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Rebel Rebel

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"Rebel Rebel" is a song by David Bowie, released in 1974 as a single and on the album Diamond Dogs. Originally written for a mooted Ziggy Stardust musical in late 1973,[1] it was Bowie's last single in the glam rock style that had been his trademark. It was also his first hit since 1969 not to feature lead guitarist Mick Ronson; Bowie himself played guitar on this and almost all other tracks from Diamond Dogs, producing what NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray called "a rocking dirty noise that owed as much to Keith Richard as it did to the departed Ronno".[2]

"Rebel Rebel"
Song

The song is notable for its gender-bending lyrics ("You got your mother in a whirl / She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl") as well as its distinctive riff, which rock journalist Kris Needs has described as "a classic stick-in-the-head like the Stones' 'Satisfaction'".[3] Bowie himself later boasted, "It's a fabulous riff! Just fabulous! When I stumbled onto it, it was 'Oh, thank you!'"[4]

The single quickly became a glam anthem, the female equivalent of Bowie's earlier hit for Mott the Hoople, "All the Young Dudes".[2] It reached #5 in the UK and #64 in the USA. The latter release initially featured a different, shorter recording with phased vocals and Bowie playing all of the instruments except congas (by Geoff MacCormack).[4] It was swiftly withdrawn and replaced by the UK single version, but the same arrangement was used on Bowie's North American tour in 1974, appearing on the concert album David Live.

After retiring the song on the 1990 Sound + Vision tour, Bowie brought "Rebel Rebel" back for the 1999 'hours...' promotional tour. In 2003, a new version was recorded, featuring an arrangement by Mark Plati and without the reference to quaaludes present in the original. This was issued on a bonus disc that came with some versions of the Reality album the same year. In 2004, the track was blended in a mash-up with the Reality song "Never Get Old"; the result was issued as the single "Rebel Never Gets Old".

Track listing

  1. "Rebel Rebel" (Bowie) – 4:20
  2. "Queen Bitch" (Bowie) – 3:13

The US and Canadian version of this single had "Lady Grinning Soul" as the B-side.

Production credits

Live versions

  • A live version from the 1974 tour was released on David Live. This version was also issued on the Dutch release Rock Concert. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal album A Portrait in Flesh.
  • The new version of "Rebel Rebel" from 2003 was performed live on the A Reality Tour DVD. This was used as the opening piece for the bulk of A Reality Tour.

Other releases

Cover versions

"Rebel Rebel" is one of Bowie’s most covered songs.

Notes

  1. ^ David Buckley (1999) Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: p.140
  2. ^ a b Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.60
  3. ^ Kris Needs (1983). Bowie: A Celebration: p.29
  4. ^ a b Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.170. Pegg also credits Alan Parker with augmenting Bowie's guitar work on the album and UK single version of "Rebel Rebel", although the Diamond Dogs sleeve acknowledges Parker only on "1984"

References

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

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