"Gold"". Interviewed in 1980, Bowie described the song as ""very much a 1980s nursery rhyme. I think 1980s nursery rhymes will have a lot to do with the 1880s/1890s nursery rhymes which are all rather horrid and had little boys with their ears being cut off and stuff like that."" Years later, Bowie said that with ""Ashes to Ashes"" he was ""wrapping up the seventies really"" for himself, which ""seemed a good enough epitaph for it."" AllMusic critic Dave Thompson described the track and its accompanying music video as ""a very deliberate acknowledgement of the then-burgeoning new romantic scene."" It"
"1969, ""Space Oddity"". Described as ""containing more messages per second"" than any single released in 1980, the song also included the plaintive reflection: Instead of a hippie astronaut who casually slips the bonds of a crass and material world to journey beyond the stars, the song describes Major Tom as a ""junkie, strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all-time low"". This lyric was interpreted as a play on the title of Bowie's 1977 album ""Low"", which charted his withdrawal inwards following his drug excesses in America a short time before, another reversal of Major Tom's original withdrawal ""outwards"" or"
"Major Tom (Coming Home) ""Major Tom (Coming Home)"" (, translation: ""Major Tom (completely detached)""), is a song by singer Peter Schilling from his album ""Error in the System"". With a character unofficially related to ""Major Tom"", the protagonist of David Bowie's 1969 song ""Space Oddity"", the song is about the character being caught in an accident in space. The song was originally recorded in German and released in West Germany on January 3, 1983. It reached No. 1 in Austria, Switzerland, and West Germany. The English version was first released in the United States on September 24, 1983. It reached"
"number 14 in the States in late 1983. Other artists who have subsequently made substantial contributions to the Major Tom story include K.I.A. (""Mrs. Major Tom""). Due to some similarities in Elton John's ""Rocket Man"", there is a possible connection between the Rocket Man and Major Tom, a connection notably made by Bowie himself, who while singing ""Space Oddity"" in concert would sometimes call out, ""Oh, Rocket Man!"" In ""Space Oddity"", from the album ""David Bowie"" (1969, later retitled ""Space Oddity""), Major Tom's departure from Earth is successful and everything goes according to plan. At a certain point during the"
"literal battle with addiction, specifically about wanting to stay clean but being stuck with a ""valuable friend."" The song again refers directly to Tom toward the end, where he has become more of a legend, but not for his heroics. He has become a nursery rhyme in the minds of the public, with mothers warning against drug use by telling their children if they want ""to get things done, you'd better not mess with Major Tom."" Bowie released a song entitled ""Hallo Spaceboy"" on his album ""Outside"" (1995). While this song itself does not directly reference Major Tom, references to"
"the needle prior to the euphoric 'hit', and noting Bowie's admission of a ""silly flirtation with smack"" in 1968. His 1980 hit ""Ashes to Ashes"" declared ""We know Major Tom's a junkie"". ""Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed"" reflected a strong Bob Dylan influence, with its harmonica, edgy guitar sound and snarling vocal. ""Letter to Hermione"" was a farewell ballad to Bowie's former girlfriend, Hermione Farthingale, who was also the subject of ""An Occasional Dream"", a gentle folk tune reminiscent of the singer's 1967 debut album. ""God Knows I'm Good"", Bowie's observational tale of a shoplifter's plight, also recalled his earlier"
"Major Tom do appear in the remixed version that Bowie released with the Pet Shop Boys in 1996. This remix contains lyrics from ""Space Oddity"" that are sung by Pet Shop Boys vocalist Neil Tennant. Although never mentioned in the song, an astronaut, possibly Major Tom, does make an appearance in the music video for the song ""Slow Burn"" on Bowie's 2002 album ""Heathen."" In the music video of Bowie's 2015 song ""Blackstar"" (on the album of the same name, released in 2016 two days prior to the artist's death), a dead astronaut is depicted. His skull is retrieved by"
"Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (song) ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"" is the title track from David Bowie's 1980 album ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"". It was also issued as the third single from that album in January 1981. Coming as it did in the wake of two earlier singles from ""Scary Monsters"", ""Ashes to Ashes"" in August 1980 and ""Fashion"" in October the same year, ""NME"" critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray labelled its release another instance ""in the fine old tradition of milking albums for as much as they could possibly be worth"". Musically the track was"
"Space Oddity ""Space Oddity"" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. It was first released as a 7-inch single on 11 July 1969. It was also the opening track of his second studio album, ""David Bowie"". It became one of Bowie's signature songs and one of four of his songs to be included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film """" (1968), the song is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut, and was released during a period of great interest in space"
"Cherry album ""People from Bad Homes""; ""I Am a Laser"" was one of the tracks. Bowie intended to play the song during his 1987 Glass Spider Tour, but dropped the song from the set list before the tour started. Scream Like a Baby ""Scream Like a Baby"" is a song written by David Bowie that appears on the 1980 album ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"". The song focusses on a protagonist called Sam who is evidently being held, along with the track's narrator, in a political prison. Though set in the future, the story is related in the past tense,"
"flight. The United States' Apollo 11 mission would launch five days later and would become the first manned moon landing another five days after that. The lyrics have also been seen to lampoon the British space programme, which was and still is an unmanned project. Bowie would later revisit his Major Tom character in the songs ""Ashes to Ashes"", ""Hallo Spaceboy"" and possibly the music video for ""Blackstar"". ""Space Oddity"" was David Bowie's first single to chart in the UK. It reached the top five on its initial release and received the 1970 Ivor Novello Special Award for Originality. His"
"Major Tom's wife left at home. ""Mrs. Major Tom"" was covered by Sheryl Crow on William Shatner's album ""Seeking Major Tom"" (2011). The Tea Party created a song entitled ""Empty Glass"" on its album ""Seven Circles"" (2004). The song is written from the perspective of an unnamed person who is questioning Major Tom intensely about the purpose of life. The song also references Ground Control and the Bowie phrases ""star man"" and ""diamond dogs"". The New Zealand comedic folk duo Flight of the Conchords allude to the character in their tribute song ""Bowie"" (2008) where they place Bowie himself in"
"was ranked as the 5th best single of 1980 by the NME magazine. ""Ashes to Ashes"" style has been described as art rock and new wave. It is notable for its delicate synthetic string sound, counterpointed by hard-edged funk bass, and its complex vocal layering. Its choir-like textures were created by guitarist Chuck Hammer with four multi-tracked guitar synthesizers, each playing opposing chord inversions; this was underpinned by Bowie's dead-pan, chanted background voices. Melancholic and introspective, ""Ashes to Ashes"" featured Bowie's reinterpretation of ""a guy that's been in such an early song"", namely Major Tom from his first hit in"
"for substantial chart success – it peaked at No. 29 in the UK and No. 106 on the ""Billboard"" Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in the US. David Mallet filmed a music video for the song, featuring Bowie destroying a DJ studio, mixed with Bowie strolling around London and attracting a crowd of curious passers-by. DJ (David Bowie song) ""DJ"" is a song by David Bowie, released on the 1979 album ""Lodger"", and then as a single on 29 June 1979. A cynical comment on the cult of the DJ, the track is noted for Adrian Belew's guitar solo,"
"The 1980 Floor Show The 1980 Floor Show was a rock musical spectacle featuring David Bowie as the protagonist, held at the Marquee Club in Soho, London, on October 18-20, 1973, and broadcast in the United States by NBC on November 16, 1973, as part of the series ""The Midnight Special"". The show presented the last performance of Bowie as the character Ziggy Stardust. The lineup included songs from the albums Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups, as well as the medley ""1984 / Dodo"". The title of the show was a play-on-words referring to the song ""1984"" (nineteen eighty-four /"
"Scream Like a Baby ""Scream Like a Baby"" is a song written by David Bowie that appears on the 1980 album ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"". The song focusses on a protagonist called Sam who is evidently being held, along with the track's narrator, in a political prison. Though set in the future, the story is related in the past tense, in a fashion Bowie has described as ""future nostalgia... A past look at something that hasn't happened yet"". Musically the song is noted for its ""ultra-modern new wave guitar/synth sound"", as well as for Bowie's use of varispeed vocals"
"his rage somewhat spent. Things haven't improved, but he's taking it better."" It's No Game ""It's No Game"" is a song written by David Bowie for the 1980 album ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"", featuring lead guitar played by Robert Fripp. The song is in two parts, opening and closing the album. The song contains lyrics and a vocal melody borrowed from an early unreleased Bowie song called ""Tired of My Life"", demoed in 1970 but said to have been written when he was 16. The lyrics to ""It's No Game (No. 1)"" are spoken in Japanese by Michi Hirota,"
"Aladdin Sane (song) ""Aladdin Sane (1913–1938–197?)"" is a song by David Bowie, the title track from his 1973 album ""Aladdin Sane"". Described by biographer David Buckley as the album's ""pivotal"" song, it saw Bowie moving into more experimental musical styles following the success of his breakthrough glam rock release ""The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"" in 1972. The name is a pun on ""A Lad Insane"" and it was inspired by Bowie's half-brother Terry, who had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. An early variation was ""Love Aladdin Vein"", which Bowie dropped partly because of"
"became a huge hit in the UK in mid-1979. In March 1980, the band — which had not yet hit the singles charts — was namechecked in a UK hit song by The Undertones. The track ""My Perfect Cousin"", which would peak at #9 on the UK charts in May, contained a dig at the perceived ""arty"" Human League in the lyric: In April 1980, the band was able to release an EP entitled ""Holiday '80,"" containing the principal track ""Marianne"" and a cover of ""Nightclubbing"" (written by Bowie and Iggy Pop). The seven-inch version of ""Holiday '80"" did well"
"It's No Game ""It's No Game"" is a song written by David Bowie for the 1980 album ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"", featuring lead guitar played by Robert Fripp. The song is in two parts, opening and closing the album. The song contains lyrics and a vocal melody borrowed from an early unreleased Bowie song called ""Tired of My Life"", demoed in 1970 but said to have been written when he was 16. The lyrics to ""It's No Game (No. 1)"" are spoken in Japanese by Michi Hirota, with Bowie screaming the English translation ""as if he's literally tearing out"
"Master Blaster (Jammin') ""Master Blaster (Jammin)"" is a 1980 single by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder from his 1980 album ""Hotter than July"". The song, built on a heavy reggae feel, is an ode to reggae legend Bob Marley; Wonder had been performing live with Marley (billing him as an opening act) on his US tour in the fall of that year. Lyrics mention ""children of Jah"", ""Marley's Hot on the box"" and the end of the civil war in Zimbabwe. The song was the leading single from Wonder's ""Hotter than July"" album. It was a major hit, spending seven weeks"
"Bowie his first No. 1 single in the UK Singles Chart in November that year. It spent two weeks at the top of that chart. Bowie recorded a stripped-down, acoustic version of the song in late 1979, which was issued in February 1980 as the B-side of ""Alabama Song"". The 1979 recording was released, in a remixed form, in 1992 on the Rykodisc reissue of Bowie's ""Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)"" album, and it was rereleased on ""Re:Call 3"", part of the ""A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)"" compilation, in 2017. On 20 July 2009, the single was"
"which was #2 for the year. Let's Get Serious (song) ""Let's Get Serious"" is the title track from Jermaine Jackson's 1980 album ""Let's Get Serious"" on Motown Records, written by Lee Garrett and Stevie Wonder. The single was Jermaine's first #1 R&B hit and second Top 10 Pop hit, peaking at number nine in both ""Billboard"" and Cash Box. It also reached the top 10 in the UK peaking at #8. The recording was produced by Stevie Wonder, who also provided vocals for the track. It was Billboard's #1 Soul hit for the entire year of 1980, beating out brother"
"on a Bowie album until a rerecording for 1993's ""Black Tie White Noise"". The public's first taste of ""Scary Monsters"" was ""Ashes to Ashes"", which was released as a single one month prior to the album and made No. 1 in the UK. Built around a guitar synth theme by Chuck Hammer, it revisited the character of Major Tom from Bowie's early hit ""Space Oddity"". Aside from its critical and commercial success as a song, the accompanying music video set a benchmark for the art form. Notwithstanding the lush textures of ""Ashes to Ashes"", Bowie's sound on the album was"
"Bradbury. Due to some similarities in Elton John's ""Rocket Man,"" some presume this song might also be an allusion to David Bowie's character Major Tom. Bowie himself made the connection during live performances of ""Space Oddity"" in which he called out, ""Oh, Rocket Man!"" The first stanza of ""Rocket Man"" was thought of by Bernie Taupin whilst he was on the motorway heading to his parents' home; he had to ""repeat it to himself for two hours,"" which was ""unfortunate"", but in later interviews he said that since it gave him a hit, it was all worthwhile. The song has"
"Big Brother (David Bowie song) ""Big Brother"" is a song written by David Bowie in 1973 and intended for his never-produced musical based on George Orwell's ""Nineteen Eighty-Four"". In 1974 it was released on the album ""Diamond Dogs"". It segued into the final track on the record, ""Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family"". Lyrically, the song reflects the ending of ""Nineteen Eighty-Four"", where Winston Smith's brainwashing is complete, and he loves Big Brother. This was described by Bowie biographer David Buckley as ""a frightening paean to the Super God"", while Nicholas Pegg considered that Bowie was showing how ""the"
"all of which were original works and not compilations. In 1987 and 1988, Williams was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association. In 1987, 1988, and 1989, he won the same award from the Academy of Country Music. The pinnacle album of his acceptance and popularity was ""Born to Boogie"". During the 1980s, Williams became a country music superstar known for catchy anthems and hard-edged, rock-influenced country. During the late 1970s and into the mid-1980s, Williams's songs constantly flew into the number one or number two spots, with songs such as ""Family Tradition"", ""Whiskey Bent and Hell"
"the lyrics seems to indicate that the song is mainly about Bowie's own soul searching, rather than a literal continuation of the Major Tom story. There is an inclusion saying ""strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all time low"" referring to him getting high on cocaine, while his life is low. Given Bowie's own history of drug problems, it is quite possible that the ""Major Tom"" line could also be autobiographical. Alternatively, the song can be interpreted to provide detailed information on Tom's story. The song refers an event happening much later, after ""Space Oddity."" Ground control receives a"
"Loverboy (Billy Ocean song) ""Loverboy"" was Billy Ocean's second single from his 1984 album, ""Suddenly"". It was produced by Keith Diamond and reached number 2 on the U.S. ""Billboard"" Hot 100 (behind ""Careless Whisper"" by George Michael) as well as hitting number 20 on the soul chart, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1985. It also reached the top spot of the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the U.S., in an extended version. The track was released on the Jive label under the catalogue reference, JIVE 80. The song was played in the first episode"
"Let's Get Serious (song) ""Let's Get Serious"" is the title track from Jermaine Jackson's 1980 album ""Let's Get Serious"" on Motown Records, written by Lee Garrett and Stevie Wonder. The single was Jermaine's first #1 R&B hit and second Top 10 Pop hit, peaking at number nine in both ""Billboard"" and Cash Box. It also reached the top 10 in the UK peaking at #8. The recording was produced by Stevie Wonder, who also provided vocals for the track. It was Billboard's #1 Soul hit for the entire year of 1980, beating out brother Michael's platinum-certified mega-hit ""Rock with You"""
"live music after his motorbike accident in 1966. US and UK pop music remained popular worldwide, with few European acts making the charts outside their home countries; exceptions included Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg, Shocking Blue, Georges Moustaki and Christian Anders. David Bowie's ""Space Oddity"" became a huge hit in this year, being released at the time that American astronauts first landed on the moon. The song, the story of an astronaut named Major Tom who goes into space and is entranced by the beauty of seeing Earth from such a great distance and consequently lets himself float off into"
"compilation album ""A-Z Vol.2"". This single was covered by the band Deadsy. Teenage Wildlife ""Teenage Wildlife"" is a song written by David Bowie in 1980 for the album ""Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"". Running at almost seven minutes, the song was the longest track on ""Scary Monsters"", and Bowie's longest composition since ""Station to Station"" four years prior in 1976. The song's original title was ""It Happens Everyday"". Producer Tony Visconti said ""Instead of singing 'Not another teenage wildlife' [Bowie] would sing 'It happens everyda-a-ay.'"" Against a musical backdrop that owed much to his classic song ""Heroes"", including textural guitar"
"of the 1977 version, establishing that the lyric is addressed to a lover dying of a heroin overdose, was excised from Bowie's version because Bowie regarded the introduction as an ""idiosyncrasy"" of Iggy Pop that did not match his own personal vocabulary. Bowie also stated that he didn't want to ""inflict"" that part of the song on Tina Turner, either. The reggae-style song reached No. 53 on the UK Singles Chart and No.53 on Billboard Hot 100. David Bowie would perform the song live with Tina Turner at the latter's 23 March 1985 concert at the National Exhibition Centre in"