“Beware the savage jaw, Of 1984”…

Bowie had in the past studied mime and performed a one man mime show based on China’s invasion of Tibet! We’ve already met his Anthony Newly/show tunes incarnation and his gigs were getting more and more theatrical. He’d also appeared in a short film, an ice cream advert and made a fleeting appearance (blink and you’ll miss him) in the movie “The Virgin Soldiers”. There was very obviously a theatrical itch that needed scratching. His big idea now was to produce a stage musical based on George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984”. His big problem was that although he’d started writing it, and the songs for it, Orwell’s widow refused to grant him the rights to produce the show. So what had already been written morphed into “Diamond Dogs”.

“Awoooo” the societal breakdown foretold in “Five Years” appears to have happened in “Future Legend” which lists the horrors occurring in Hunger City (the substitute for Orwell’s London of Airstrip One ?) including rats the size of cats and corpses rotting in the street <shudder>. A cheering crowd (The Dudes ?) and the cry of “this ain’t rock ’n’ roll, this is genocide” leads us into the title track. Much in the vein of “Aladdin Sane” opener “Watch That Man”, a proper rocker.

The next three tracks, “Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)” are effectively one song. It’s a musical all by itself, a look into the rotting heart of Hunger City. Your only chance of a lover is a prostitute, the hustlers, pushers and pimps are now politicians, “The News” has come to pass. The lyric in “Candidate” that goes “My set is amazing, It even smells like a street” hints at the forthcoming tour. This trio of songs also happens to be one of Bowie’s greatest vocal performances as it moves from a deep bass to a soaring tenor, it’s quite breathtaking in places. 

Side 1 closes out with a song that’s very close to my heart. That “Rebel Rebel” features one of the greatest guitar riffs ever put to tape helps. Glam Rock was dying at the end of 1974 and so Bowie gives us one of Glams greatest moments, the big kiss off. I’ve always thought of this as being my wife’s song. She is my Rebel Rebel girl and yes, “hot tramp”, I do love you so x

Side 2 is made up of songs that were clearly written with a view to being part of the “1984” musical; “Rock ’n’ Roll with Me” must have been earmarked for a scene between Winston and Julia and it is, in isolation, a gorgeous ballad; “We Are The Dead” is a direct quote from Orwell’s novel (“We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing.”); “1984” and “Big Brother” are pretty self explanatory within the story and “1984” is this albums pointer song, a very funky arrangement pointing the way toward more “plastic soul” to come. It all ends with “The Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family”.

“Diamond Dogs” is a masterpiece (another album I have multiple copies of, just two). On certain days it is my favourite of David Bowie’s albums (on other days it’s others). It’s also a metaphorical full stop on the Ziggy years. He was about to set out on the theatrical and hugely ambitious Diamond Dogs tour and there were big ch-ch-ch-changes afoot…

Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise) - https://youtu.be/vrfc8c6VkTA

I’m gonna level with ya…I don’t like “PinUps”, I never have and likely never will. When I said at the end of the last entry “Bowie was about to make some of the greatest music of his career” this isn’t it.

“Aladdin Sane” had been released to critical acclaim, Bowie was a huge star. The “Ziggy Stardust” tour was over and the last stand had been made at the Hammersmith Odeon on 3rd July 1973. Bowie’s statement from the stage that night

"Of all the shows on this tour this show will stay the longest in our memories, not just because it is the end of the tour but because it is the last show we'll ever do." (or something very close to that)

must have come as a shock to the band as he hadn’t told anyone ! Woody Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder were VERY pissed off at what had and how it had happened.

“PinUps” was recorded at the Château d’Hérouville, an 18th century château come recording studio near Paris. Mick Ronson and Mike Garson were invited to take part. After Cream’s bass player Jack Bruce turned Bowie down and following some peacemaking from Ronson, Trevor Bolder came along too. Session man Aynsley Dunbar played drums, Woody Woodmansey was not invited.

The album is a selection of cover versions of songs from the Mod heydays in mid 60’s London (and I’ve already opined that I don’t think Bowie was very good at picking songs to cover) featuring songs from The Pretty Things, The Kinks, The Easybeats, Pink Floyd and other such luminaries. To me it has only 2 redeeming features. The first is the cover of The Who’s “I Can’t Explain”, taken at a slower pace than the original and featuring Bowie’s asthmatic sax. The second didn’t emerge until 17 years later when an expanded re-issue included the previously unreleased version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Growing Up” (which I believe was recorded during the Diamond Dogs sessions (?) so has no place here anyway).

“PinUps” is Bowie treading water. I find it utterly forgettable.

(Interesting side note, this and his next album are credited not to David Bowie but just Bowie.)

Growing Up - https://youtu.be/xwPKvT-1APg

Or Ziggy Goes To America…Bowie and the Spiders toured extensively from the release of “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”, including 3 spins around the UK, Japan and two tours of the USA. For the first US tour between September and December 1972 pianist Mike Garson was added to the Spiders line up and he would play a big part on Bowie’s next record. Many of the songs for the record were written on the road and with a lot of that time being spent in America the country had an influence on the record, notably songs concerning drive-ins and Detroit. The second US tour wound up in Hollywood in March 1973, just a month before the release of “Aladdin Sane”.

Most of the album was recorded at Trident Studios in London between December 1972 and January 1973, squeezed in between US tours and after the band finished playing 8 shows around the UK from London up to Glasgow. However the first song recorded for the album was “The Jean Genie” in October 1972, recorded in NYC and mixed a week later in Nashville. A couple of weeks later “Drive-In Saturday” was also recorded in New York and the band reconvened after the UK shows to finish recordings before heading back to the US for the 2nd leg of what had become known as The Ziggy Stardust tour.

In here we find two absolutely classic singles (“Drive-In Saturday” and “The Jean Genie” which was so good The Sweet lifted most of it and called it “Blockbuster” !), two very under-valued Bowie songs (the title track where Mike Garson is allowed absolutely free rein, and “Lady Grinning Soul” which is, to my ears, one of the greatest songs Bowie ever wrote and Mike Garson’s playing is beautiful), a re-recorded oldie (“The Prettiest Star” previously a single in early 1970, then featuring Marc Bolan but now re-invigorated by Mick Ronson), another stinker of a cover version (The Stones “Let’s Spend The Night Together” why, just why ?) and some good old glam rocking (“Watch That Man”, “Panic In Detroit” and “Cracked Actor” which was to become one of Bowie’s great set piece live songs for years to come). Also let’s not forget “Time” if only for the amount of sniggering it has engendered in school age boys across the years.

But if you mention “Aladdin Sane” then one thing comes to mind, the cover (apparently the most expensive album cover made at the time), not even the cover but Bowie’s face and not even Bowie’s face but that red and blue lightning bolt, drawn in lipstick across his face by makeup artist Pierre La Roche. It has come to represent Bowie, when you see it in isolation you immediately think BOWIE, you can buy all kinds of merchandise from earrings to socks featuring the lightning bolt, it now lives a life of its own without even needing Bowie’s face for you to know what it is and what it represents.

This was the last time the Spiders From Mars would all record together. Mike Garson would go on to work with Bowie right up until the end. Ronno, Woody and Trevor were destined for other things and Bowie was about to make some of the greatest music of his career.

Lady Grinning Soul - https://youtu.be/18d_pLKgMoY