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"Suffragette City" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released in April 1972 as the B-side of the single "Starman" and subsequently appeared on his fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). The song was later reissued as a single in 1976, with the US single edit of "Stay" as the B-side, to promote the compilation album Changesonebowie in the UK. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it was recorded by Bowie at Trident Studios in London with his backing band the Spiders from Mars, consisting of Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey, at a late stage of the album's sessions. The song was originally offered to English band Mott the Hoople, who declined it and recorded Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" instead. It is a glam rock song that is influenced by the music of Little Richard and the Velvet Underground. The lyrics include a reference to Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and the lyric "Oooohh wham bam, thank you, ma'am".
The Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released through Mercury Records in the United States on 4 November 1970 and in the United Kingdom on 10 April 1971. Produced by Tony Visconti and recorded in London from April to May 1970, the album features the first appearances on a Bowie record of future Spiders from Mars members Mick Ronson and Mick Woodmansey.
The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums.
"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. A glam rock and R&B number, the lyrics 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 interpreted it as concerning a gay relationship. Recorded in London in June 1972, it was boosted by 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.
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on 16 June 1972. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars – comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. It detailed Ziggy's final collapse like an old, washed-up rock star and, as such, was also the closing number of the Ziggy Stardust live show. In April 1974 RCA issued it as a single.
Michael "Woody" Woodmansey is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the release of Bowie's 1972 LP The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. With the death of Bowie in January 2016, Woodmansey became the last surviving member of the Spiders.
"Black Country Rock" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his 1970 album The Man Who Sold the World. The song was recorded in May 1970, with sessions taking place at Trident and Advision Studios in London. The lineup featured Bowie on lead vocals, guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist/producer Tony Visconti, drummer Mick Woodmansey and Ralph Mace on Moog synthesiser. The track was mostly composed by Ronson and Visconti, who developed it using a basic song sketch from Bowie. Labelled under the working title "Black Country Rock", Bowie used the title to write the lyrics towards the end of the sessions, resulting in a repeated two-line verse and chorus. A blues rock and hard rock number, Bowie imitates T. Rex's Marc Bolan in his vocal performance.
"The Supermen" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1970 and released as the closing track on the album The Man Who Sold the World. It was one of a number of pieces on the album inspired by the works of literary figures such as Friedrich Nietzsche and H. P. Lovecraft.
"Queen Bitch" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory before appearing as the B-side of the single "Rebel Rebel" in the United Kingdom in early 1974. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, the lineup consisted of the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.
"Five Years" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it was recorded in November 1971 at Trident Studios in London with his backing band the Spiders from Mars − comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. As the opening track on the album, the song introduces the overarching theme of the album: an impending apocalyptic disaster will destroy Earth in five years and the being who will save it is a bisexual alien rock star named Ziggy Stardust. While the first two verses are told from a child narrator's perspective, the third is from Bowie's, who addresses the listener directly. As the track progresses, it builds intensity, before climaxing with strings and Bowie screaming the title.
"Lady Stardust" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie that appeared on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars – comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. The song is generally interpreted as alluding to fellow glam rock icon Marc Bolan. The original demo version was entitled "He Was Alright ". A 4-track demo version of the song was sold as a picture disc single during the "David Bowie Is" exhibition in Japan in 2017.
"Ziggy Stardust" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, he recorded it at Trident Studios in London in November 1971 with his backing band the Spiders from Mars—comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. Lyrically, the song is about Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual alien rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. The character was influenced by English singer Vince Taylor, as well as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and Kansai Yamamoto. Although Ziggy is introduced earlier on the album, this song is its centrepiece, presenting the rise and fall of the star in a very human-like manner. Musically, it is a glam rock song, like its parent album, and is based around a Ronson guitar riff.
"Velvet Goldmine" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. A glam rock number 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. Praised by 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. Its namesake was used for Todd Haynes's 1998 film of the same name.
"Sweet Head" is a song written by David Bowie which was recorded at Trident Studios on 11 November 1971. It took 18 years before it was eventually released and it first appeared on the Rykodisc CD release of Ziggy Stardust in 1990. Its release came as a complete surprise to even the most die-hard Bowie fans and collectors who were totally unaware of the track prior to its issue. Even co-producer Ken Scott had forgotten about its existence and admitted his utter surprise upon its release.
"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the album Aladdin Sane in 1973. Bowie based it on his friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in Michigan and Pop's experiences during the 1967 Detroit riots. Rolling Stone magazine called the track "a paranoid descendant of the Motor City's earlier masterpiece, Martha and the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run"".
"Cracked Actor" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his sixth studio album Aladdin Sane (1973). The track was also issued as a single in Eastern Europe by RCA Records in June that year. The song was written during Bowie's stay in Los Angeles during the American leg of the Ziggy Stardust Tour in October 1972. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it was recorded in January 1973 at Trident Studios in London with his backing band the Spiders from Mars – comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Woody Woodmansey. A hard rock song primarily led by guitar, the song describes an aging Hollywood star's encounter with a prostitute, featuring many allusions to sex and drugs.
"Lady Grinning Soul" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on the album Aladdin Sane in 1973. It was a last-minute addition, replacing the "sax version" of "John, I'm Only Dancing" as the closing track. The composer's first meeting with American soul singer Claudia Lennear in 1972 is often cited as the inspiration for the song. In 2016, after Bowie's death, an interview with Lennear revealed that Bowie called her in 2014, and told her the song had been written about her.
Santa Monica '72 is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust Tour. Taken from KMET FM's radio broadcast, it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years; according to author David Buckley, possessing a copy was the test of a "proper Bowie fan". The recording was issued semi-legally/officially and without Bowie's approval by the Golden Years label in 1994, with Griffin Music handling the American release in 1995.
The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a 1972–73 concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, to promote the studio albums Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane. Bowie was accompanied by his backing group, the Spiders from Mars, and integrated choreography, costumes and make-up into the live shows to make them a wider entertainment package. The tour generated significant press coverage, drawing positive reviews and launching Bowie to stardom.
"Soul Love" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it features Bowie's backing band known as the Spiders from Mars – Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. It was recorded on 12 November 1971 at Trident Studios in London and features a saxophone solo from Bowie and a guitar solo from Ronson. Lyrically, the song is about numerous characters dealing with love before the impending disaster that will destroy Earth as described in the album's opening track "Five Years". Like most tracks on the album, the song was rewritten to fit the Ziggy Stardust narrative.
References
- ↑ Harsent, Barney (1 July 2015). "The Man Who Sold the World, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire". The Arts Desk . Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ↑ Gottlieb, Jed (10 January 2017). "David Bowie's Death: One Year Later". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ↑ Wolk, Douglas (4 November 2016). "How David Bowie Realized Theatrical Dreams on 'The Man Who Sold the World'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ↑ David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination — David Bowie: The Definitive Story: p.101
- ↑ Martin Aston (2007). "Scary Monster", MOJO 60 Years of Bowie: pp.24-25
- ↑ Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.38
- ↑ Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: pp.238-239
- ↑ Sinclair, Paul (26 May 2021). "David Bowie's The Width of a Circle reviewed by SDE". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ↑ "The Width Of A Circle due next month". DavidBowie.com. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
- ↑ O'Leary 2015, chap. 4.
