Rubber Band (song)
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"Rubber Band" is a song 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 ...
. It was recorded in October 1966 following Bowie's dismissal from
Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...
and helped secure him a record contract with
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
-subsidiary Deram Records, who released it as a single in the United Kingdom on 2 December of the same year. A departure from the mod-style sound of his previous releases, "Rubber Band" displays a style informed by
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
and British music hall – influenced particularly by British actor
Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...
. The lyrics tell the story of a man who goes off to war and, upon his return, finds his lover fell for a brass band conductor. Like his other early singles, "Rubber Band" failed to chart. Nevertheless, Bowie's biographers note that the track represents a creative leap in the artist's songwriting. The song was re-recorded in February 1967 for Bowie's first full-length album, ''
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 ...
'' (1967). Produced by Mike Vernon, the remake has a slower tempo and a varied vocal performance from Bowie. London Records issued the remake as a single in the United States on 27 May 1967. Both versions have since appeared on various compilation albums.


Background and recording

Following a string of singles that failed to chart,
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 ...
was let go from
Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...
in September 1966. In order to secure him a new record contract, his soon-to-be manager
Kenneth Pitt Kenneth Cooper Pitt (10 November 1922 – 25 February 2019) was a British publicist and talent manager, who managed the career of musicians including David Bowie in the late 1960s. Biography Pitt was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex. In the 1950 ...
financed a recording session the next month at London's R G Jones Studio. On 18 October, Bowie and his backing band the Buzz, recorded a new version of "
The London Boys "The London Boys" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was first released as the B-side of the single " Rubber Band" in the United Kingdom on 2 December 1966. It was originally written and demoed in 1965 with the Lower Third for potenti ...
", along with two new songs "Rubber Band" and "The Gravedigger" (later retitled "Please Mr. Gravedigger"). Joining them for the session were trumpeter Chick Norton and, for the tuba and oboe, two now unknown musicians. However, the band were inexperienced with the song arrangements and had to be assisted by the other musicians to complete the session. Buzz member Dek Fearnley, who co-produced the session with Bowie, later said in 1991: "We'd worked out what kind of sound we wanted and had painstakingly written out the notation, but all the timings were wrong. Luckily the musicians interpreted what we had written and we got through it." Two days after the session, Pitt showed the tape of "Rubber Band" to the promotional head of Decca Records, Tony Hall, who was impressed: "I must say I did flip. This guy had such a different sound, such a different approach," stating in 1983. Four days later on 24 October, Pitt showed the remaining tracks to Decca's A&R manager Hugh Mendl and in-house producer Mike Vernon, who were also impressed, signing Bowie to the label's
progressive pop Progressive pop is pop music that attempts to break with the genre's standard formula, or an offshoot of the progressive rock genre that was commonly heard on AM radio in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally termed for the early progressive ...
subsidiary Deram Records. Biographer Chris O'Leary summarises: "Financed by Pitt, the "Rubber Band" single landed Bowie an album deal with Deram, a newly founded Decca subsidiary label. As Decca chairman Sir Edward Lewis regarded rock as one would a permanent rash, Deram aimed to give rock a pedigree, offering 'exotic' pop singles and 'conceptual' albums."


Composition

A departure from the mod-style of his previous singles, "Rubber Band" presents a new direction influenced by Bowie's newfound infatuation with English musical theater actor
Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...
; Bowie had first discovered him through the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
serial ''
The Strange World of Gurney Slade ''The Strange World of Gurney Slade'' is a surreal six-part British television comedy series devised by Anthony Newley and made by ATV, first transmitted by the ITV network between 22 October and 26 November 1960. Newley devised the central co ...
'' (1960). When asked about the separation between rock stars and himself, Newley stated that "I could afford to be silly and they couldn't. The whole rock 'n' roll thing was so desperately serious." According to O'Leary, Bowie felt he had taken himself too seriously up to that point in his career and looked to Newley, along with songwriters
Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...
and
Alan Klein Alan Charles Klein (born 29 June 1940) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He wrote the soundtrack for the stage play and film, ''What a Crazy World'' (1963). In 1964, he released his only solo album, ''Well at Least It's British'', ...
, for a new direction to take his career. Additionally, Bowie found the musical landscape changing in 1966, moving away from London-based mod music to California-based
psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
. As it changed, Bowie followed suit, using Klein's
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
group as the basis for "Rubber Band". Musically, "Rubber Band" is compared by James Perone to the
march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
-style brass band works of conductor
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...
. ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' editors
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 ...
and
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 ...
see the song as an "early manifestation of the
Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
fixation that affected the more whimsical areas of mid-60's Brit shpop". Other artists exploring Edwardian influences during the era included
the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...
on ''
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
'' (1969) and
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
on '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967). Utilising various tempo and arrangement changes, the track starts on A minor in its opening verses before changing to
B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes need ...
in the trumpet solo,
C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...
in the last verse and
E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...
in the coda. Lyrically, "Rubber Band" tells the story of a man who goes off to war and, upon his return, finds that his lover fell for a brass band conductor. Bowie imitates Newley in his vocal performance. According to O'Leary, Bowie used his grandfather Jimmy Burns for inspiration, although this is disputed by Nicholas Pegg. Pegg states that the lyric's "library gardens", where Bowie would perform in 1969, are located in
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
.


Release and reception

Deram issued "Rubber Band", backed by "The London Boys", as a single in the United Kingdom on 2 December 1966, with the catalogue number Deram DM107. It was accompanied by a Decca press release that stated that the single was "a love story without a happy ending, it is a pathos set to tubas... There's a neat off-beat approach to the lyrics that touch on such topics as garden tea parties, waxed moustaches and the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Yet the underlying sentiment reflects the ideals and humour of this London-born singer." The single attracted the attention of the British magazine '' Disc'', who wrote at the time: As ''Disc'' foretold, "Rubber Band" was a flop, failing to enter the UK charts. Additionally, the single's failure immediately turned the relationship between Bowie and Decca sour. When the track was presented to Decca during their weekly meetings, the label were displeased. Mendl recalled in 2002: "It all went wrong for David at the first Decca A&R meeting. I was personally very excited about David's first single, but when it was played ack someone said, 'Sounds like Tony Newley to me'. From the start, that sealed David's fate at Decca." The single's release also marked the breakup of the Buzz at the insistence of Bowie's then-manager Ralph Horton. As Bowie had already begun recording what would become his first full-length album, Horton wanted Bowie strictly as a solo artist. Bowie's final performance with the Buzz was the same day the single was issued, 2 December 1966. Bowie's biographers note that "Rubber Band" represents a creative leap in the artist's songwriting. Pegg states: "There's a dramatic drive in the melodic as well as the lyrical narrative." Perone similarly states that while the song was bound to face little commercial success at the time, for the 19-year-old Bowie, the song "represents a remarkable achievement" and "sets the stage for the role-playing that would mark the great David Bowie work of the early 1970s." Nevertheless, Carr and Murray gave mixed assessments regarding Bowie's change in musical direction, writing: "The faintly ludicrous melodrama of Bowie's vocal delivery is counterpointed by the elephantine caperings of the tuba and cornet." In a 2016 list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best, ''
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 "Rubber Band" at number 113 (out of 119).


''David Bowie'' version

"Rubber Band" was re-recorded on 25 February 1967 at Decca Studio 2 in London during the sessions for ''David Bowie''. This new version, produced by Mike Vernon and engineered by
Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
, boasted a new arrangement by Arthur Greenslade. Unlike the single version, which was mixed only in
mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
, the new version was recorded in stereo and released in both formats. The ''David Bowie'' version is slower in tempo, thus running 20 seconds longer despite having the same number of bars. According to O'Leary, the arrangement is superior to the single version: "The brass remore smoothly intoned their notes and John Eager's drums were a more eager participant." Bowie also used a different vocal style than the original, using more upper octaves rather than both upper and lower. The date is also changed from 1912 to 1910 in the lyrics. ''David Bowie'' was issued by Deram in the United Kingdom on 1 June 1967. The remake of "Rubber Band" was sequenced as the third track on side one of the original LP. London Records issued the remake as a promotional single in the United States on 27 May 1967, with album track "There Is a Happy Land" chosen as the B-side. All three versions of the song – the original single in mono, and the album version in stereo and mono – are available on the remastered 2010 deluxe edition of ''David Bowie'' issued in 2010. The remake of "Rubber Band" was featured in the '' Love You till Tuesday'' film in 1969. It appears in a sequence depicting Bowie moustachioed up and dressed in a blazer and boater at an imaginary bandstand concert. O'Leary says that by the time the track appeared in the film, it was "a private joke indulged, a parody of a soured novelty song". Pegg considers the remake superior to the original while Perone finds it inferior.


Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: Single version * David Bowie vocals, producer * Derek Boyes organ * Dek Fearnley bass, producer * John Eager drums * Chick Norton trumpet * Unknown musicians tuba and oboe Album version * David Bowie vocals * Derek Boyes organ * Dek Fearnley bass * John Eager drums * Unknown musicians tuba, trumpet, oboe * Arthur Greenslade arranger * Mike Vernon producer *
Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
engineer


Other releases

* "Rubber Band" also appears on a number of compilations, including: ** ''
The World of David Bowie ''The World of David Bowie'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 6March 1970 by Decca Records as part of their ''The World of...'' series following Bowie's success with the "Space Oddity" single. It p ...
'' (1970) – stereo album version ** '' Images 1966–1967'' (1973) – stereo album version ** ''Another Face'' (1981) – single version ** '' Love You till Tuesday'' LP (1984) – single version ** ''The Collection'' (1985) – single version ** ''Love You till Tuesday'' CD (1992) – stereo album version ** '' The Deram Anthology 1966–1968'' (1997) – single and stereo album versions


References


Sources

* * * * * *


External links


"Rubber Band"
ingle version(YouTube)
"Rubber Band"
lbum version(YouTube)
"Rubber Band"
lbum versionmusic video from '' Love You till Tuesday'' (1969) film (YouTube) {{Authority control 1966 singles 1966 songs David Bowie songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Mike Vernon (record producer) Deram Records singles