"Magic Dance" | ||||
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Single by David Bowie | ||||
from the album Labyrinth | ||||
B-side | "Within You" | |||
Released | January 1987 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:13(Album Version) 4:00 (Single Version) | |||
Label | EMI America V-19217 | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Bowie | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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"Magic Dance" (also known as "Dance Magic") is a song written and recorded by the English singer David Bowie for the Jim Henson musical fantasy film Labyrinth (1986). It was released as a single in limited markets worldwide in January 1987. Upon Bowie's death in 2016, the single version of "Magic Dance" reached #63 on the iTunes chart in the UK. [3]
Bowie wrote and recorded five songs for Labyrinth, in which he also starred as Jareth, the king of the goblins. [4] "Magic Dance" was written for a scene in which Jareth and his goblins entertain a crying baby that has been wished away to them by the film's heroine, Sarah Williams. In the film, Bowie performs the number with Toby Froud as the baby, and 50 puppets and 12 costumed extras as the goblins. [5]
Described as a "simple dance number that's driven by electric bass and emphatic drums", [6] "Magic Dance" includes song lyrics that refer to the film The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) starring Cary Grant and Shirley Temple, in which the two have a call and reply verse: "You remind me of a man." "What man?" "The man with the power." "What power?" "The power of hoodoo." "Who do?" "You do!". In "Magic Dance," "man" is replaced with "babe" and "hoodoo" with "voodoo". [6] According to Nicholas Pegg, the verse is an "old playground nonsense-chant" that was originally popularized by The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. [1]
Bowie performed the baby's gurgles in the song recording of "Magic Dance", as backing vocalist Diva Gray's baby, the intended vocalist, wouldn't gurgle on the microphone. [1] [6] In the actual scene of the film, baby vocals were dubbed in by a more cooperative infant. [7] During the movie's production, and in the end credits, the song was referred to as "Dance Magic." [1]
"Magic Dance" is the third track on the Labyrinth soundtrack, released in July 1986 to coincide with the film's US premiere. [8] In 1987 the song was released on 12" in limited markets, including the US. A single version was mixed but never released, and an edit of the "Dance Mix" (incorrectly labeled as the 'single mix') was released on the New Zealand edition of Best of Bowie (2002). [1] The single was not released commercially in the UK until the digital download version was made available in early 2007.
In 1986, "Magic Dance" peaked at #40 in New Zealand. [9] At the time of Bowie's death in 2016, "Magic Dance" was the 19th highest selling Bowie song digitally downloaded in the United Kingdom. [10]
BBC America called "Magic Dance" "one of Bowie's most playful and underrated songs", [11] while Vice's Kamila Rymajdo considered it to be "perhaps the most joyous song about magic, ever". [12] David Brusie of The A.V. Club called the song "infectiously silly", and wrote that it has a "manic energy". [13] Writing for Gizmodo , Cheryl Eddy referred to the song as an "eternal tear-the-club-up fantasy jam". [14] Ranking "Magic Dance" at number 3 on the list "The 10 Best Uses of David Bowie Songs in Movies", Screen Rant's Ben Sherlock considered it the best song from Labyrinth and wrote that it "still has the ability to reinvigorate a dying party more than 30 years later." [15] Empire listed the song among the "catchiest earworms" from cinema. [16]
Some critics have observed similarities between "Magic Dance" and Bowie's earlier song "The Laughing Gnome", as both are constructed around traditional nursery rhymes and feature comic goblin/gnome voices. [1] [17] Sasha Frere-Jones of the Los Angeles Times described the song as Bowie "essentially performing “The Laughing Gnome” again, except this time he and his gnomes come perilously close to rapping." [18]
Labyrinth is a 1986 musical fantasy film directed by Jim Henson with George Lucas as executive producer. Based on conceptual designs by Brian Froud, the film was written by Terry Jones, and many of its characters are played by puppets produced by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Starring Jennifer Connelly as 16-year-old Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, Sarah must journey through a maze to save her baby brother from the Goblin King.
Never Let Me Down is the seventeenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 21 April 1987 through EMI America Records. Co-produced by Bowie and David Richards and featuring guitarist Peter Frampton, the album was recorded in Switzerland and New York City from September to November 1986. Bowie's goal for the project was to record it differently following his disappointment with 1984's Tonight. Musically, Never Let Me Down has been characterised as pop rock, art rock and hard rock; Bowie himself considered the record a return to rock and roll music. The cover artwork features Bowie surrounded by numerous elements from the songs.
Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby is a live album by Anglo-American rock band Tin Machine, originally released through London Records on 2 July 1992. The album includes songs, all from the band's two albums, recorded between 20 November 1991 and 11 February 1992 from five different venues on the North American and Asian legs of Tin Machine's It's My Life Tour. The maligned album title was intended as a pun on U2's 1991 album Achtung Baby. Oy Vey, Baby has received negative reviews, with many criticising the performances. It failed to chart in both the UK and the US. It was accompanied by a concert video of the same title, which was filmed at The Docks, Hamburg on 24 October 1991. Following its release, Tin Machine disbanded and Bowie quickly resumed his solo career with Black Tie White Noise (1993).
"The Laughing Gnome" is a song by the English singer David Bowie, released as a single on 14 April 1967. A pastiche of songs by one of Bowie's early influences, Anthony Newley, it was originally released as a novelty single on Deram Records in 1967. The track consists of Bowie meeting and conversing with a gnome, whose sped-up voice delivers several puns on the word "gnome". At the time, "The Laughing Gnome" failed to provide Bowie with a chart placing, but on its re-release in 1973 it reached number six on the British charts and number three in New Zealand.
"John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, originally released as a non-album single on 1 September 1972. It is a glam rock and R&B song with lyrics that describe a situation in which the narrator informs his lover not to worry about the girl he is with because he is "only dancing" with her. Although ambiguous, many commentators interpreted it as concerning a gay relationship. Recorded in London in June 1972, it was promoted with a low-budget promotional video directed by Mick Rock. It reached number 12 in the UK; RCA refused to release it in America due to its suggestive lyrical content.
"TVC 15" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his 1976 album Station to Station. RCA Records later released it as the second single from the album on 30 April 1976. The song was recorded in late 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, the recording featured guitarists Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, bassist George Murray, drummer Dennis Davis, pianist Roy Bittan and Warren Peace on backing vocals. The upbeat song is mostly art rock performed in a style reminiscent of the 1950s. Lyrically, the song concerns a character's girlfriend being eaten by a television set. It was inspired by a dream of Iggy Pop's and Bowie's role in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Some lyrics are also influenced by the Yardbirds and Kraftwerk.
"Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" is a song recorded by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie as the title track of the 1982 erotic horror film Cat People. Bowie became involved with the track after director Paul Schrader reached out to him about collaborating. The song was recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland in July 1981. Bowie wrote the lyrics, which reflected the film, while the Italian producer Giorgio Moroder composed the music.
"Let's Dance" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally included as the title track of his 1983 album of the same name. Co-produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic, it was recorded in late 1982 at the Power Station in New York City. With the assistance of engineer Bob Clearmountain, Rodgers transformed the song from its folk rock origins to a dance number through studio effects and new musicians Bowie had yet to work with. Bowie hired then-unknown Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who added a blues-edge.
"Modern Love" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released as the opening track on his 1983 album Let's Dance and issued as the third single from the album later in the year. Co-produced by Bowie and Nile Rodgers of the American band Chic, it is a rock song that contains elements of new wave music. It was recorded at the Power Station in Manhattan and was one of the first tracks recorded for the album. It was performed by Bowie on the Serious Moonlight Tour, where it often closed the shows. A music video for the song, directed by Jim Yukich and featuring a performance of the song during the tour, was released in 1983 and played frequently on MTV.
"Underground" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie for the soundtrack of the 1986 film Labyrinth. It reached No. 21 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Velvet Goldmine" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. A glam rock song with lyrical references to oral sex, it was originally recorded on 11 November 1971 at Trident Studios in London during the sessions for his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It was ultimately left off the album and subsequently released as a B-side of the UK re-release of "Space Oddity" in 1975. The song has been praised by Bowie's biographers as an undervalued classic. It later appeared on compilation albums, including on Re:Call 1, part of the Five Years (1969–1973) boxed set, in 2015, and the Rock 'n' Roll Star! box set in 2024. Its namesake was used for Todd Haynes's 1998 film of the same name.
"As the World Falls Down" is a song written by David Bowie for the soundtrack of the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth.
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Return to Labyrinth is an original English-language manga based on the Jim Henson 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth. Jake T. Forbes is credited as the creator, and Chris Lie is the illustrator. The covers for all four volumes were drawn by Kouyu Shurei. It is published by Tokyopop.
Jareth is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth. Portrayed by David Bowie, Jareth is the powerful and enigmatic king of the goblins to whom protagonist Sarah Williams wishes away her baby brother Toby. Jareth gives Sarah thirteen hours to retrieve the baby from his castle at the centre of an enormous labyrinth, during which time he sets obstacles in her path and tries to entice her away from her quest.
"Heaven's in Here" is the lead track from the eponymous debut album by the Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine. Written by David Bowie, it was released as a promotional lead single from the album in 1989.
Sarah Williams is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 1986 musical fantasy film Labyrinth. Portrayed by Jennifer Connelly, Sarah is an imaginative teenager who wishes for the goblins from her favourite story to take away her baby brother Toby. When her inadvertent wish comes true, she must solve an enormous otherworldly labyrinth in thirteen hours and rescue Toby from the castle of Jareth, the Goblin King.
Labyrinth: Coronation is a 12-issue comic book limited series based on Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth. Published by Archaia Entertainment, it was written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Daniel Bayliss, with cover art by Fiona Staples. The first issue was released in February 2018 and new installments were released on a near-monthly basis until the series' conclusion in March 2019. The series has since been collected in three volumes in trade paperback.
Bibliography