Diamond Dogs (song)

"Diamond Dogs"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Diamond Dogs
B-side	"Holy Holy"
Released	14 June 1974
Format	7" single
Recorded	Olympic Studios, London, January–February 1974
Genre	Garage rock blues rock glam rock
Length	5:56
Label	RCA APBO 0293
Writer(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	David Bowie
David Bowie singles chronology
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" (1974) "Diamond Dogs" (1974) "1984" (1974)
Diamond Dogs track listing "Future Legend" (1) "Diamond Dogs" (2) "Sweet Thing" (3)

"Diamond Dogs" is a 1974 single by David Bowie, and the title track of the album of the same name.

The lyric introduces the listener to Bowie’s latest persona and his environment; Halloween Jack dwells on top of an abandoned skyscraper ("Manhattan Chase", aka One Chase Manhattan Plaza) in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. The guitar sound is heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones, and signalled Bowie moving away from glam rock and closer to a proto-punk Stooges-influenced sound.^[1]

The track was considered by many commentators to be an unconventional single, and it only reached number 21 in the United Kingdom. According to NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray, "As a potential hit single, the title track from Diamond Dogs was something of a non-event. Too long, too bleak in vision, too tough to dance to... you know the drill."^[2]

While it failed to make the U.S. charts, the song became a central part of Bowie’s North American tour in 1974.

The B-side was a version of Bowie’s 1971 single "Holy Holy", re-recorded during the Ziggy Stardust sessions the same year.

Track listing

1. "Diamond Dogs" (Bowie) – 5:56 (Only in Australia, a 2'58" edit was used (RCA 102462) instead of the full-length album version^[3])
2. "Holy Holy" (Bowie) – 2:20

Production credits

• Producers:
  • David Bowie on "Diamond Dogs"
  • Ken Scott on "Holy Holy"
• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: vocals, guitar, sax
  • Herbie Flowers: bass
  • Mike Garson: piano
  • Aynsley Dunbar: drums
  • Mick Ronson: guitar on "Holy Holy"
  • Trevor Bolder: bass on "Holy Holy"
  • Mick Woodmansey: drums on "Holy Holy"

Charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	21
Irish Singles Chart	27

Live versions

• A live version from the 1974 tour was released on David Live. This version was also issued on the Dutch release Rock Concert. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal album A Portrait in Flesh.
• A live performance recorded on 23 March 1976 was released on Live Nassau Coliseum '76, part of the 2010 reissues of Station to Station.

Other releases

• It appears on several compilations:
  • Changesonebowie (1976)
  • The Best of Bowie (1980) [note: 4:37 re-edited version]
  • Chameleon (Australia/New Zealand 1979)
  • Changesbowie (1990)
  • The Singles Collection (1993)
  • The Best of 1969/1974 (1997)
  • Best of Bowie (2002)
  • The Platinum Collection (2005/2006)
  • Nothing Has Changed (2014)
• It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.
• The 4:37 edit heard on the 1980 Best of Bowie compilation LP was released on CD in 2004, on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary edition of Diamond Dogs.

Cover versions

• Beck recorded a cover version of "Diamond Dogs", produced by Timbaland, for the film Moulin Rouge! in 2001. The dancers in the film were also called the Diamond Dogs, as were the dancers on Bowie's 1974 tour.
• Blind Willie's Johnson - Only Bowie (1995)
• Dramarama - Live recording (1992)
• Duran Duran - Thank You (Japanese version 1995)
• Rancid Vat - "Bowiecide" single
• Graveyard School - Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie (2007)
• Gilby Clarke - Swag

Notes

1. Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.63
2. Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.64
3. David Bowie -- http://www.illustrated-db-discography.nl/ entry for Diamond Dogs

References

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5