Celluloid Heroes

Written by: Ray Davies

Published by: Davray Music Ltd.

Chord file

Lyrics:

Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star,
And everybody's in movies, it doesn't matter who you are.
There are stars in every city,
In every house and on every street,
And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Their names are written in concrete!

Don't step on Greta Garbo as you walk down the Boulevard,
She looks so weak and fragile that's why she tried to be so hard
But they turned her into a princess
And they sat her on a throne,
But she turned her back on stardom,
Because she wanted to be alone.

You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of,
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.
Rudolph Valentino, looks very much alive,
And he looks up ladies' dresses as they sadly pass him by.
Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi
'Cos he's liable to turn and bite,
But stand close by Bette Davis
Because hers was such a lonely life.
If you covered him with garbage,
George Sanders would still have style,
And if you stamped on Mickey Rooney
He would still turn round and smile,
But please don't tread on dearest Marilyn
'Cos she's not very tough,
She should have been made of iron or steel,
But she was only made of flesh and blood.

You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of.
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.

Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star
And everybody's in show biz, it doesn't matter who you are.

And those who are successful,
Be always on your guard,
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along Hollywood Boulevard.

I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show,
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.

You can see all the stars as you walk along Hollywood Boulevard,
Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of,
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.

Oh celluloid heroes never feel any pain
Oh celluloid heroes never really die.

I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show,
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.

This song can be found on the following releases:

mono mix, recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London
Backtrackin' (The Definitive Double Album Collection) 6 Dec, 1985 UK Starblend TRACK 1 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Backtrackin' - Volume Two Jun 1986 UK Starblend CD TRACK 1/2 CD

stereo mix (6:20), recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London
Everybody's In Show-Biz 25 Aug, 1972 USA RCA Victor VPS 6065 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Everybody's In Show-Biz, Everybody's A Star 1 Sep, 1972 UK RCA Victor DPS 2035 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Celluloid Heroes/Hot Potatoes 24 Nov, 1972 UK RCA Victor RCA 2299 7" vinyl single, 45 RPM
Everybody's In Show-Biz 1973 Brazil RCA Victor (RCA Electronica) 104.7016 12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM
The Kinks' Greatest - Celluloid Heroes May 1976 USA RCA Victor APL1-1743 12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM
The Kinks' Greatest - Celluloid Heroes 25 Jun, 1976 UK RCA Victor RS 1059 12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM
Second Time Around 22 Aug, 1980 USA RCA Victor AFL1-3520 12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM
Everybody's In Show-Biz 26 Jun, 1990 USA Rhino R2 70935 CD
Everybody's In Show-Biz 14 Jul, 1998 USA Konk/Velvel 63467-79720-2 CD
The Kinks' Greatest - Celluloid Heroes 25 Sep, 2001 USA Konk/Velvel/Koch VEL-CD-79734 CD
The Ultimate Collection 27 May, 2002 UK Sanctuary Records Group RTV0023 2 CD set
Everybody's In Show-Biz 20 May, 2003 USA Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs UDSACD 2010 SACD (hybrid)
Everybody's In Show-Biz 7 Nov, 2006 USA Konk/Koch VEL-SC-79816 SACD (hybrid)
Greatest Hits 1970-1986 30 Oct, 2007 USA Konk/Velvel/Koch Records VEL-79822 3 CD set
Picture Book 8 Dec, 2008 UK Universal/Sanctuary 5313049 Multi CD box set
Everybody's In Show-Biz 21 Jun, 2010 UK Konk/Koch/Universal Music 2738353 CD
Everybody's In Show-Biz (Legacy Edition) 3 Jun 2016 USA RCA/Legacy/Sony Music Entertainment 88875112362 2 CD set

stereo mix, edit, nearly 2 minutes shorter (4:39), recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London
Celluloid Heroes/Hot Potatoes Nov 1972 USA RCA Victor 74-0852 7" vinyl single, 45 RPM
The Essential Kinks 14 Oct 2014 USA RCA/Arista/Legacy (Sony Music) 88843066622 2 CD set

live, stereo mix (5:23), recorded 14 Jul, 1974 at Hippodrome Theatre, Golders Green, London
BBC Sessions 1964-1977 12 Mar, 2001 UK Sanctuary Records SANDD010 2 CD set
BBC Sessions 1964-1977 20 Mar, 2001 USA Sanctuary Records 06076 84504-2 2 CD set
The Kinks At The BBC - Radio & TV Sessions And Concerts: 1964-1994 13 Aug 2012 UK Sanctuary Records/Universal Music 279 721-8 Multi CD box set

live, stereo mix (5:17), recorded 24 Dec, 1977 at Rainbow Theatre, London
The Kinks At The BBC - Radio & TV Sessions And Concerts: 1964-1994 13 Aug 2012 UK Sanctuary Records/Universal Music 279 721-8 Multi CD box set

live, stereo mix (7:21), recorded 11 Nov, 1979 at Volkshaus, Zürich, Switzerland
One For The Road 1980 Brazil Arista (Ariola Discos Fonograficos) 300 932/3 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
One For The Road 4 Jun, 1980 USA Arista A2L 8401 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Lola/Celluloid Heroes Jul 1980 USA Arista AS 0541 7" vinyl single, 45 RPM
One For The Road 1 Aug, 1980 UK Arista DARTY 6 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Lola/Celluloid Heroes Apr 1981 UK Arista ARIST 404 7" vinyl single, 45 RPM
Come Dancing With The Kinks/The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 Jun 1986 USA Arista A2CD-8428 CD
Come Dancing With The Kinks/The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 1986 Brazil Arista/BMG (unknown) 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Come Dancing With The Kinks/The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 2 Jun, 1986 USA Arista AL11-8428 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
Come Dancing With The Kinks/The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 Oct 1986 UK Arista 302 778 12" vinyl 2-LP set (double album), 33 1/3 RPM
One For The Road 4 Apr, 1989 USA Arista A2CD-8041 CD
The Best Of The Ballads May 1993 Germany BMG/Arista 74321 13687 2 CD
The Singles Collection/Waterloo Sunset 29 Sep, 1997 UK Essential (Castle) ESSCD 592 (GAF 40 592 EFF) 2 CD set
One For The Road 27 Apr, 1999 USA Konk/Velvel 63467-79728-2 2 CD set
One For The Road 7 Sep, 2004 USA Konk/Koch VEL-SC-79803 SACD (hybrid)

live, stereo mix, recorded 25 Nov, 1993 at Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
To The Bone 15 Oct, 1996 USA Guardian 7243 8 37303 2 2 2 CD set
To The Bone 3 Mar, 1997 UK Guardian 7243 8 37303 2 1 2 CD set

stereo mix, by Rachel & Andy, recorded 1997
The Kover Kontroversy Jan 1997 USA - - Cassette

stereo mix, by Shoko Suzuki, recorded 2002
Kinky Boot Mar 2002 Japan Victor Entertainment VICL-60847 CD

stereo mix, by Monti Beton, recorded 2002
The Kinks Acoustic Songbook - Monti Beton Apr 2002 Austria Beton Music CD-LSP 1884 CD

stereo mix, by the Friday's, recorded 2005
Face To Face With The Kinks - Friday's 2005 Germany (self published) - CD

stereo mix, Ray with the Crouch End Festival Chorus (5:20), recorded Spring 2009 at Air Studios & Konk Studios, London
The Kinks Choral Collection 15 Jun, 2009 UK Decca Records/Universal 2703909 CD
The Kinks Choral Collection 2 Sep, 2009 Australia Decca Records/Universal 2703909 CD
The Kinks Choral Collection 15 Jun, 2009 USA Decca Records/Universal ? CD
The Kinks Choral Collection (Special Edition) 7 Dec, 2009 UK Universal Music TV 2724050 CD

stereo mix, by James O'malley (5:31), recorded 2010 at Paradiddle Studios, Huntington, NY
The Kinks UnKovered 22 Jun 2010 USA Paradiddle Records 8579670021049 CD

stereo mix, by The Kast Off Kinks (7:59), recorded 18-19 Feb 2013 at Roundel Studios, Horton Kirby, Kent
'Orses For Courses Feb 2013 UK CD


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