John, I'm Only Dancing

"John, I’m Only Dancing"
Single by David Bowie
B-side "Hang On to Yourself"
Released 1 September 1972
Format 7" single
Recorded 26 June 1972 in Olympic Studios, London (original single version);
20 January 1973 in Trident Studios, London ("sax version")
Genre Glam rock[1]
Length 2:49
2:43 (Sax version)
Label RCA
Writer(s) David Bowie
Producer(s)
David Bowie singles chronology
"Hang On to Yourself"
(Arnold Corns)
(1972)		 "John, I’m Only Dancing"
(1972)		 "The Jean Genie"
(1972)
Music video
"John, I'm Only Dancing" on YouTube

"John, I’m Only Dancing" is a single by David Bowie, released in two versions, bearing the same catalogue number, in September 1972 and April 1973.

Recording and release

The song was widely believed to be concerned with a gay relationship, the narrator informing his boyfriend not to worry about the girl he's with because he's "only dancing" with her.[2][3] Bowie had been 'out' as bisexual since an interview with Melody Maker in January 1972, and the subject matter did not affect the single's radio airplay in the UK, where it and the earlier "Starman" became his first back-to-back hits. However, the original video directed by Mick Rock, featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp's mime troupe, was banned by Top of the Pops.[2]

The single was not released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA[3][4] and did not officially appear stateside until it was finally issued on the compilation Changesonebowie in 1976. While the hook ("John, I'm only dancing / She turns me on / But I'm only dancing") has long been considered a gay tease, author Nicholas Pegg asserts that the song's narrator "could just as easily be a straight man reassuring the girl's lover".[4] Alternatively, it has been suggested that Bowie wrote the song in response to a derogatory comment made by John Lennon about Bowie's cross-dressing.[5]

Musically in a light R&B style, the track was recorded on 26 June 1972,[6][7] released as a single, and then re-recorded on 20 January 1973[8] during the Aladdin Sane sessions, in a slightly different arrangement featuring Ken Fordham on saxophone. Often called the "sax version", the second recording was issued as a single in April 1973 with exactly the same catalogue number as the first release, causing difficulties for collectors.[4] Generally held to be superior to the original cut,[3][9] the sax reworking also appeared on early pressings of Changesonebowie before it was replaced with the original single version.

In 1974, a completely reworked funk-influenced version was recorded as "John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)"; this song is described in detail below.

Track listing

  1. "John, I’m Only Dancing" (Bowie) – 2:43
  2. "Hang On to Yourself" (Bowie) – 2:38

Production credits

Live versions

Other releases

Cover versions

John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)

"John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)"
Single by David Bowie
B-side John, I'm Only Dancing
Released December 1979
Format 7"/12" single
Recorded Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia; August & November 1974
Genre Disco
Length 6:57
3:26 (Single version)
Label RCA
BOW 4
Writer(s) David Bowie
Producer(s) David Bowie, Tony Visconti
David Bowie singles chronology
"Look Back in Anger"
(1979)		 "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)"
(1979)		 "Alabama Song"
(1980)

"John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)" was a re-recording of "John, I’m Only Dancing", made in 1974 during the sessions for the album Young Americans.

Released in December 1979, the re-recording featured a much more funk-influenced take on the track, and has some similarities with the song "Stay" recorded for the Station to Station album in 1976. Originally running at 6:57, the track was cut for a 7" single release, but the full version was issued on 12" vinyl – the first Bowie single to have a regular 12" release in the UK. For the B-side, the original version of "John, I'm Only Dancing" was remixed. After the relative disappointment of the singles from Lodger on the charts, the single gave Bowie some greater degree of mainstream exposure during a period when his work was increasingly being perceived as esoteric and experimental. The long 12" version was included as a bonus track on the 1991 Rykodisk/EMI remaster CD of Young Americans, the 2007 collectors edition of the album and on The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979. The 7" single version has yet to appear on any CD.

The reworking of "John, I'm Only Dancing" drops the original verses, only leaving the chorus' lyrics intact, perhaps because of the supposed homosexual nature of the original piece. The new lyrics were simply an embrace of the dance floor and the spirit of disco. The chorus is delivered more slowly and unswung with dance beats instead of the rather retro blues beats of the original, giving time for Bowie to demonstrate vocal virtuosity. The changes were considered somewhat strange given the original's context, especially the transformation into the "overlong" dance track, given the 12" version's extended mix, in which half of the song is a repetitive riff consisting of the lyrics "dancing, dancing, dancing, woo woo woo-oo".

Track listing

7": RCA / BOW 4 (UK)

  1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 3:26
  2. "John, I'm Only Dancing (1972)" – 2:43

7": RCA / 11886 (US)

  1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 3:26
  2. "Golden Years" - 4:03

7": RCA / 11887 (US)

  1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (1972)" – 2:43
  2. "Joe The Lion"

12": RCA / BOW 12 4 (UK)

  1. "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 6:57
  2. "John, I'm Only Dancing (1972)" – 2:43

These two versions of the song were released on two separate singles in the US. One had "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" with "Golden Years" as the B-side, while the other version had the new remixed version with "Joe the Lion" as the B-side.

Production credits

Other releases

Cover versions

Notes

  1. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (January 22, 2015). "David Bowie: Young Americans". Pitchfork Media.
  2. 1 2 David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: pp.169-170
  3. 1 2 3 4 Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: pp.49-50
  4. 1 2 3 Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: pp.112-113
  5. ↑ Philip Glaviano (1983). Inside Bowie: p. 69
  6. ↑ Kevin Cann (2010). Any Day Now - David Bowie: The London Years: 1947-1974: p.257
  7. ↑ Chris O'Leary (2015). Rebel Rebel: pp.246, 526
  8. ↑ Kevin Cann (2010). Any Day Now - David Bowie: The London Years: 1947-1974: p.283
  9. 1 2 "John, I’m Only Dancing" at The Ziggy Stardust Companion

References

External links

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