"The Next Day" is a single by English rock 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 ...

, from his 25th studio album, ''

The Next Day ''The Next Day'' is the 25th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released in March 2013. It was his first studio release in ten years, having retreated from public view after his 2004 heart attack. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime c ...

''. The song caused controversy before the single's release due to its perceived mocking of Christianity, which some Christians considered obscene. It was released as a white-square-shaped vinyl 45, as a 'limited' edition release. Both sides featured the track. The single reached 179 on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

The music video debuted on 8 May 2013. It was directed by

Floria Sigismondi Floria Sigismondi (, born 1965) is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer. She is best known for writing and directing '' The Runaways'', for directing music videos for performers includi ...

, who also directed the video for the preceding single, "

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" is a song by English musician David Bowie; it serves as the second single from his twenty-fourth studio album '' The Next Day''. The song's official music video was released on 25 February 2013 and the song itself w ...

", and features English actor

Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy ...

and French actress

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...

, along with David Bowie. The video depicts Bowie performing in a bar called ''The Decameron''—reference to the

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was some ...

's work of that name known also for its satirical depiction of clergymen—and populated with religious figures and half-naked women. The video also portrays Marion Cotillard's character (who is presumed to be a prostitute) suffering from gruesome

stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Sti ...

, with the detailed depiction of the blood bursting from her

wounds A wound is a rapid onset of injury that involves lacerated or punctured skin (an ''open'' wound), or a contusion (a ''closed'' wound) from blunt force trauma or compression. In pathology, a ''wound'' is an acute injury that damages the epiderm ...

, while the priest is dancing with her. Other horror elements such as eyeballs served as food are also present. The music video ends with the stigmatized woman apparently born again as an innocent girl and Bowie saying simply, "Thank you Gary, thank you Marion, thank you everybody." Bowie then disappears.

Controversy

The video gained wide attention and caused a controversy. It was banned from

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

just two hours after its release due to "violation of YouTube's Terms of Service." However, the video returned on the website shortly after its removal, with an age restriction. A YouTube spokeswoman stated: "With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it's brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it." The video also triggered many backlashes and criticisms from various Christian organizations.

Bill Donohue William Anthony Donohue (born July 18, 1947) is an American Roman Catholic who has been president of the Catholic League (U.S.), Catholic League in the United States since 1993. Life and career Donohue was born in the borough of Manhattan in ...

, the leader of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, heavily criticized it and David Bowie, calling the video "a mess" and referring to Bowie as "a switch-hitting, bisexual, senior citizen from London". The former archbishop of Canterbury,

George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the C ...

, also criticized the song as "juvenile" and urged other Christians to "rise above." He also stated that he doubted whether Bowie would have the courage to use Islamic imagery." Also, Andrea Williams of Christian Concern questioned the point of the video while Jack Volero of ''Catholic Voices'' referred to it as "desperate". As a reaction to the controversy and Donohue's criticisms, Bowie's official website issued a response, titled "The Next Day the day after". The writing contains an explicit response to the depiction of "the served eyeballs", which is acknowledged to be a reference to

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman people, Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, ...

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: *

– lead and backing vocal, electric guitar, string arrangement *

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

– guitar *

Gerry Leonard Gerry Leonard is an Irish lead guitarist and solo artist, known for his harmonic and ambient guitar style and for his work with David Bowie. He has lived and worked in Dublin, Copenhagen, and Manhattan. Hinterland From Clontarf, Dublin, Clont ...

– guitar *

Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...

– bass guitar *

Zachary Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contrib ...

– drums, percussion *Antoine Silverman – violin *Maxim Boston – violin *Hiroko Taguchi – viola *Anja Wood – cello *

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 ...

– string arrangement Technical *David Bowie – producer *Tony Visconti – producer, engineer *

Mario J. McNulty Mario J. McNulty (born December 1978) is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer and audio engineer based in New York City, United States. He has worked with David Bowie, Prince (musician), Prince, Nine Inch Nails, The B-52s, Julian Lenn ...

– engineer

Chart performance

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, "The Next Day" reached #53 on the

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

in 2013.

References

Sources

External links

The Next Day, the day after
(davidbowie.com) * (official video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Next Day David Bowie songs Music videos directed by Floria Sigismondi Music video controversies Obscenity controversies in music Religious controversies in music Online obscenity controversies Christianity in popular culture controversies 2013 singles Columbia Records singles 2013 songs Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Songs written by David Bowie Songs critical of religion British hard rock songs YouTube controversies