John, I'm Only Dancing
Encyclopedia
"John, I’m Only Dancing" is a single by David Bowie
, released in September 1972.
' since an interview with Melody Maker
in January 1972, and the subject matter did not affect the single's radio airplay in the UK, where it became his first back-to-back hit, following "Starman
" earlier in the year. However, the original video directed by Mick Rock
, featuring androgynous
dancers from Lindsay Kemp
's mime
troupe, was banned by Top of the Pops
.
The single was not released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA
and did not officially appear stateside until it was finally issued on the compilation Changesonebowie
in 1976. While the hook ("John, I'm only dancing / She turns me on / But I'm only dancing") has long been considered a gay tease, author Nicholas Pegg
asserts that the song's narrator "could just as easily be a straight man reassuring the girl's lover". Alternatively, it has been suggested that Bowie wrote the song in response to a derogatory comment made by John Lennon
about Bowie's cross-dressing
.
Musically in a light R&B
style, the track was re-recorded on 20 January 1973 during the Aladdin Sane
sessions, in a slightly different arrangement featuring Ken Fordham on saxophone
. Often called the "sax version", this was issued as a single in April 1973 with exactly the same catalogue number as the first release, creating a collector's nightmare. Generally held to be superior to the original cut, the sax reworking also appeared on early pressings of Changesonebowie before it was replaced with the original single version. In 1974, a completely reworked funk-influenced version was recorded as "John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)".
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...
, released in September 1972.
Recording and release
The song was widely believed to be concerned with a homosexual relationship, the narrator informing his boyfriend not to worry about the girl he's with because he's "only dancing" with her. Bowie had been 'outThe Closet
The Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, referring to undisclosed homosexuality- See also :* Closet* Closet * In the closet...
' since an interview with Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
in January 1972, and the subject matter did not affect the single's radio airplay in the UK, where it became his first back-to-back hit, following "Starman
Starman (song)
"Starman" is a single by David Bowie, released in April 1972. The song was a late addition to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single...
" earlier in the year. However, the original video directed by Mick Rock
Mick Rock
Mick Rock is a British photographer best known for his iconic shots of rock and roll legends such as Queen, David Bowie, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Joan Jett, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, Crossfade, Thin Lizzy, Motley Crue, and Blondie...
, featuring androgynous
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
dancers from Lindsay Kemp
Lindsay Kemp
Lindsay Kemp is a British dancer, actor, teacher, mime artist and choreographer.Born in South Shields on May 3, 1938, Kemp's father, a seaman, was lost at sea in 1940. According to Kemp, he danced from early childhood: "I'd dance on the kitchen table to entertain the neighbours. I mean, it was a...
's mime
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
troupe, was banned by Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
.
The single was not released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
and did not officially appear stateside until it was finally issued on the compilation Changesonebowie
Changesonebowie
Changesonebowie was David Bowie's first widely-selling compilation album, issued by RCA Records in 1976. It collected songs from the 1969-1976 period, including the first LP appearance of "John, I'm Only Dancing"...
in 1976. While the hook ("John, I'm only dancing / She turns me on / But I'm only dancing") has long been considered a gay tease, author Nicholas Pegg
Nicholas Pegg
Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, director and writer.A graduate of the University of Exeter, Pegg trained at the Guildford School of Acting. His acting work in the theatre includes productions for Nottingham Playhouse, Scottish Opera, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Plymouth...
asserts that the song's narrator "could just as easily be a straight man reassuring the girl's lover". Alternatively, it has been suggested that Bowie wrote the song in response to a derogatory comment made by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
about Bowie's cross-dressing
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
.
Musically in a light R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
style, the track was re-recorded on 20 January 1973 during the Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1973 . The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album Bowie wrote and released as a bona fide rock star...
sessions, in a slightly different arrangement featuring Ken Fordham on saxophone
Saxophone
The 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...
. Often called the "sax version", this was issued as a single in April 1973 with exactly the same catalogue number as the first release, creating a collector's nightmare. Generally held to be superior to the original cut, the sax reworking also appeared on early pressings of Changesonebowie before it was replaced with the original single version. In 1974, a completely reworked funk-influenced version was recorded as "John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)".
Track listing
- "John, I’m Only Dancing" (Bowie) – 2:43
- "Hang on to YourselfHang on to Yourself"Hang On to Yourself" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 and released as a single under the name Arnold Corns. A re-recorded version was released on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars...
" (Bowie) – 2:38
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:- 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...
, Ken ScottKen ScottKen Scott is an English record producer and recording engineer.-Career:Scott started at the age of 16 working in the tape library at Abbey Road Studios. He became a recording engineer working with such acts as The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Procol Harum...
- David Bowie
- 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 Bowie: vocals, 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...
- Mick RonsonMick RonsonMichael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
: guitar - Trevor BolderTrevor BolderTrevor Bolder is an English rock bassist, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with The Spiders From Mars, the one-time backing band for David Bowie, although he has played alongside a variety of musicians since the...
: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Mick WoodmanseyMick WoodmanseyMick 'Woody' Woodmansey is an English rock drummer from Driffield, Yorkshire, best known for his work with David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- David Bowie: vocals, guitar
Live versions
- A previously unreleased live version from Boston Music Hall 1 October 1972 was released on the Sound and Vision box set.
- A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic AuditoriumSanta Monica Civic AuditoriumSanta Monica Civic Auditorium is a multipurpose convention center in Santa Monica, California owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket....
on 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72 is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust tour. Taken from an FM radio broadcast, it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years; according to author David Buckley, possessing a copy was the...
. The same track was also issued on the bonus disc of the Aladdin SaneAladdin SaneAladdin Sane is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1973 . The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album Bowie wrote and released as a bona fide rock star...
- 30th Anniversary Edition in 2003. - A recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal A Portrait in Flesh.
Other releases
- The Portugal release of the single "StarmanStarman (song)"Starman" is a single by David Bowie, released in April 1972. The song was a late addition to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single...
" from September 1972 had "John, I'm Only Dancing" as the B-side. - In November 1972 it was released as the B-side of the single "The Jean GenieThe Jean Genie"The Jean Genie" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in November 1972. According to Bowie, it was "a smorgasbord of imagined Americana", with a protagonist inspired by Iggy Pop, and the title being a pun on author Jean Genet. One of Bowie’s most famous tracks, it was the lead...
" in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. - It appeared on yet another B-side in June 1973, this time the "Cracked ActorCracked Actor (song)"Cracked Actor" is a song written by David Bowie, originally released on the album Aladdin Sane in April 1973. The track was also issued as a single in Eastern Europe by RCA Records in June that year.-Music and lyrics:...
" single in Eastern EuropeEastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. - The UK release of "John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)" in December 1979 had the original version as the B-side. In the US the original version for this 1979 release was an A-side.
- A previously-unreleased mix of the song was released as a bonus track on the RykodiscRykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
CD release of Ziggy StardustThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from MarsThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by English musician David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music...
in 1990. - The "sax version" was released on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Aladdin SaneAladdin SaneAladdin Sane is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1973 . The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album Bowie wrote and released as a bona fide rock star...
in 2003. - It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.
- It has appeared on the following compilations:
- ChangesonebowieChangesonebowieChangesonebowie was David Bowie's first widely-selling compilation album, issued by RCA Records in 1976. It collected songs from the 1969-1976 period, including the first LP appearance of "John, I'm Only Dancing"...
(1976) – the first 1000 copies of the album included the "sax version," the remainder featured the original cut. - The Best of BowieThe Best of BowieThe Best of Bowie is a David Bowie compilation album released in 1980. In addition to including the rare 7" edits of "Fame" and "Golden Years", the compilation contains unique edits of "Life on Mars?" and "Diamond Dogs", ostensibly to allow all 16 tracks to fit on one LP. The cover was based on the...
(1980) – sax version. - Sound and Vision (1989) – sax version.
- ChangesbowieChangesbowieChangesbowie is a compilation album by David Bowie, released in 1990 in the United States by Rykodisc and by EMI in the UK as part of Rykodisc's Bowie remastering program, to replace the deleted RCA Records compilation Changesonebowie....
, a collection of Bowie's greatest hits released in 1990. This collection has the original version. - 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). This collection also has the original version. - The Best of 1969/1974The Best of 1969/1974The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 is an album by David Bowie, released by EMI in 1997. The US release of the album was pulled from the stores because of a large number of inaccuracies in the credits and liner notes. This album was also included as the first disc of the compilation The Platinum...
(1997) – sax version. - Best of BowieBest of BowieBest of Bowie is a career-spanning greatest hits album by multi-platinum recording artist David Bowie. The songs range from his second album to 2002. It was released 35 years after his first album, David Bowie....
(2002) - original version - The Best Glam Rock Album in the World...Ever, a compilation of selections from various artists.
- Changesonebowie
Cover versions
- Ask the Dust - BowieMania: Mania, une collection obsessionelle de Beatrice Ardisson (2007)
- The Brides - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006)
- The ChameleonsThe ChameleonsThe Chameleons were an English post-punk band that formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England in 1981. They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever...
- Strange Times (1986) - The Deltas - Psycho Killers (various artists) (1998)
- The Glam Rock Allstars - Glamtastic 70's Megamix
- The Hormones - Only Bowie (1995)
- Mime - Loving The Alien: Athens Georgia Salutes David Bowie
- The PolecatsThe Polecats-Career:The Polecats are a rockabilly band formed in 1977 in North London. The original line-up was Tim Worman , Martin "Boz" Boorer, , Phil Bloomberg, , and Chris Hawkes , who originally played under the name "Cult Heroes." Finding difficulty persuading promoters to book them on the rockabilly...
- Polecats Are Go! and single release; it also appeared on David Bowie Songbook and on Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, CD premium from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine. - Vivian GirlsVivian GirlsVivian Girls are an American band from Brooklyn, New York.- History :Vivian Girls, named after the magnum opus of outsider author Henry Darger, started in Brooklyn, NY in March 2007 as the trio of Cassie Ramone ; Katy "Kickball Katy" Goodman; and Frankie Rose...
- We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie (2010)