1984:David Bowie

"1984" is a song by David Bowie, from his 1974 album Diamond Dogs. Written in late 1973, it was inspired by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and, like much of its parent album, originally intended for a never-produced stage musical based on the novel but was refused by Orwell's wife.[1]



Contents
[hide]  *1 Music and lyrics  ==Music and lyrics[ edit] == The centerpiece of Side Two of the original vinyl album, in the context of Bowie's adaptation of Orwell's story, "1984" has been interpreted as representing Winston Smith's imprisonment and interrogation by O'Brien.[1]  The lyrics also bear some similarities to Bowie's earlier song "All the Madmen", from The Man Who Sold the World ("They'll split your pretty cranium and fill it full of air").[2]
 * 2 Recording and release
 * 3 Live versions
 * 4 Other releases
 * 5 Cover versions
 * 6 Appearances in popular culture
 * 7 Notes

"1984"'s wah-wah guitar sound is often likened to the "Theme from Shaft" (1971) by Isaac Hayes.[1] [3]  Played by Alan Parker, it was one of the few instances on theDiamond Dogs album where Bowie himself did not take the lead guitar part.[2]  The track's funk/soul influence has been cited as a clear indicator of where Bowie's style was headed on his next album, Young Americans.[2] ==Recording and release<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">"1984" was first recorded in a medley with "Dodo", known as "1984/Dodo", on 19 October 1973 for the U.S. TV special The 1980 Floor Show (later bootlegged on recordas Dollars in Drag).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Bowie:_An_Illustrated_Record_1-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[1]  A studio version of "1984/Dodo" was recorded within the month but went unreleased until it appeared on the Sound and Vision box set in 1989. This was Bowie's last recording with Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and producer Ken Scott at Trident Studios, London.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In addition to the "1984/Dodo" medley, "Dodo" and "1984" were also recorded separately, "Dodo" in September 1973<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Any_Day_Now_p.307_4-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]  and "1984" during the later Diamond Dogssessions. Only "1984" made it onto the Diamond Dogs album, with the separated "Dodo" being released for the first time as a bonus track on the 1990 Rykodisc release of the album.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The final version of "1984" was faster and funkier than the medley and, as described by Bowie encyclopedist Nicholas Pegg, "an obvious single if there ever was one".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Complete_David_Bowie_2-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[2]  However, it was released as a single only in America, where it failed to chart. The track generally opened the Diamond Dogs concerts in 1974 but has not been performed live since the 1990 Sound+Vision Tour. ==Live versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Other releases<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Cover versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Appearances in popular culture<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * A July 1974 performance was released on David Live and another recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal album A Portrait in Flesh.
 * A live in-studio performance of "1984" recorded in November 1974 is included on the DVD set The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons.
 * It was released as a single in the U.S. in July 1974, backed with "Queen Bitch" from Bowie's 1971 album Hunky Dory.
 * It appeared on several compilations:
 * Chameleon (Australia/New Zealand 1979)
 * Changestwobowie (1981)
 * Fame and Fashion (1984)
 * The Best of 1974/1979 (1998)
 * "1984/Dodo" was released in the Sound and Vision box set in 1989, and on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Diamond Dogs in 2004.
 * "Dodo" was released as a bonus track on the 1990 Rykodisc reissue of Diamond Dogs, as well as on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Diamond Dogs in 2004.
 * Tina Turner covered the song for her 1984 album Private Dancer. That same year, Turner was a guest vocalist on Bowie's cover of "Tonight" for the album of the same name.
 * Enrique Seknadje covered the song in 2014 - in "Diamond Dogs Revisited" : On Sound Cloud
 * The song has appeared in the Flip Skateboards video Sorry in Arto Saari's part.
 * The first few seconds of the song has been used in Xenon Entertainment's video logo, which is now Xenon Pictures.