Absolute Beginners (song)
Encyclopedia
"Absolute Beginners" was the theme tune to the film of the same name
(an adaptation of the book Absolute Beginners), composed and performed by David Bowie
.
Bowie was good friends with the film's director, Julien Temple
(who had worked with him in 1984 on the Jazzin' for Blue Jean
short film), and landed both the supporting role of Vendice Partners, and the deal to record the theme tune.
The sessions, at Abbey Road Studios
, were set up in a novel way, with a group of session musicians all receiving a card to work at the studio with "Mr X", who turned out to be Bowie. The sessions were completed rapidly, but the song was delayed due to the problems with completing the film. Virgin
wanted the release to tie in with the film's opening. Shortly after the sessions wrapped, Mick Jagger
flew in to record "Dancing in the Street", which used many of the same musicians. The song fused 1950s-style doo-wop
with Bowie's 1980s sound.
The single reached #2 in the UK charts, and #53 in America. Bowie has since performed it live on his Glass Spider
and 2000 tours.
Gil Evans
sings the refrain of the song in the film.
Absolute Beginners (film)
Absolute Beginners is a 1986 British rock musical film adapted from the Colin MacInnes book of the same name about life in late 1950s London. The film was directed by Julien Temple, featured David Bowie and Sade, and a breakout role by Patsy Kensit...
(an adaptation of the book Absolute Beginners), composed and performed by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
.
Bowie was good friends with the film's director, Julien Temple
Julien Temple
Julien Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-Temple...
(who had worked with him in 1984 on the Jazzin' for Blue Jean
Jazzin' for Blue Jean
Jazzin' for Blue Jean is a 20-minute short film featuring David Bowie and directed by Julien Temple. It was created to promote Bowie's single "Blue Jean" in 1984 and released as a video single.-Plot:...
short film), and landed both the supporting role of Vendice Partners, and the deal to record the theme tune.
The sessions, at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, were set up in a novel way, with a group of session musicians all receiving a card to work at the studio with "Mr X", who turned out to be Bowie. The sessions were completed rapidly, but the song was delayed due to the problems with completing the film. Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
wanted the release to tie in with the film's opening. Shortly after the sessions wrapped, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
flew in to record "Dancing in the Street", which used many of the same musicians. The song fused 1950s-style doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
with Bowie's 1980s sound.
The single reached #2 in the UK charts, and #53 in America. Bowie has since performed it live on his Glass Spider
Glass Spider Tour
In 1987, David Bowie embarked on The Glass Spider Tour in support of the album Never Let Me Down alongside famed guitarist Peter Frampton. The tour was named after the album track "Glass Spider." The concert tour was the most ambitious by Bowie up to that date, surpassing the Serious Moonlight Tour...
and 2000 tours.
3" CD: Virgin / CDT 20 (UK)
- "Absolute Beginners" - 8:03
- "Absolute Beginners (Dub Mix)" - 5:40
CD: Virgin / CDF 20 (UK)
- "Absolute Beginners" - 8:03
- "Absolute Beginners (Dub Mix)" - 5:40
7": Virgin / VS 838 (UK)
- "Absolute Beginners" – 5:36
- "Absolute Beginners (Dub Mix)" – 5:42
12": Virgin / VSG 838–12 (UK)
- "Absolute Beginners (Full Length Version)" – 8:00
- "Absolute Beginners (Dub Mix)" – 5:42
- issued in a gatefold sleeve
12": EMI America / SPRO 9623 (US)
- "Absolute Beginners (Edited Version)" – 4:46
- "Absolute Beginners (Full Length Version)" – 8:00
- includes exclusive "edited version"
Download: EMI / iVS 838 (UK)
- "Absolute Beginners" – 5:36
- "Absolute Beginners (Full Length Version)" – 8:00
- "Absolute Beginners (Dub Mix)" – 5:42
Download: Amazon.com (US)
- "Absolute Beginners" – 5:37
- "Absolute Beginners (Full Length Version)" – 8:03
- "Absolute Beginners (Dub Mix)" – 5:39
- "That's Motivation" - 4:14
- "Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)" - 3:13
- Original release date (of E.P. download with added tracks 4 and 5): May 28, 2007
Music video
Julian Temple also filmed the music video, which fitted in with the 1950s style of the movie. The video was a homage to an old British advert for Strand cigarettes. Their ill-fated advertising tagline "You're never alone with a Strand." is quoted by Partners in the film. It also uses footage from the film.Production credits
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s:- Alan WinstanleyAlan WinstanleyAlan Kenneth Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer.-Notable studio albums produced by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer:* One Step Beyond... – Madness...
- Clive LangerClive LangerClive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf SchoolLanger...
- Alan Winstanley
- MusicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s:- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
: vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Rick WakemanRick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
: PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Kevin Armstrong: GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Matthew SeligmanMatthew SeligmanMatthew Seligman is an English bassist who took part of the new wave scene in the 1970s and the 1980s, best known as a member of the Soft Boys.-Biography:...
: BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Neil ContiNeil ContiNeil Conti is an English drummer and music producer who was an integral member of the pop/rock band Prefab Sprout, while continuing to be in demand as a session drummer for artists and bands such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Annie Lennox, Cher, Level 42, Laurie Anderson, Steve Winwood, Paul Young,...
: DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Luis JardimLuís JardimLuís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn.-Family:Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim...
: percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Mac Gollehon: TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Don WellerDon Weller (musician)Don Weller , is a British jazz musician, tenor saxophonist and composer.-Career:...
, Gary BarnacleGary BarnacleGary Barnacle is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work Gary Barnacle (born 1959, Dover, England) is a saxophonist/flautist, brass instrument arranger, composer and producer, primarily noted for session work, live work...
, Paul "Shilts" Weimar, Willie Garnett, Andy MacKintosh, Gordon Murphy: SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Steve NieveSteve NieveSteve Nieve is an English keyboardist, best known for his work with Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Elvis Costello and the Imposters.-Musical career:...
: keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Janet Armstrong: Backing vocals
- David Bowie
Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
sings the refrain of the song in the film.
Live versions
- The song was performed live during David Bowie's 1987 Glass Spider TourGlass Spider TourIn 1987, David Bowie embarked on The Glass Spider Tour in support of the album Never Let Me Down alongside famed guitarist Peter Frampton. The tour was named after the album track "Glass Spider." The concert tour was the most ambitious by Bowie up to that date, surpassing the Serious Moonlight Tour...
. - A version recorded at BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000, was released on the bonus disc following the first release of Bowie at the BeebBowie at the BeebBowie at the Beeb is a compilation album by David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three CD set, the third, bonus CD being a recording on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre...
.
Other releases
- In 1995 it appeared as a bonus track on the Virgin RecordsVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
rerelease of the album Tonight. - It appeared on the following compilations:
- Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
- The Singles CollectionThe Singles Collection (David Bowie album)The Singles Collection is a compilation album by David Bowie, released in 1993 in the UK and as The Singles 1969 to 1993 in the United States...
(1993) - ChangesTwoBowieChangestwobowieChangestwobowie, released in 1981, was a David Bowie compilation album issued by RCA Records. Its title and packaging followed the format of RCA's first Bowie compilation, Changesonebowie in 1976. As well as post-1976 singles, the album collected songs from earlier in Bowie's career that had not...
(1998 reissue)
Cover versions
- Info Riot - Ashes to Ashes: A Tribute to David Bowie (1998)
- Saint EtienneSaint Etienne (band)Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
- Live recording - Carla BruniCarla BruniCarla Bruni-Sarkozy is an Italian-French songwriter, singer, actress, and former model...
in We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie (2010).
Chart positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| Canada Singles Chart | 3 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 53 |