Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

Infobox Single
Name = Rock 'n' Roll Suicide


Artist = David Bowie
from Album = The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
B-side = "Quicksand"
Released = 11 April 1974
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Trident Studios, London
January-February 1972
Genre = Glam rock
Length = 2:57
Label = RCA Records
LMBO 5201
Producer = David Bowie, Ken Scott
Chart position = * #22 (UK)
Last single = "Rebel Rebel"
(1974)
This single = "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
(1974)
Next single = "Diamond Dogs"
(1974)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Type = Studio
Album= The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Tracks = ;Side one
# "Five Years"
# "Soul Love"
# "Moonage Daydream"
# "Starman"
# "It Ain't Easy";Side two
#

  • "Lady Stardust"
    # "Star"
    # "Hang on to Yourself"
    # "Ziggy Stardust"
    # "Suffragette City"
    # "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"

    "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" in June 1972. It detailed Ziggy’s final collapse as an old, washed-up rock star and, as such, was also the closing number of the Ziggy Stardust live show. In April 1974 RCA issued it as a single.

    Music and lyrics

    Bowie saw the song in terms of the French chanson tradition, while biographer David Buckley has described both "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" and the album's opening track "Five Years" as "more like avant-garde show songs than actual rock songs".David Buckley (1999) "Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story": p.141] Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine similarly found it to have "a grand sense of staged drama previously unheard of in rock & roll". [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gifuxqq5ld0e All Music Guide album review] ]

    Although Bowie has suggested Baudelaire as his source, the lyrics "Time takes a cigarette..." originate with the poem "Chants Andalous" by Manuel Machado: "Life is a cigarette / Cinder, ash and fire / Some smoke it in a hurry / Others savour it".Nicholas Pegg (2000). "The Complete David Bowie": pp.174-175] The exhortation "Oh no, love, you're not alone" references the Jacques Brel song "You're Not Alone" ("Jef") that appeared in the musical "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris". [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:dbfyxb90ld0e All Music Guide song review] ] Bowie covered Brel's "My Death" during some Ziggy Stardust live shows, and performed "Amsterdam" live on the BBC.

    Release and aftermath

    "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" was one of the last songs recorded for "Ziggy Stardust", along with "Suffragette City", which would immediately precede it in the album track list, and "Starman", soon to be issued as a single. As the final song on the album and climax to the Ziggy Stardust live shows throughout 1972-73, it soon became a slogan, appearing on many fans' jackets. [Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). "Bowie: An Illustrated Record": p.48] In April 1974 RCA, impatient for new material having already rush-released "Rebel Rebel" from the "Diamond Dogs" sessions, arbitrarily picked the song for single release. Two years old, and already in the possession of most Bowie fans through "Ziggy Stardust", its release has been labelled simply a "-catching exercise". [David Buckley (1999) Op Cit: p.244] It stalled at #22 in the UK charts – Bowie's first RCA single to miss the British Top 20 since "Changes" in January 1972.

    Track listing

    # "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" (Bowie) – 2:57
    # "Quicksand" (Bowie) – 5:03

    Production credits

    * Producers:
    ** Ken Scott
    ** David Bowie

    * Musicians:
    ** David Bowie: vocals, guitar
    ** Mick Ronson: guitar
    ** Trevor Bolder: bass
    ** Mick Woodmansey: drums

    Live versions

    * Bowie played the song on the BBC show "Sounds of the 70s" with Bob Harris" on May 23 1972. This was broadcast on June 19 1972 and in 2000 released on the album "Bowie at the Beeb".
    * A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 was released on "Santa Monica '72".
    * The version played at the final Ziggy Stardust concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on July 3 1973 was released on "Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture". Before beginning the song, Bowie announced: "Everybody... this has been one of the greatest tours of our lives. I would like to thank the band. I would like to thank our road crew. I would like to thank our lighting people. Of all of the shows on this tour, this particular show will remain with us the longest because not only is it--not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do. Thank you." This version also appeared in the "Sound and Vision" boxed set.
    * A recording from the 1974 tour was released on "David Live". Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal "A Portrait in Flesh".

    Other releases

    * It was released as a picture disc in the RCA "Life Time" picture disc set.
    * It also appeared on the following compilations:
    ** "The Best of David Bowie" (Japan 1974)
    ** "Best of Bowie" (1980)
    ** "The Singles Collection" (1993)
    ** "The Best of 1969/1974" (1997)

    Cover versions

    *Neal Morse - "Cover to Cover"
    * Tony Hadley - "David Bowie Songbook" (1993)
    * El Vez - "G.I. Ay Ay! Blues" and "A Lad from Spain?" EP (1996)
    * Info Riot - "Ashes to Ashes: a Tribute to David Bowie" (1998)
    * Aslan
    * Black Box Recorder - "The Worst of Black Box Recorder" (2001); also included on "Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs", CD premium from the March 2003 issue of "Uncut" magazine
    * Rilo Kiley
    * John Frusciante - Live in Amsterdam 2001
    * Hazel O'Connor - "Diamond Gods: Interpretations of Bowie" (2001)
    * Seu Jorge - Portuguese version for the film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004)
    * Revue Noir - ".2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie" (2006)
    * OK Go and Bonerama - Released an iTunes EP with all proceeds going to New Orleans charities

    Appearances in popular culture

    * In July 1998, artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard presented a recreation of Ziggy Stardust's farewell concert, titled [http://www.iainandjane.com/work/arocknrollsuicide/index.shtml "A Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"] , at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
    * In the skateboard video, "Sorry" by Flip Skateboards the song is used during Arto Saari's part.

    Notes

    References

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


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