"Funtime" is a song written by Iggy Pop and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, first released by Iggy Pop on his 1977 album entitled ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

''. It reflects Iggy and Bowie's growing fascination with the German music scene, and bears marked similarities to "Lila Engel" by krautrock band

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plan ...

. It has since been covered by multiple artists including Blondie,

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

, Bebe Buell, Peter Murphy,

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

and

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...

Composition

Iggy had the idea for the song after hearing the Sex Pistols cover the song " No Fun" by his band

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

, lyrically the song's ironic take on fun is similar to the song in question.

wrote the music as well as plays guitar, synthesizers, piano and sings the main chorus on the track. Most notably one of the riffs he plays is a parody of the main riff of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' " (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". The song would also appear to have been inspired by the Sly & The Family Stone song "Fun", which appeared on their 1968 album Life.

Use in media

The song was used in the movie '' The Hunger'' along with the song " Bela Lugosi's Dead" by

goth rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

band

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

, whose frontman Peter Murphy later covered "Funtime". ''The Hunger'' also stars the co-writer of "Funtime", David Bowie.

Details

Following its studio appearance on ''The Idiot'', a live version of "Funtime" was included on Pop's ''

TV Eye Live 1977 ''TV Eye Live 1977'' (or ''TV Eye'') is a live album by American musician Iggy Pop originally released in 1978. Iggy took a $90,000 advance ($419,807 in 2023) from RCA Records to finish his contract with a live album. According to AllMusic, t ...

''. Pop also performed the song on the television show

Dinah! ''Dinah!'' is a daytime variety talk show that was hosted by singer and actress Dinah Shore. The series was distributed by 20th Century Fox Television and premiered on October 21, 1974, in syndication. In 1979, the show became known as ''Dinah ...

in 1977 with Bowie accompanying on keyboards and backing vocal. During the sessions for 1981's ''

Shake It Up Shake It Up may refer to: * ''Shake It Up'' (Boney James & Rick Braun album), 2000 * ''Shake It Up'' (The Cars album), 1981 ** "Shake It Up" (The Cars song), the title song * "Shake It Up" (Divine song), 1983 * "Shake It Up" (Koda Kumi song), ...

'', members of

recorded a version of "Funtime" featuring bassist

Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orzechowski (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000), known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band The Cars. He sang lead vocals on sever ...

on vocals. According to

Brett Milano __NOTOC__ Brett Milano (born 1957) is a Boston-based music critic and columnist. His fourth book, a biography of Game Theory's Scott Miller, was published in October 2015. Music journalism and writing career According to the ''Boston Globe'', M ...

's liner notes for '' Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology'', Pop was present at the recording session and complimented Orr's vocal impersonation of him, telling the bassist "You sound more like me than me." The song was later stripped of Orr's vocals and re-sung by fashion model Bebe Buell, whom Cars singer

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...

had befriended. The version with Buell's vocals was included on her 1981 EP ''Covers Girl''; the Cars version was released on 1995's ''Just What I Needed'' anthology. Former

singer Peter Murphy included a cover of "Funtime" on his 1988 album ''

Love Hysteria ''Love Hysteria'' is the second solo album by the British solo artist Peter Murphy, formerly of the gothic rock band Bauhaus. It was released in 1988. The album was largely written with former B-Movie keyboard player Paul Statham, who had joine ...

''. In 1989,

released their own version as the B-side to the ''

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

'' track "

Get Up Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...

". A live version of "Funtime" was also recorded by R.E.M. on November 19, 1992, and included on 1995's '' Strange Currencies'' EP. A fifteen-minute live medley of T. Rex's "

Bang a Gong Bang or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Lorestan, a village in Iran * Bangs, Ohio, Uni ...

" and "Funtime" was performed in 1980 by American band Blondie and released on the 1997 album '' Picture This Live'', also released as ''Blondie Live - Philadelphia 1978/Dallas 1980''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the medley as a highlight of the disc. English pop singer

released a cover of "Funtime" as the lead track on his 1995 album '' Cheapness and Beauty''; AllMusic reviewer William Ruhlmann described George's cover as "a screaming guitar rock version." A music video was created for the song and it was released as a single, reaching number 45 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in April 1995 and number 60 in Australia in June 1995.

Personnel

* Iggy Pop: Vocals *

: Backing Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizers, Piano *

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up in nort ...

: Guitar * George Murray: Bass Guitar *

Dennis Davis Dennis Davis (August 28, 1949 – April 6, 2016) was an American drummer and session musician best known for his work with David Bowie, playing on ten albums - including seven successive studio albums - during the singer's classic mid- and late ...

: Drums

References

{{authority control 1977 songs Iggy Pop songs Songs written by Iggy Pop Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by David Bowie