Everything about Rebel Rebel totally explained
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"
Rebel Rebel" is a song by
David Bowie, released in 1974 as a single and on the album
Diamond Dogs. Cited as his most-covered track, it was effectively Bowie's farewell to the
glam movement that had made him a star.
Music and lyrics
Originally written for a mooted
Ziggy Stardust musical in late 1973, "Rebel Rebel" 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 Richards as it did to the departed Ronno".
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'". Bowie himself later said, "It's a fabulous riff! Just fabulous! When I stumbled onto it, it was 'Oh, thank you!'"
Transsexual rock artist and former Bowie associate
Jayne County claims that "Rebel Rebel" was based in part on County's own song "Queenage Baby", which was recorded in January of 1974 by
Bowie's Mainman Records, but not released at the time. The song later surfaced on the independent 2006 release
Wayne County at the Trucks, and some critics, upon hearing the track, echoed County's claims.
Release and aftermath
The single quickly became a glam anthem, the female equivalent of Bowie's earlier hit for
Mott the Hoople, "
All the Young Dudes".
It reached #5 in the UK and #64 in the USA. The latter release initially featured a different recording altogether. The single, credited to simply 'Bowie', is shorter (2:58) and more uptempo, dense and
camp, featuring phased vocals and Bowie playing all of the instruments with the exception of
Geoff MacCormack on
congas.
It was swiftly withdrawn and replaced by the UK single version, but the same arrangement was used on Bowie's North American tour in 1974, appearing on the concert album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 and 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, and on the
30th Anniversary Edition of
Diamond Dogs in 2004. Also 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
- "Rebel Rebel" (Bowie) – 4:20
- "Queen Bitch" (Bowie) – 3:13
The US and Canadian version of this single had "
Lady Grinning Soul" as the B-side.
Production credits
Producers:
Musicians:
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
It appeared on several compilations:
It was released as picture discs in the RCA Life Time picture disc set and the Fashion Picture Disc Set.
A cover version of the guitar intro was featured in a series of Mazda car advertisements in the US and Canada in 1998/1999.
The soundtrack of the 1999 film Detroit Rock City featured "Rebel Rebel".
The rare US single version was released in the Sound and Vision box set and on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Diamond Dogs in 2004.
The 2003 rerecording was released on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Diamond Dogs and on the Limited Edition bonus disc of Reality.
A version of this song appeared on the soundtrack.
Cover versions
Bryan Adams – Live recording on The Secret Show (1993)
Bay City Rollers – It's a Game (1977)
Shawn Cassidy – Wasp (1980)
Dead or Alive – Nukleopatra (1995)
Def Leppard
Rick Derringer – Live in Cleveland Promo (1976)
The Diamonds – Million Copy Hit Songs Made Famous by Elton John & David Bowie
Double You – The Blue Album (1994)
Duran Duran – Live recording
The Great Imposters – Dollars in Drag: A Tribute to David Bowie
International Chrysis – Single (1994)
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – Flashback (1993)
Rickie Lee Jones – 'Traffic From Paradise (1993)
Seu Jorge – Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Luciano Ligabue – Radiofreccia
Magnus Uggla
Medi and the Medicine Show - BowieMania: Mania, une collection obsessionelle de Beatrice Ardisson (2007)
The Mike Flowers Pops
Niels – Swedish version called "Punkjävel" ("Punk Devil")
Iggy Pop and Lenny Kravitz performed the song live at the VH-1 Fashion Awards 1998. The video for "The Jean Genie" was used as a backdrop for the performance.
The Rockridge Synthesiser Orchestra – Plays David Bowie Classic Trax
Sigue Sigue Sputnik – The First Generation (1990) and David Bowie Songbook and Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, CD premium from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine.
Slant 6 – Single
The Dykeenies
The Smashing Pumpkins – Live in Spectrum, Oslo, Norway, 4/12/96
Tegan and Sara (featuring Grace Nocturnal) - Spiders from Venus: Indie Women Artists and Female-Fronted Bands Cover David Bowie (2003)
Twilight Clone – Ashes to Ashes: A Tribute to David Bowie (1998)
Kyosuke Himuro – Live in Tokyo Dome (1989)
Kenichi asai (2006)
Terminal Bliss - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006)Further Information
Get more info on 'Rebel Rebel'.
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