Let's Dance (David Bowie song)

"Let's Dance"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Let's Dance
B-side	"Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"
Released	17 March 1983
Format	7" single 12" single
Recorded	1982; The Power Station (New York City)
Genre	Funk[1] post-disco[2] dance-pop[3] funk rock[4]
Length	7:37
Label	EMI – EA152
Writer(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	Nile Rodgers
Certification	Gold (RIAA and BPI)
David Bowie singles chronology
"Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" (1982) "Let's Dance" (1983) "China Girl" (1983)
Let's Dance track listing "China Girl" (2) "Let's Dance" (3) "Without You" (4) Music video "Let's Dance" on YouTube

"Let's Dance" is the title song from English singer David Bowie's 1983 album of the same name. It was also released as the first single from that album in 1983, and went on to become one of his biggest-selling tracks. Stevie Ray Vaughan played the guitar solo at the end of the song.

The single was one of Bowie's fastest selling to date, entering the UK Singles Chart at number five on its first week of release, staying at the top of the charts for three weeks.^[5] Soon afterwards, the single topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Bowie's second and last single to reach number 1 in the U.S. In Oceania, it narrowly missed topping the Australian charts, peaking at number two, but peaked at number one for 4 consecutive weeks in New Zealand. The single became one of the best selling of the year across North America, Central Europe and Oceania.

Music video

The music video was made by David Mallet on location in Australia including a bar in Carinda in New South Wales and the Warrumbungle National Park near Coonabarabran. It featured Bowie playing with his band while impassively watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism, which were played by Terry Roberts and Joelene King.^[6][7] The red shoes mentioned in the song's lyrics appear in several contexts. Bowie described this video (and the video for his subsequent single, "China Girl") as "very simple, very direct" statements against racism and oppression.^[8]

Track listing

7": EMI America / EA 152 (UK)

1. "Let's Dance" (Single Version) (Bowie) – 4:07
2. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (Bowie, Moroder) – 5:09

12": EMI America / 12EA 152 (UK)

1. "Let's Dance" (Bowie) – 7:38
2. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (Bowie, Moroder) – 5:09

Reception and legacy

"Let's Dance" was described by Ed Power in the Irish Examiner as "a decent chunk of funk-rock".^[4] Writing for the BBC, David Quantick said "the combination of Bowie and Rodgers on the title track was perfect – Bowie’s epic lyric about dancing under 'serious moonlight' and the brilliant filching of the crescendo 'ahh!'s from the Beatles' version of the Isley Brothers' 'Twist and Shout' were masterstrokes, each welded to a loud, stadium-ised drum and bass sound".^[9]

The song introduced Bowie to a new, younger audience oblivious to his former career in the 1970s. Although the track was his most popular to date, its very success had the incongruous effect of distancing Bowie from his new fans, with Bowie saying he did not know who they were or what they wanted.^[10] His next two albums, made as an attempt to cater to his new-found audience, suffered creatively as a result and Bowie cited them as the albums he was least satisfied with in his career.^[11]

In 2007, Bowie gave R&B singer Craig David permission to sample the song for his single "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)".^[12]

Live performances

The track was a regular on the Serious Moonlight Tour (the name derived from a lyric in "Let's Dance"), and was released on the 1983 concert video Serious Moonlight. The song was also performed live on Bowie's 1987 Glass Spider Tour (and released on 1988's Glass Spider), and on his 1990 Sound+Vision Tour, and it was then reworked semi-acoustically for tours in 2000 and later. A live recording from 27 June 2000 was released on BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000, a bonus disc accompanying the first release of Bowie at the Beeb in 2000.

Charts and certifications

Chart performance Chart (1983–2016) Peak position Australian Singles Chart 2 Austrian Singles Chart 2 Belgian Singles Chart 1 Canadian Singles Chart 1 Dutch Singles Chart 1 German Singles Chart 2 Irish Singles Chart 1 Japan Hot 100 53 New Zealand Singles Chart 1 Norwegian Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart 1 Swiss Singles Chart 1 UK Singles Chart[5] 1 US Billboard Hot 100 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1 US Billboard Rock Songs 7 US Billboard Hot Black Singles 14

Year-end charts Chart (1983) Rank U.S. Billboard Hot 100 18 UK Singles Chart 4 Canadian RPM Top Singles 3 New Zealand Singles Chart 2 Swiss Singles Chart 10 German Singles Chart 18

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[13]	Platinum	100,000
France (SNEP)[14]	Gold	873,000[15]
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Gold	905,029[17]
United States (RIAA)[18]	Gold	1,000,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

|}

Production credits

• Producers:
  • Nile Rodgers
• Musicians:
  • David Bowie – vocals
  • Nile Rodgers – rhythm guitar
  • Stevie Ray Vaughan – lead guitar
  • Carmine Rojas – bass
  • Erdal Kizilcay – keyboard bass
  • Omar Hakim – drums
  • Rob Sabino – keyboards, piano
  • Mac Gollehon – trumpet
  • Robert Aaron, Stan Harrison, Steve Elson – saxophone
  • Sammy Figueroa – percussion

Other releases

• The 7" single edit also appears on the following compilations:
  • Changesbowie (1990)
  • Bowie: The Singles 1969–1993 (1993)
  • The Singles Collection (1993)
  • Best of Bowie (2002)
  • The Platinum Collection (2006)
  • The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 (2007)
  • Nothing Has Changed (2014)

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983

References

1. Erlewine,Stephen Thomas. "David Bowie - Let's Dance review". Allmusic. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
2. Anderman, Joan (2 March 2004). "Indie rockers revel in reinvention". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
3. Champan, Ian (2015). Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 159. ISBN 9781442237520.
4. Power, Ed (1 March 2013). "David Bowie's return to the golden years?". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 421–2. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. "BOWIE DOWNUNDER: Terry Roberts and Joeline King".
7. "Dancing to Bowie's tune still resonates 30 years on". The Sydney Morning Herald.
8. Loder, Kurt (12 May 1983), "Straight Time", Rolling Stone magazine, no. 395, pp. 22–28, 81
9. Quantick, David. "David Bowie Let’s Dance Review". BBC. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
10. Pond, Steve (March 1997), "Beyond Bowie", Live! magazine: 38–41, 93
11. Interview with David Bowie. Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. BBC. 5 July 2002.
12. "Craig David Thanks David Bowie For Sample". Gigwise. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
13. "Canadian single certifications – David Bowie – Let's Dance". Music Canada. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
14. "French single certifications – David Bowie – Let's Dance" (in French). InfoDisc. Select DAVID BOWIE and click OK
15. "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
16. "British single certifications – David Bowie – Let's Dance". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Let's Dance in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
17. "Official Charts Analysis: David Bowie's UK chart life". Music Week. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
18. "American single certifications – David Bowie – Let's Dance". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 12 June 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

General

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
• Mojo Bowie, EMAP Performance Network Ltd, 2004

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics