Big Brother (song)

Infobox Song
Name = Big Brother
Artist = David Bowie
Album = Diamond Dogs
Released = April 24 1974


track_no = 10
Recorded = Olympic and Island Studios, London
Ludolf Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands
October 1973 - February 1974
Genre = Glam rock
Length = 3:21
Writer = David Bowie
Label = RCA Records
Producer = David Bowie
prev = "1984"
next = "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family"
prev_no = 9
next_no = 11

"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", [David Buckley (1999). "Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story": p.214] while Nicholas Pegg considered that Bowie was showing how "the glamour of dictatorships is balanced with the banality".Nicholas Pegg (2000). "The Complete David Bowie": pp.38-39]

The opening synthesizer instrumention has been compared to Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain". [Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). "Bowie: An Illustrated Record": p.64] The melody in the chorus was echoed in Bowie's own "Shining Star (Makin' My Love)" from "Never Let Me Down" (1987).

Live versions

* A live version (which included "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family") from the 1974 tour was released on "David Live". Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal album "A Portrait in Flesh".
* The song also appears live on the two-CD concert released as an extra with the DVD release of the 1987 "Glass Spider Tour".

Other releases

* It also appeared in the "Sound and Vision" box set in 1989.

Cover versions

* Cream VIII - "The Dark Side of David Bowie: A Tribute to David Bowie" (1997). This version incorporates "The Chant of the Ever-Circling Skeletal Family".
* The Quiet Men - "Loving the Alien: Athens Georgia Salutes David Bowie"
* Danny Michel - "Loving the Alien: Danny Michel Sings the Songs of David Bowie" (2004)

Notes