David Bowie - John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)/John I'm Only Dancing

 

WHO: David Bowie

WHAT: John, I’m Only Dancing (again)  (John, I’m Only dancing)

WHEN: 1979

LABEL: RCA – BOW 4

I was at a loss as to what to write about this time. I was going to do a Halloween special and write about a spooky themed record (could have been the Monster Mash by Bobby “Boris “ Pickett and the Crypt Kickers or maybe Purple People Eater by Sheb Wooley or maybe even Ghost Town by The Specials) but I was too late, but since no one reads this anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’ll maybe do it next year, if I haven’t given up by then in a fit of apathy.

So, to help me make a decision of what to write about this time, I put a stack of records on the player at random. And as “John, I’m Only Dancing (again)” by David Bowie came on, the cat decided to make her feelings clear on the choice of tune. She hoisted her hind legs in the air, fixed me with a stare that says “what do you think of this, little man?” and preceded to scoot herself along the floor, leaving a little brown trail, and maintaining eye contact throughout proceedings. My girlfriend found this hilarious, as being five months pregnant, she can’t go within a few miles of cat shit, and so it was muggins here who was going to have to clean up after the filthy little scrote (that’s the cat, not the girlfriend. She didn’t find it that funny). So after a fun packed half hour of chasing the cat around the flat with a wad of kitchen roll in one hand and a spray bottle of Dettol in the other cleaning up all the arse trails and chocolate kisses she left on the floor (thank the gods we don’t have any carpets in the house) I decided that “John, I’m Only Dancing (again)” by David Bowie would do as a single to write about.

What can you say about David Bowie, the chameleon of rock? Nothing that hasn’t been said before, so I won’t bore you with a re-telling of facts, anecdotes and opinions that any numpty who’s used heard of Wikipedia could do, even if that’s exactly what I do every time I write one of these posts. If you don’t know any of Bowie’s music, I suggest you listen to some.

My first memories of Bowie are from the film “The Labyrinth”, a great film, with some very scary scenes (for young kids), but none so scary as the horrendously tight trousers Bowie has to wear as part of his costume of Jareth, the Goblin King. Bowie’s crotch, combined with his hair-do, very nearly renders the whole film unwatchable. Nearly.

Anyway, enough of Bowie’s family jewels.

THE A SIDE

This is a kind of remix version of the original song “John, I’m Only Dancing” which is on the B side of this disc. It’s a kind of funky disco version of the original. Recorded during the sessions for the album “Young Americans” in 1976. It wasn’t released until 1979 as a non-album track and reached number 12 in the UK charts.

THE B SIDE

This is much better, in my opinion. A more satisfying tune it’s a simpler version of the track in more of a glam rock style. Again this reached number 12 in the UK charts when it was released as a non-album single in 1972. It didn’t get a release in the US, as it was considered too risqué by the record company due to its supposed homosexual lyrical content. Oh well, that was their loss.

THE VINYL

Perfect condition this one, apart from having no sleeve. And someone must have taken umbrage to the label on the B side because they’ve half heartedly tried to scrub away RCA, using a black pen (on a black label). But it plays perfectly.

MY VERDICT

I think I broadly agree with the cat’s assessment of this track, although it’s not as bad as to warrant a dirty protest. I think it’s a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, I much prefer the original version on the B side. I’m off now to try and teach the cat to use toilet paper. Failing that, I’ve got a cork and a mallet.