David Bowie John I M Only Dancing Again

Song by David Bowie

"John, I'm Only Dancing"
Single by David Bowie
B-side	"Hang On to Yourself"
Released	1 September 1972 (original version) Apr 1973 (sax version)
Recorded	26 June 1972 (original) 20 January 1973 (sax version)
Studio	Olympic, London (original) Trident, London (sax version)
Genre	Glam rock[1]
Length	2:49 (original) ii:43 (sax version)
Label	RCA
Songwriter(south)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	David Bowie Ken Scott
David Bowie singles chronology
"Starman" (1972) "John, I'k Only Dancing" (1972) "The Jean Genie" (1972)
Music video
"John, I'm Merely Dancing" on Vimeo

"John, I'1000 Simply Dancing" is a single past English language rock musician David Bowie, released in two versions – entirely different recordings, but carrying the same catalogue number – in September 1972 and April 1973. Bowie afterward re-worked the song into the disco-influenced "John, I'one thousand Only Dancing (Again)," recorded in 1974 only unreleased until 1979.

Recording and release [edit]

The song is widely believed to be concerned with a gay human relationship, the narrator informing his beau not to worry about the girl he's with because he'south "but dancing" with her.^{[2] [three]} Bowie had been 'out' equally bisexual since an interview with Melody Maker in January 1972, and the subject field matter did not touch the single's radio airplay in the Uk, where it and the earlier "Starman" became his first back-to-dorsum hits. However, the original video directed by Mick Stone, featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp'due south mime troupe, was banned past Top of the Pops.^[two]

The single was non released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA,^{[3] [iv]} and did not officially announced stateside until it was finally issued on the compilation Changesonebowie in 1976. While the hook ("John, I'm only dancing / She turns me on / But I'chiliad only dancing") has long been considered a gay tease, writer Nicholas Pegg asserts that the song'south narrator "could just equally hands exist a straight man reassuring the girl's lover".^[4] Alternatively, information technology has been suggested that Bowie wrote the song in response to a derogatory comment made by John Lennon about Bowie'south cantankerous-dressing.^[five]

Musically in a calorie-free R&B style, the track was recorded on 26 June 1972,^{[6] [7]} released as a single, then re-recorded on twenty January 1973^[8] during the Aladdin Sane sessions, in a slightly unlike arrangement featuring Ken Fordham on saxophone. Ofttimes called the "sax version", the second recording was issued equally a unmarried in April 1973 with exactly the same catalogue number as the showtime release, causing difficulties for collectors.^[4] Generally held to exist superior to the original cut,^{[three] [ix]} the sax reworking also appeared on early pressings of Changesonebowie before it was replaced with the original single version.

Track listing [edit]

All songs written by David Bowie.^{[10] [xi]}

1. "John, I'thousand Only Dancing" – 2:43
2. "Hang On to Yourself" – 2:38

Personnel [edit]

• David Bowie – vocals, acoustic guitar, saxophone (sax version), producer
• Mick Ronson – lead guitar
• Lou Reed – rhythm guitar
• Trevor Bolder – bass guitar
• Mick Woodmansey – drums
• Ken Fordham – saxophone (sax version)
• Ken Scott – producer

Live versions [edit]

• A previously unreleased live version from Boston Music Hall, recorded on 1 Oct 1972, was released in 1989 on the original Sound + Vision box set, just was not included in subsequent versions of this compilation. The same track, nonetheless, was issued on the bonus disc of the Aladdin Sane – 30th Anniversary Edition in 2003.
• A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on xx Oct 1972 has been released on Santa Monica '72 and Live Santa Monica '72.

Other releases [edit]

• The Portugal release of the unmarried "Starman" from September 1972 had "John, I'm But Dancing" as the B-side.
• In November 1972 it was released as the B-side of the unmarried "The Jean Genie" in Nippon.
• It appeared on the B-side of the "Cracked Actor" single in Eastern Europe in June 1973.
• In 1979, a remix of the 1972 version of the song was released on various Great britain and U.s. singles, either as an A-side or every bit the B-side to "John, I'chiliad Just Dancing (Once again)". This version was included as a bonus runway on the Rykodisc CD release of Ziggy Stardust in 1990.
• The song has appeared in the post-obit compilations:
  • Changesonebowie (1976) – the first 1000 copies of the anthology included the sax version of the single; the balance featured the original unmarried version^{[three] [9]}
  • The Best of Bowie (1980) – sax version
  • Sound + Vision (1989) – sax version
  • Changesbowie (1990) – original version
  • The Singles Drove (1993) – original version
  • The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 (1997) – sax version
  • Best of Bowie (2002) – original version
• The sax version was released on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Aladdin Sane in 2003.
• Both the 1972 original and the sax version were included on Re:Phone call 1, part of the Five Years (1969–1973) boxed set, in 2015.
• The song was released as a motion-picture show disc in the RCA Life Time moving-picture show disc gear up.

John, I'thou Only Dancing (Again) [edit]

"John, I'm Simply Dancing (Once again)"
Single by David Bowie
B-side	"John, I'thou Simply Dancing"
Released	7 December 1979
Recorded	Baronial and Nov 1974
Studio	Sigma Audio, Philadelphia
Genre	Disco
Length	half dozen:57 (12" version) 3:26 (single version)
Label	RCA
Songwriter(due south)	David Bowie
Producer(south)	David Bowie, Tony Visconti
David Bowie singles chronology
"Look Back in Anger" (1979) "John, I'thousand Simply Dancing (Again)" (1979) "Alabama Song" (1980)

"John, I'one thousand Only Dancing (Once more)" is a re-recording of "John, I'one thousand Only Dancing", fabricated in 1974 during the sessions in Philadelphia for the album Immature Americans. It was pencilled in as the opening runway of the new album, before further sessions in New York generated more tracks which pushed information technology out of the running order.

Finally released as a standalone unmarried in Dec 1979, the re-recording featured a much more funk-influenced have on the track, and has some similarities with the vocal "Stay" recorded for the Station to Station album in 1976. Originally running at vi:57, the rail was cut for a 7" single release, but the full version was issued on 12" vinyl – the kickoff Bowie single to have a regular 12" release in the Uk. For the B-side, the original version of "John, I'm Only Dancing" was remixed. Afterwards the relative disappointment of the singles from Lodger on the charts, the single gave Bowie some greater degree of mainstream exposure during a period when his work was increasingly existence perceived as esoteric and experimental. The long 12" version was included every bit a bonus track on the 1991 Rykodisk/EMI remaster CD of Young Americans, on the 2007 collectors edition of the album, and on The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979. The 7" single version was non released on CD until 2016's Who Can I Exist Now? (1974–1976).

The reworking of "John, I'm Merely Dancing" drops the original verses, but leaving the chorus' lyrics intact, perchance because of the supposed homosexual nature of the original piece. The new lyrics were simply an embrace of the dance floor and the spirit of disco. The chorus is delivered more slowly and unswung with trip the light fantastic beats instead of the rather retro blues beats of the original, giving time for Bowie to demonstrate vocal virtuosity. The changes were considered somewhat foreign given the original'southward context, especially the transformation into the "overlong" trip the light fantastic track, given the 12" version's extended mix, in which half of the song is a repetitive riff consisting of the lyrics "dancing, dancing, dancing, woo woo woo-oo".

Rails listings [edit]

All tracks written past David Bowie.

7" (BOW 4-Britain)

1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 3:26
2. "John, I'k Only Dancing (1972)" – 2:43

seven" (11887-United states of america)

1. "John, I'g Only Dancing (1972)" – ii:43
2. "Joe The King of beasts" – iii:05

12" (11886-United states)

1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (Once more)" – 6:59
2. "Golden Years" – four:03

12" (BOW 12 four-UK)

1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (Once again)" – vi:59
2. "John, I'grand Only Dancing (1972)" – two:43

There were two entirely singled-out singles in the United states. I had "John, I'yard Only Dancing (Again)", with "Gold Years" as the B-side. The other omitted "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)", instead featuring the new remix of the 1972 version of the vocal, with "Joe the Lion" as the B-side.

Personnel [edit]

• Producers:
  • Tony Visconti
• Musicians:
  • David Bowie – pb and backing vocals, audio-visual rhythm guitar, piano
  • Carlos Alomar – lead guitar
  • Willie Weeks – bass
  • Andy Newmark – drums
  • Mike Garson – piano
  • David Sanborn – saxophone
  • Larry Washington – conga
  • Luther Vandross, Robin Clark, Ava Red – backing vocals

Other releases [edit]

• The 12" version appeared on the following compilations:
  • Changestwobowie (1981)
  • The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 (1998)
• Additionally, the 12" version was a bonus track on the Rykodisc CD release of Immature Americans in 1991, and appeared on the Collectors Edition of that album in 2007.
• The 7" single version was released on a vinyl LP, Rare, in 1982, only was not released on CD until 2016's Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976).
• A September 1974 alive performance (previously available on the unofficial album A Portrait in Flesh) was released in 2017 on Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74), while an October 1974 live version was released in 2020 on I'yard But Dancing (The Soul Bout 74).

Comprehend versions [edit]

• UK rockabilly revival band The Polecats released a cover of the song as their second unmarried in March 1981. Their version peaked at no. 35 on the Uk Singles Chart^[12] and was performed on Height of the Pops.
• A version by Great britain mail service-punk band The Chameleons appeared as a bonus track on the CD release of their 1986 album Strange Times.
• American indie-popular band Vivian Girls covered the vocal for the 2010 David Bowie tribute album We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie'.

Nautical chart operation [edit]

In 1972, "John, I'm Only Dancing" debuted at #49 on the Ultratop l in Wallonia.^[13]

References [edit]

1. ^ Wolk, Douglas (22 January 2015). "David Bowie: Young Americans". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 4 Feb 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
2. ^ ^{a b} Buckley 1999, pp. 169–170.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Carr & Murray 1981, pp. 49–50.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie, pp. 112–113
5. ^ Philip Glaviano (1983). Inside Bowie, p. 69
6. ^ Cann 2010, p. 257.
7. ^ Chris O'Leary (2015). Rebel Rebel, pp. 246, 526
8. ^ Cann 2010, p. 283.
9. ^ ^{a b} "John, I'm Only Dancing" Archived 8 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine at The Ziggy Stardust Companion
10. ^ "John, I'm Merely Dancing" (Single liner notes). David Bowie. UK: RCA Victor. 1972. RCA 2263. {{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. ^ "John, I'm Only Dancing" (Unmarried liner notes). David Bowie. UK: RCA Victor. 1973. RCA 2263. {{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. ^ "John i'm just dancing/Big green automobile | full Official Nautical chart History | Official Charts Visitor".
13. ^ "David Bowie - John, I'one thousand Only Dancing". Ultratop 50 (in French). Retrieved 12 September 2020.

Sources [edit]

• Buckley, David (1999). Foreign Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story. Virgin Books. ISBN978-one-85227-784-0.
• Cann, Kevin (2010). Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974. Adelita. ISBN978-0-95520-177-6.
• Carr, Roy; Murray, Charles Shaar (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record. Eel Pie Publishing. ISBN978-0-38077-966-6.
• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN ane-903111-fourteen-five

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_I%27m_Only_Dancing

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