night ... six students were sitting on the "Langenstein" (Long Stone), and as he passed the town hall, the student
Geyersbach went after him with a stick, calling him to account: Why had he [Bach] made abusive remarks about him? He [Bach]
answered that he had made no abusive remarks about him, and that no one could prove it, for he had gone his way very quietly.
Geyersbach retorted that while he [Bach] might not have maligned him, he had maligned his bassoon at some time, and whoever
insulted his belongings insulted him as well [Bach was reported to have earlier compared his bassoon playing to that of the
bleating of a goat]... [Geyersbach] had at once struck out at him. Since he had not been prepared for this, he had been about
to draw his dagger, but Geyersbach had fallen into his arms, and the two of them tumbled about until the rest of the students
... had rushed toward them and separated them.
Twenty-three year old Geyersbach was one of the choral students in the Gymnaseum where twenty year old Bach taught,
of whom the council had written (Gaines, Evening in the Place of Reason, p.87):
They have no respect for their masters, fight in their presence, behave in a scandalous manner, come to school wearing
swords, play at ball games in their classrooms, even in the house of God, and resort to places of ill repute. Out of school
they play games of hazard, drink, and do other things we shrink from naming.
Bach eventually fell out of favour in Weimar and was, according to the court secretary's report, jailed for
almost a month before being unfavourably dismissed:
On November 6, [1717], the quondam concertmaster and organist Bach was confined to the County Judge's
place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal and finally on December 2 was freed from arrest with
notice of his unfavourable discharge.
From Evening in the Place of Reason by James R. Gaines (p.88) we know that Bach was reported to have
thrown his wig at an organist, with the suggestion that the man think about becoming a cobbler.
Bach vs. the System was rejected by his producers, and later re-written as Shock to the System
after the L.A. riots. Billy Idol, originally a quiet computer programmer who listened to Baroque music, decided to change
his image after learning of the bad-boy exploits of his hero.
