"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by English singer-songwriter

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 ...

for the album '' Aladdin Sane'' in 1973. Bowie based it on friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Nicholas Pegg (2000). ''The Complete David Bowie'': p.160 and Pop's experiences during the

1967 Detroit riot The 1967 Detroit Riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot or Detroit Rebellion, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "Long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between Black residents and the De ...

s. ''

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 ...

'' magazine called the track "a paranoid descendant of the Motor City's earlier masterpiece, Martha and the Vandellas' " Nowhere to Run"". Musically "Panic in Detroit" has been described as a "

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

variation on the

Bo Diddley beat The Bo Diddley beat is a syncopated musical rhythm that is widely used in rock and roll and pop music. The beat is named after rhythm and blues musician Bo Diddley, who introduced and popularized the beat with his self-titled debut single, "Bo Di ...

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the '' New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and '' Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Bla ...

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''New Musical Express'' and many other magazines and newspapers, and has been interviewed for a number of ...

(1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': p.54 and features prominent conga drums and female backing vocals. The lyrics namecheck

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

and are also said to contain references to John Sinclair of the

White Panther Party The White Panthers were an anti-racist political collective founded in November 1968 by Pun Plamondon, Leni Sinclair, and John Sinclair. It was started in response to an interview where Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, w ...

. In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine printed its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

was ranked at #64, and "Panic in Detroit" as his "essential recording".

Personnel

*David Bowie – lead vocals, acoustic guitar *Mick Ronson –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

s *

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, a ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Woody Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the rele ...

– drums * Aynsley Dunbar –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Linda Lewis Linda Ann Fredericks (born 27 September 1950), better known as Linda Lewis, is an English vocalist, songwriter and guitarist. She is the eldest of six children, three of whom also had singing careers. She is best known for the singles "Rock-a- ...

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

Warren Peace Geoffrey Alexander MacCormack, better known as Warren Peace, is an English vocalist, composer and dancer best known for his work with David Bowie in the 1970s. Musical career A long-time friend of Bowie since their schooldays in Bromley, Peace ...

– backing vocals

Live versions

Bowie played the song live on many of his tours: *

Ziggy Stardust Tour The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by David Bowie during 1972–73, to promote the studio albums ''Hunky Dory'', ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' and ''Aladdin Sane''. Bowie was accompanied by his backin ...

(1973) *

Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album '' Diamond Dogs'' (1974). The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-style stage show format with mult ...

(1974) :* A live version recorded on 14 July 1974 was released as the B-side of the single " Knock on Wood" in 1974. The same version was released as the B-side of the US-only single "

Rock 'n' Roll with Me "Rock 'n' Roll With Me" is a power ballad written by David Bowie and Warren Peace and recorded in January 1974 that first appeared on Bowie's ''Diamond Dogs'' album, supposedly to address the artist's complex relation with his fans. A version r ...

" in the same year. It also appeared on the compilation album '' Rare'' in 1983, on the 2005 and subsequent reissues of ''

David Live ''David Live'' is the first official live album by English musician David Bowie, originally released through RCA Records in 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the Tower Theater ...

'', and on ''Re:Call 2'', part of the ''

Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976) ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 23 September 2016, focused on the artist's "American Phase". A follow-up to the 2015 compilation '' Five Years (1969–1973)'', ''Who Can I ...

'' compilation released in 2016. :*A live performance recorded on 20 October 1974 was released in 2020 on ''I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)''. *

Isolar – 1976 Tour The David Bowie Isolar – 1976 Tour was a concert tour in support of the album ''Station to Station''. It opened on 2 February 1976 at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, and continued through North America and Europe, concluding at the Pavillo ...

(1976) :* A live performance recorded on 23 March 1976 was included on ''

Live Nassau Coliseum '76 ''Live Nassau Coliseum '76'' is a live album by David Bowie recorded on 23 March 1976 during Bowie's Isolar Tour in support of the album ''Station to Station''. The recording was first released in September 2010, as part of special and deluxe e ...

'', which was released as part of the 2010 reissues of the ''

Station to Station ''Station to Station'' is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance person ...

'' album, on the 2016 collection ''

'', and as a stand–alone album in 2017. *

Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

(1990) *

Earthling Tour The Earthling Tour was a concert tour by British musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album '' Earthling'', released in 1997, The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe, North Am ...

(1997) *

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the ''Reality'' album. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealan ...

(2003–04)

Other releases

* It was released as the B-side of the Japan release of the single "

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

" in April 1973. * It was released as picture discs in both the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

''Life Time'' picture disc set and the ''Fashion Picture Disc Set''. * It also appeared in the '' Sound + Vision'' box set (1989) and on '' Best of Bowie'' (US/Canada edition 2002). * A new version of the song recorded in late 1979 was issued for the first time as a bonus track on the 1992

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

CD release of '' Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)''. This version was recorded for the ''

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

's New Year's Eve Show'' that would feature the debut of Bowie's 1979 rerecording of "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...

", but "Panic in Detroit" was not broadcast. The same recording appeared on the bonus disc of the '' Heathen'' Limited Edition double CD, labelled an "outtake from a 1979 recording"."Panic in Detroit" at the Illustrated db Discography
/ref>

Notes

{{Authority control David Bowie songs 1973 songs Songs about Detroit Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Song recordings produced by David Bowie