Editing John Cale (section)

==== 1974–1979 ====
[[File:John Cale 1.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Cale performing live in [[Toronto]], Canada, 1977]]
In 1974, Cale moved back to [[London]].<ref name=":0" /> As his second marriage had begun to dissolve, he made a series of solo studio albums which moved in a new direction.<ref name=":0" /> His records now featured a dark and threatening aura, often carrying a sense of barely suppressed aggression. A trilogy of studio albums – ''[[Fear (John Cale album)|Fear]]'' (1974), ''[[Slow Dazzle (album)|Slow Dazzle]]'' (1975), and ''[[Helen of Troy (album)|Helen of Troy]]'' (1975) – were rapidly recorded and released over the course of about a year with other Island artists, including [[Phil Manzanera]] and [[Brian Eno]] of [[Roxy Music]] and [[Chris Spedding]], who played in his live band. A showpiece of his concerts from the era was his radically transformed [[cover version]] of [[Elvis Presley]]'s "[[Heartbreak Hotel]]",<ref name=":0" /> initially performed by Cale on ''Slow Dazzle'' (1975) and the live album ''[[June 1, 1974]]'', recorded with [[Kevin Ayers]], Nico and Eno. Both "Leaving It Up to You" and "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend" (from ''Fear'') begin as relatively conventional songs that gradually grow more paranoid in tone before breaking down into what critic Dave Thompson calls "a morass of discordance and screaming".<ref name=":0" /><ref name="allmusic.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/fear-is-a-mans-best-friend-mt0003805909|title=Fear Is a Man's Best Friend – John Cale – Song Info – AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=4 January 2018}}</ref>

Cale released ''[[Animal Justice (extended play)|Animal Justice]]'' in 1977, an [[extended play]] (EP) notable particularly for the epic "Hedda Gabler" based very loosely on the [[Hedda Gabler|1891 play of the same name]] by [[Henrik Ibsen]]. His loud, abrasive and confrontational live performances fitted well with the [[punk rock]] scene developing on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Cale took to wearing a [[goaltender mask|hockey goaltender mask]] onstage (as evinced by the cover of his 1977 compilation album ''[[Guts (John Cale album)|Guts]]'',<ref name=":0" /> a compilation drawn from the Island trilogy after the label withheld ''Helen of Troy'' (1975) in the United States); this look predated the creation of ''[[Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th]]'''s villain, [[Jason Voorhees]], by several years. During one concert in [[Croydon]], [[south London]], Cale chopped the head off a dead chicken with a meat cleaver, leading his band to walk offstage in protest.<ref name=":0" /> Cale's drummer – a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] – was so bothered he quit the band.<ref name=":0" /> Cale mocks his decision on "Chicken Shit" from the ''Animal Justice'' EP. Cale has admitted that some of his paranoia and erratic behaviour at this time was associated with heavy [[cocaine]] use.<ref name="sed">Mitchell, Tim ''Sedition and Alchemy : A Biography of John Cale'', 2003, {{ISBN|0-7206-1132-6}}</ref>

Also in 1977, Cale produced "[[I Don't Wanna (Sham 69 song)|I Don't Wanna]]", the debut single by punk rock band Sham 69.

In 1978, Cale produced the majority of Squeeze's debut studio album ''[[Squeeze (Squeeze album)|Squeeze]]'', with Cale instructing the band to discard all of the songs that the band had written up until that point, and to write new songs instead, with [[Glenn Tilbrook]], and [[Chris Difford]] finding the process of working with Cale both frustrating and challenging.<ref>Bud Scoppa with Darryl Morden Music Connection, 25 January 1988</ref> Also that year he played keyboards on [[Julie Covington]]'s cover version of [[Alice Cooper]]'s "[[Only Women Bleed]]", which peaked at No. 12 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].

In 1979, he began a relationship with [[Austin, Texas]]-based [[groupie]] and journalist [[Margaret Moser]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13406786/|title=They Used to Play Rocking Roles|last=Goldberg|first=Stephanie|date=16 October 2002|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=28 August 2017|page=7C|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Cale named the group of women that Moser hung out with the Texas Blondes.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/06/22/533785361/margaret-moser-queen-of-austin-is-dancing-in-the-light|title=Margaret Moser, Queen of Austin, Is Dancing in the Light|last=Patoski|first=Joe Nick|date=22 June 2017|work=NPR|access-date=28 August 2017}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13406651|title=They Used to Play Rockin' Roles|last=Goldberg|first=Stephanie|date=16 October 2002|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=28 August 2017|page=1C|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> His relationship with Moser lasted about five years, overlapping with the beginning of his third marriage.<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":32"/>

In December 1979, Cale's embrace of the punk rock ethic that he helped to inspire culminated in the release of ''[[Sabotage/Live]]''. This record, recorded live over three nights, at [[CBGB]] that June, features aggressive vocal and instrumental performances.<ref name=":0" /> The album consists entirely of new songs, many of which grapple confrontationally with global politics, militarism and paranoia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

Also in 1979, Cale played piano and the [[ARP Instruments|ARP]] synthesizer on the track "Bastard" by [[Ian Hunter (singer)|Ian Hunter]] of [[Mott the Hoople]], on his fourth solo studio album ''[[You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic]]''.

The band included Deerfrance on vocals and percussion.<ref name=":0" /> An earlier live set, consisting mostly of new material, was recorded at CBGB the previous year. It was released in 1987 as ''[[Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (John Cale album)|Even Cowgirls Get the Blues]]''. The band on that recording includes [[Ivan Král]] (best known for his work with Patti Smith) on bass and longtime Brian Eno associate [[Judy Nylon]] providing vocals, and narrating.