"John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by English musician

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 ...

, 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 Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop ...

. 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 ''Aladdin Sane'' is the sixth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 20April 1973 through RCA Records. The follow-up to his breakthrough ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (1972), it was the fi ...

'' (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 The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

as the original. Both versions have since appeared on numerous

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

s, including ''Re:Call 1'', part of '' Five Years (1969–1973)'' (2015), while live performances have appeared on

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

s. 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 Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

-influenced number during the 1974 sessions for ''

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul ...

'', 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

'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 A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the v ...

—verse—extended refrain song structure with a key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable com ...

. 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 Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwe ...

; 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 Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

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 Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

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 Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, alt ...

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 ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' 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 Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Ac ...

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 Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

on 24 June 1972 with Ken Scott producing. They recorded two takes, along with a version of

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

'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 Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

, 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

. Shot in two and a half hours at London's

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Univer ...

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 Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...

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 Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...

's '' Scorpio Rising''". The anchor motif on Bowie's cheekbone was inspired by the television series ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

''. 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's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', possibilities for which include the programme viewed it as too risqué, declined Defries' asking fee of £250, and they felt the video itself was subpar. Biographer David Buckley even notes that Bowie's miming is poorly synched, due to the faulty record player used for filming. The BBC aired a film of tough-looking motorcycle riders in its place, which Pegg states "inadvertently ended up looking ten times more camp". The follow-up single to " Starman", "John, I'm Only Dancing" was released as a single in the UK and Europe on 1 September 1972, backed by the ''Ziggy Stardust'' track "

Hang On to Yourself "Hang On to Yourself" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1971 and released as a single with his band Arnold Corns. A re-recorded version, recorded in November 1971 at Trident Studios in London, was released on the a ...

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

refused to release the single in America due to its suggestive lyrical content, so the song did not appear in the country officially until it was issued on the '' Changesonebowie'' compilation in 1976; Bowie wrote "The Jean Genie" as a replacement single. A commercial success, "John, I'm Only Dancing" reached number 12 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 ...

by mid-October, and also charted at number 19 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

and number 49 on the Belgian Ultratop 50 in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

Sax version

Bowie was unsatisfied with the original recording and rerecorded it several times after. While on tour in America, a not-intended-for-release version was recorded on 7 October 1972 at RCA Studios in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, Illinois. This version, recorded in tandem with

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

's "Vicious", possibly featured Reed on rhythm guitar. A third take was recorded back at Trident on 20 January 1973 during the sessions for the upcoming ''

'' album. Originally intended as the album closer, it was ultimately replaced at the last minute by " Lady Grinning Soul". For this version, Bowie added a saxophone section composed of Brian Wilshaw and Ken Fordham. Pianist Matthew Fisher, a studio visitor at the time, recalled in 1992 that "instead of describing the type of sound he wanted from he saxophonistsin a musical way, David talked about it in terms of colours." He also informed them to think "renaissance" and "impressionist". He made additional changes to the arrangement. According to O'Leary, Bowie "reduced the gawkiness" of his original vocal, such as the "touch me!'s" in the coda and spoken-word "ever cared", but "kept the phrasing in which he sang a tone above the bassline".

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

's Dave Thompson described this take as "punchier" than the original. Following its replacement on ''Aladdin Sane'', this often-called "sax version" was released—in Pegg's words "rather confusingly"—as a single in April 1973 with little fanfare, packaged with the exact same catalogue number and B-side as the original single with no indication it was a different version. This sax reworking appeared on the first 1,000 copies of ''Changesonebowie'' before it was replaced with the original version, as Bowie wanted the latter rather than the former. In 1979, a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the original 1972 track was placed as the B-side of "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)", which condensed the echo on Bowie's vocal and pushed it higher in the mix. In subsequent decades, the original version has appeared on ''Changesonebowie'', '' Changesbowie'' (1990), '' The Singles 1969–1993'' (1993) and some editions of ''

Best of Bowie ''Best of Bowie'' is a 2002 greatest hits album by English recording artist David Bowie. Released in October after the critical and commercial success of the ''Heathen'' album released four months earlier, the songs range from his second al ...

'' (2002), although most editions include the sax version, while the sax version has appeared on '' Sound + Vision'' (1989) and '' The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974'' (1997), and was also included on the bonus disc of the 2003 reissue of ''Aladdin Sane''. Additionally, both versions were included on ''Re:Call 1'', part of the '' Five Years (1969–1973)'' boxed set, in 2015. Meanwhile, the 1979 remix was included as a bonus track on the 1990 Rykodisc CD release of ''Ziggy Stardust''.

Legacy

"John, I'm Only Dancing" was added to Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Tour live set in July 1972 and dropped by the 1973 Japanese leg. A previously unreleased live version from Boston Music Hall, recorded on 1 October 1972, was released in 1989 on the original ''Sound + Vision'' box set, but was not included in subsequent versions of the compilation. The same track, however, was issued on the bonus disc of the 2003 ''Aladdin Sane'' reissue. Another live version, recorded at

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating cap ...

on 20 October 1972, has been released on the

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...

'' Santa Monica '72'' (1994) and that album's official release ''

Live Santa Monica '72 ''Live Santa Monica '72'' is a live album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released on in the United Kingdom and in the United States. It is the official release of KMET FM's radio broadcast, then bootleg album and – later � ...

'' (2008). The song later made appearances on Bowie's Sound+Vision Tour in 1990, before he retired it for good. Several commentators have viewed the sax reworking as superior to the original cut. Author Peter Doggett states that although the sax version sacrifices two "thrilling aspects" of the original, including the "percussive arrival" and "marching brass", he argues it is "more satisfying", writing: "If the guitar crescendo of the first recording hinted at orgasm, the second took it all the way." Nevertheless, the original track has appeared on lists of Bowie's greatest songs by '' Uncut'' (14), ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' (30), '' NME'' (30) and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' (52). ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' named the original one of the 30 most essential songs of Bowie's catalogue following his death in January 2016. The same month, ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

'' placed the single at number 24 in a list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best in 2016. Two years later, ''NME'' readers voted it Bowie's 15th best track. In 1981, the UK rockabilly revival band the Polecats had a minor hit with a cover of "John, I'm Only Dancing", charting at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. Another version by the UK

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band the Chameleons appeared as a bonus track on the CD release of their 1986 album '' Strange Times''. AllMusic's Ned Raggett described this version as "a quick fun goof".

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: Original version *

– lead vocal,

12-string acoustic guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in ...

* Mick Ronson – lead guitar *

– bass guitar * Mick Woodmansey – drums *Lindsay Scott – violin *Ian McLagan, Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, or Kenny Jones – handclaps Technical *David Bowie – producer *Keith Harwood – engineer Sax version *David Bowie – lead vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar, saxophone *Mick Ronson – lead guitar * Mike Garson – piano *Trevor Bolder – bass guitar *Mick Woodmansey – drums, tambourine *Brian Wilshaw – tenor and baritone saxophone *Ken Fordham – tenor and baritone saxophone Technical * Ken Scott – producer, engineer *David Bowie – producer

John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)

In 1974, Bowie abandoned glam rock for

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

. Wanting a soul and

hit for the American market, he decided to revise "John, I'm Only Dancing" in the fashion. For the reworking, he retained the original song's key and refrain but wrote entirely new verses and backing instrumentation. Bearing little resemblance to the original, the revision, tentatively titled "Dancin, employed a

-based

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

groove, was more risqué than the original ("It's got you reelin' and rockin', won't you let me slam my thang in?"), and had five verses with Bowie, in O'Leary's words, "as wedding party MC", making occasional jokes and giving hints as to his deteriorating mental state ("got a line on my hand and Charlie on my back") and America's current position ("president has got the blues"). Ronson's original guitar riff was also split between Mike Garson on

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

and Carlos Alomar's phasing lead, with synthesiser overdubs later. Bowie later used the chord structure as the basis for the '' Station to Station'' track " Stay", recorded in late 1975. Recorded at

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was one of the first studios in the United States ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania, the almost seven-minute track evolved from a two-hour ''

'' jam session in August 1974. With

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

producing and Carl Paruolo engineering, the lineup consisted of Bowie, Alomar on guitar, Willie Weeks on bass, Garson on piano and

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tens ...

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

on drums, David Sanborn on

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

, Larry Washington on

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

and Pablo Rosario on chimes and cowbell. Singer

Ava Cherry Ava Cherry is an American singer and model. She collaborated with English musician David Bowie between 1972 and 1975; the two met in New York City when she was a nightclub waitress and Bowie was touring for ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardus ...

, Alomar's wife Robin Clark, then-unknown singer

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

, Diane Sumler and Anthony Hinton contributed backing vocals. Now titled "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)", the revamp was added to Bowie's live set during the opening night of the Soul tour in Los Angeles; Bowie introduced it as "something to dance to, anyway. It's an old song". A snippet of this first performance was captured in Alan Yentob's ''

Cracked Actor ''Cracked Actor'' (or full title, ''Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie'') is a 1975 television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC's '' Omnibus'' strand. It was first shown on BBC1 on 26 Janu ...

'' documentary. It remained in Soul tour setlists until Bowie returned to Sigma Sound in November 1974, when further work was carried out. A performance from September 1974 was later released on '' Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'' in 2017, while another from October saw release on ''

I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) ''I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)'' is a live album by English musician David Bowie. It had a limited release on 29 August 2020 for Record Store Day as a double LP and double CD. It was recorded on the second half of the Diamond Dogs Tour i ...

'' in 2020. Initially set for release on ''Young Americans'', "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" was replaced by " Fame" at the last minute, so Bowie shelved it indefinitely. Five years later, RCA belatedly issued the track as a stand-alone single at the height of disco's popularity on 7 December 1979 (as RCA BOW 4), backed by the 1979 remix of the original 1972 track. It appeared in both 12" and edited 7" formats; both versions were on one single in Britain, but were spread across two in America. It reached number 12 in the UK, the same position as the 1972 original, and number 29 in Ireland. The 12" version has appeared on the compilations '' Changestwobowie'' (1981) and '' The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979'' (1998), and also as a bonus track on the 1991 and 2007 reissues of ''Young Americans''. The 7" single version was released on '' Rare'' in 1982, but was not released on CD until the box set '' Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'' in 2016. Although Pegg compliments Bowie's vocal as one of his "most accomplished soul vocals", O'Leary disregards "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" as "a desperate white British burlesque of American black music". In ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' 2016 list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best, the publication placed the track at number 86.

Personnel

According to O'Leary: *

– lead vocal * Carlos Alomar – guitar * Willie Weeks – bass * Mike Garson –

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

– drums * David Sanborn – alto saxophone *Larry Washington –

*Pablo Rosario – chimes, cowbell *

– backing vocals * Robin Clark – backing vocals *

– backing vocals *Diane Sumler – backing vocals *Anthony Hinton – backing vocals Technical *

– producer *Carl Paruolo – engineer

Charts

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles 1979 singles 1981 singles David Bowie songs The Polecats songs LGBT-related songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti RCA Records singles Songs about dancing