David Bowie “1984″ b/w “Queen Bitch” 1974. “1984″ appears on Bowie’s Diamond Dogs LP. It was released only in the US, New Zealand and Japan (where the b-side was “Lady Grinning Soul” – honestly a better stylistic match for the A-side than “Queen Bitch”) and it failed to chart in all three countries. Highly reminiscent of “Theme from Shaft,” the track is super-funky, operatic and a vision of Disco future. Bowie intended the track to be included into the soundtrack for a stage musical of George Orwell’s famous book but Orwell’s estate refused to release the rights. Side B has my top Bowie song ever, “Queen Bitch.” It originally appeared on his 1971 album Hunky Dory as a tribute to Velvet Underground and as the b-side to “Rebel Rebel.”

The post David Bowie “1984″ b/w “Queen Bitch” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Bowie envisioned Diamond Dogs as a farewell-to-glam concept album and a political protest based on Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four; he originally intended the record to be a stage musical for the novel. He included “1984″ (a swirly, funky disco track that sounds a lot like the “Theme from Shaft”) and “Big Brother” (the author’s estate denied the rights for the musical). Yet another turning point in Bowie’s career, the album has “been credited with anticipating the punk revolution that would take place in the following years. Bowie himself described the Diamond Dogs, introduced in the title song, as: ‘all little Johnny Rottens and Sid Viciouses really. And, in my mind, there was no means of transport, so they were all rolling around on these roller-skates with huge wheels on them, and they squeaked because they hadn’t been oiled properly. So there were these gangs of squeaking, roller-skating, vicious hoods, with Bowie knives and furs on, and they were all skinny because they hadn’t eaten enough, and they all had funny-coloured hair. In a way it was a precursor to the punk thing.’”

The post David Bowie “Diamond Dogs” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.