John, I'm Only Dancing

"John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by 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 boasted 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.

After its release, Bowie rerecorded the song twice, including for possible inclusion on ''Aladdin Sane'' (1973). RCA issued this version, featuring a new arrangement with saxophone, as a single in April 1973 with the exact same catalogue number and B-side as the original. Both versions have since appeared on numerous compilation albums, including ''Re:Call 1'', part of ''Five Years (1969–1973)'' (2015), while live performances have appeared on live albums. Although several deem the "sax version" superior to the original, commentators have considered the latter one of Bowie's best songs.

Bowie re-worked the song into a funk and disco-influenced number during the 1974 sessions for ''Young Americans'', including updating the lyrics and instrumentation. It was a mainstay during the late 1974 Soul tour, performances from which have appeared on live albums. Passed over for inclusion on ''Young Americans'', "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" remained unreleased until RCA issued it as a single in 1979 at the height of disco's popularity. Like the original, it charted at number 12 in the UK.

Composition

Music

Similar to David Bowie's other compositions of the time, "John, I'm Only Dancing" is a glam rock number performed in an R&B style. It boasts a simple verse—refrain—verse—extended refrain song structure with a key of G major. Musically, the song utilises several elements from other tracks: the opening guitar chords were based on a 1963 recording of "Pontiac Blues" by Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds; the guitar riff was taken from the saxophone intro of Alvin Cash's "Keep On Dancing" (1968); and the final G chord stemmed from the Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things" (1966).

Comparing the recording to Bowie's recently-released ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' album, biographer Chris O'Leary notes that the backing band, the Spiders from Mars, are "more dynamic" on "John, I'm Only Dancing" than ''Ziggy Stardust'', arguing its sound foreshadowed the hard rock style of "The Jean Genie" (1972). Writer Ian Rankin of ''Black and Blue'' said Mick Ronson's guitar sounded "like sawing through metal". For his part, Ronson ended the refrains with "siren wails" and utilised short "feedback bursts" to close his solo. Drummer Woody Woodmansey used mallets instead of drum sticks to get the "hollow"-sounding beats Bowie desired and also overdubbed a few tom-tom fills. For his bassline, Trevor Bolder employed a progression up the E minor scale in the refrains followed by, in O'Leary's words, "an aneurysm of octave root notes".

Lyrics

Allegedly inspired by a 1970 incident between Bowie, his then-wife Angie and his former drummer John Cambridge, "John, I'm Only Dancing" describes 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 and up to individual interpretations, commentators have widely viewed the song as concerning a gay relationship. Having ' outted' himself as bisexual in an interview with ''Melody Maker'' in January 1972, Bowie was adamant about joining the gay culture and claimed in 1993 that "John, I'm Only Dancing" was his "attempt to do a bisexual anthem". He later said:

Despite being among Bowie's "most gay-indentified icsongs", O'Leary argues that "there's not much in it to justify the claim", comparing it to his other songs "Queen Bitch" (1971) and "Suffragette City" (1972), tracks that involve another man in a "vaguely-defined" relationship with another person. Biographer Nicholas Pegg asserts that while the hook ("John, I'm only dancing / She turns me on / But I'm only dancing") has long been considered a gay tease, the song's narrator "could just as easily be a straight man reassuring the girl's lover".

Recording and release history

Original version

Bowie and the Spiders initially attempted "John, I'm Only Dancing" at London's Trident Studios on 24 June 1972 with Ken Scott producing. They recorded two takes, along with a version of the Who's "I Can't Explain" (1964), although the session was unsuccessful and remains unreleased. Returning to the song two days later on 26 June at London's Olympic Studios, the session was produced by Bowie himself with assistance from engineer Keith Harwood. Recording nine takes, the Spiders were joined by violinist Lindsay Scott, a member of the JSD Band and regular supporting act during the Ziggy Stardust Tour, who copied Ronson's guitar solo note-for-note; Scott went uncredited until the 2002 reissue of ''Ziggy Stardust''. Handclaps were contributed by members by the Faces who had just arrived to the studio; these were recorded in the studio's entrance hall to capture an echo effect Bowie desired.

"John, I'm Only Dancing" was boasted by Bowie's first promotional video, directed by photographer Mick Rock. Shot in two and a half hours at London's Rainbow Theatre on 25 August 1972 on a budget of £200, the video featured side-lit shots of Bowie and the Spiders interspersed with footage of androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp's mime troupe, shot a week earlier. O'Leary comments that the band looks "as if they've stepped out of Kenneth Anger's '' Scorpio Rising''". The anchor motif on Bowie's cheekbone was inspired by the television series ''Bewitched''. Of the video, his manager Tony Defries said: "It's a bit ethereal, not a straightforward band doing their numbers. It's as if it were a work of art." The video was not screened on the BBC
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