David Bowie - Rebel Rebel

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David Bowie
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch
RCA Victor LPB05009 (1974)

This 45 was recorded by Bowie just after the Christmas period 1973 along with other songs that would appear on the Diamond Dogs album.  The sessions started at the Trident studios in London and were completed at Ludolph studios in the Netherlands.  These recordings were the first since 1969 that did not feature Mick Ronson on lead guitar; that role being undertaken by Bowie himself.

What is unusual about this 45 is that this UK purchased single is in-fact a USA export copy.  There are a few stories in the record collecting world that there was at this time a shortage of vinyl available in the UK due to an oil crisis however the more plausible reason is that around the time of its release the major UK pressing plants were totally booked due to high demand for vinyl records and so to beat the backlog RCA Victor had their pressing done in the USA and shipped them to the UK.  Note that the actual US release of this 45 is a different length (and mix), this 45 was pressed in the USA purely for the UK market.

The flip side features the 1971 recording Queen Bitch which first appears on the Hunky Dory album.  Often referenced as one of the best songs on that album, and also as the perfect glam-rock track, the song is basically a tribute to the Velvet Underground.  A notable performance of the song was when Bowie sang it with Lou Reed at his 50th birthday bash in 1997.  The video below is a 2002 performance from BBC's Later with Jools Holland.







FLAC






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