Episode 47: David Bowie - Let's Dance Part 1 (Bowie: 1980 to 1983)

 

During the "Colour by Numbers" episodes, our hosts mentioned the fact that a David Bowie song, "Let's Dance," prevented a Culture Club song from reaching number one on the charts. Brian and Sarah decided that now would be a good time to look into that number one song, and the album from which it came-- which is just about to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

Part 1 - Album History

"Let's Dance" was the first studio album from David Bowie in three years, which for him was a rather long break. It also marked several departures: from his record label, from his longtime producer, and from his typically more avant-garde, less accessible sound.

Brian felt it was important to explore the three-year gap between albums, to better understand what led David Bowie to create "Let's Dance." So with his stack of Bowie books at his side, he and Sarah spend time talking about the period from 1980 to 1983 and what activities and events were prominent in Bowie's life during that time.  Our hosts touch on films like "The Hunger" and "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", songs like "Under Pressure" and "Cat People", and Bowie's feud with one-time manager Tony Defries. 

Then they get into discussing the actual making of the record, the album's release and worldwide success, and the massive tour that followed. They close the episode by talking about the video for the first song on Side One, which was filmed during the "Serious Moonlight" tour and setting the stage for next week's in-depth look at all four songs from side one.   

See the video we discuss here:

Modern Love

 

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