Blue Jean

"Blue Jean" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter David Bowie for his sixteenth studio album Tonight (1984). One of only two tracks on the album to be written entirely by Bowie, it was released as a single ahead of the album and charted in the United States, peaking at No. 8, becoming his 5th and last top 10 hit with no features. The song is loosely inspired by Eddie Cochran.[3]

This article is about the David Bowie song. For the trousers, see Jeans. For the bird, see Blue-grey tanager. For the supercomputer architecture, see Blue Gene. For the 2022 film, see Blue Jean (film).

"Blue Jean"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Tonight
B-side"Dancing with the Big Boys"
Released10 September 1984[1]
RecordedMay 1984
StudioLe Studio, Morin-Heights, Quebec, Canada
Genre
Length3:08
LabelEMI America – EA181
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)
David Bowie singles chronology
"White Light/White Heat"
(1983)		 "Blue Jean"
(1984)		 "Tonight"
(1984)

Composition and reception

Interviewed in 1987 and asked to compare a track like "Time Will Crawl" to "Blue Jean," Bowie said "'Blue Jean' is a piece of sexist rock 'n roll. [laughs] It's about picking up birds. It's not very cerebral, that piece."[4] BBC reviewer Chris Jones criticised the song in his appraisal of Best of Bowie in 2002, arguing "'Blue Jean' barely exists, so formulaic is it."[5] More positively, rock commentator Chris O'Leary, while locating "Blue Jean" firmly "in the pastiche lane," has described the song as "clever" and "catchy" and one of Bowie's "best second-rate hits."[6]

Cash Box said that it "features the dynamics of classic Bowie which range from the smooth and sultry verse to the exploding chorus."[7]

Promotion

Following the commercial success of Bowie's previous album, Let's Dance, its singles and the Serious Moonlight Tour, "Blue Jean" was launched with a 21-minute short film, Jazzin' for Blue Jean, directed by Julien Temple.[3] The song performance segment from this was also used as a more conventional music video. The film won the 1985 Grammy Award for "Best Video, Short Form", later renamed "Best Music Video", which proved to be the only competitive Grammy Award Bowie won during his lifetime for over three decades, although Bowie posthumously won four Grammys for his album Blackstar (2016).[8]

Two shorter promotional videos of "Blue Jean" also exist: a three-minute version edited from the full Jazzin' for Blue Jean video and an alternate version recorded for MTV in England that has no relation to the other videos. Both of these videos, plus the original Jazzin' for Blue Jean, are available on the DVD release of Best of Bowie (2002).

Live performances

"Blue Jean" was part of Bowie's live repertoire for the rest of his career, being performed on his Glass Spider Tour (1987), released on the Glass Spider DVD and CD in 1988, the 1990 Sound+Vision Tour and his 2004 A Reality Tour.

Other releases

"Blue Jean" has appeared on a variety of compilation albums, including Changesbowie (1990), The Singles Collection (1993), Best of Bowie (2002), The Platinum Collection (2005), The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 (2007), Nothing Has Changed (2014) (3-CD and 2-CD editions), and Bowie Legacy (2016) (2-CD edition)

Track listing

7": EMI America / EA 181 (UK)
  1. "Blue Jean" – 3:08
  2. "Dancing with the Big Boys" – 3:32
  • Some versions of the 7" single were released on blue vinyl

12": EMI America / 12EA 181 (UK)
  1. "Blue Jean" (Extended Dance Mix) – 5:15
  2. "Dancing with the Big Boys" (Extended Dance Mix) – 7:28
  3. "Dancing with the Big Boys" (Extended Dub Mix) – 7:15

Personnel

Production

Chart performance
Chart (1984–1985) Peak
position
Australian Kent Report Singles Chart[9] 12
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 16
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 4
Canadian Singles Chart[12] 6
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 11
France (SNEP)[14] 22
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 21
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 7
Norway (VG-lista)[20] 3
Poland (LP3)[21] 9
Spain (AFYVE)[22] 3
Spain (Los 40 Principales)[23] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 14
UK Singles (OCC)[26] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 8
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[28] 2
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[29] 2

Certifications
Country/Region Sales Certification
Canada >40,000 Gold[30]

References
  • Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
  1. Birch, Ian (13–26 September 1984). "David Bowie: Back & Blue". Smash Hits. 6 (18): 40–41.
  2. Inskeep, Thomas (12 July 2005). "On Second Thought: David Bowie – Tonight". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  3. Murray, Charles Shaar (25 October 1984), "Let's Talk, A Conversation with David Bowie", Rolling Stone magazine (433): 14, 18, 74
  4. "David Bowie – The Interview" 1987, EMI America (Album) Track 24
  5. Jones, Chris. "David Bowie Best Of Review". BBC. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. Chris O'Leary (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie, 1976–2016: p. 207
  7. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 15 September 1984. p. 15. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "David Bowie – Blue Jean" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  11. "David Bowie – Blue Jean" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  12. Library and Archives Canada: Top Singles, 27 October 1984, retrieved 12 February 2016
  13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava.
  14. "David Bowie – Blue Jean" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  15. "David Bowie – Blue Jean" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Blue Jean". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – David Bowie" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  18. "David Bowie – Blue Jean" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  19. "David Bowie – Blue Jean". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  20. "David Bowie – Blue Jean". VG-lista. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  21. "BLUE JEAN – David Bowie" (in Polish). LP3. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  22. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. "LOS 40 PRINCIPALES Y M80 RADIO OFRECEN HOY UNA PROGRAMACIÓN ESPECIAL EN HOMENAJE A DAVID BOWIE". Los 40 Principales (in Spanish). 11 January 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  24. "David Bowie – Blue Jean". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  25. "David Bowie – Blue Jean". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  26. "David Bowie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  27. "David Bowie Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  28. "David Bowie Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  29. "David Bowie Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  30. "Gold/Platinum – Music Canada". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
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