Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' on 16 June 1972. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars – comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. It detailed Ziggy's final collapse like an old, washed-up rock star and, as such, was also the closing number of the Ziggy Stardust live show. In April 1974 RCA issued it as a single.

Music and lyrics

Bowie saw the song in terms of the French chanson tradition, while biographer David Buckley has described both "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" and the album's opening track " Five Years" as "more like avant-garde show songs than actual rock songs". Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine similarly found it to have "a grand sense of staged drama previously unheard of in rock & roll".

Although Bowie has suggested Baudelaire as his source, the lyrics "Time takes a cigarette..." are somewhat similar to the poem "Chants Andalous" by Manuel Machado: "Life is a cigarette / Cinder, ash and fire / Some smoke it in a hurry / Others savour it". The exhortation "Oh no, love, you're not alone" references the Jacques Brel song "You're Not Alone" ("Jef") that appeared in the musical ''Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris''. Bowie performed Brel's "My Death" during some Ziggy Stardust live shows, and performed "Amsterdam" live on the BBC.

In 2003 Bowie described the James Brown songs 'Try Me' and 'Lost Someone' as "loose inspiration" for the song.

Release and aftermath

"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", recorded on 4 February 1972, was one of the last songs recorded for ''Ziggy Stardust'', along with "Suffragette City", which would immediately precede it in the album tracklisting, and "Starman", soon to be issued as a single. As the final song on the album and climax to the Ziggy Stardust live shows throughout 1972–73, it soon became a slogan, appearing on many fans' jackets.

In April 1974 RCA, impatient for new material and having already rush-released "Rebel Rebel" from the ''Diamond Dogs'' sessions, arbitrarily picked the song for single release. Two years old, and already in the possession of most Bowie fans through ''Ziggy Stardust'', its release has been labelled simply a "dosh-catching exercise". It stalled at No. 22 in the UK charts – Bowie's first RCA single to miss the British Top 20 since "Changes" in January 1972. According to Acclaimed Music, it is the 2,141st most celebrated song in popular music history.

Bob Dylan played the song on the "Death and Taxes" episode of Season 1 of his ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' show in 2007. Afterwards Dylan recalled how Bowie "told everyone he was going to retire after the Ziggy Stardust Tour" then added, "I remember that. I told him not to do it".

Track listing

All tracks written by David Bowie.
# "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" – 2:57
# "Quicksand" – 5:03

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary:

* David Bowie – lead vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar
* Mick Ronson – lead and rhythm guitars, ARP synthesiser, backing vocal, string arrangement
* Trevor Bolder – bass guitar
* Mick Woodmansey – drums
* Unknown musicians – two trumpets, two trombones, two tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, eight violins, four violas, two cells, two double basses

Technical
* Ken Scott – producer
* David Bowie – producer

Live versions

* Bowie played the song on the BBC
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