John, I'm Only Dancing

Similar to David Bowie's other compositions of the time,[1] "John, I'm Only Dancing" is a glam rock number performed in an R&B style.[2][3] It boasts a simple verse—refrain—verse—extended refrain song structure with a key of G major.[4] Musically, the song utilises several elements from other tracks: the opening guitar chords were based on a 1963 recording of "Pontiac Blues" by Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds;[5][6] the guitar riff was taken from the saxophone intro of Alvin Cash's "Keep On Dancing" (1968);[2][7] and the final G chord stemmed from the Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things" (1966).[5]

Comparing the recording to Bowie's recently-released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, biographer Chris O'Leary notes that the backing band, the Spiders from Mars, are "more dynamic" on "John, I'm Only Dancing" than Ziggy Stardust, arguing its sound foreshadowed the hard rock style of "The Jean Genie" (1972).[4] Writer Ian Rankin of Black and Blue said Mick Ronson's guitar sounded "like sawing through metal".[4] For his part, Ronson ended the refrains with "siren wails" and utilised short "feedback bursts" to close his solo. Drummer Woody Woodmansey used mallets instead of drum sticks to get the "hollow"-sounding beats Bowie desired and also overdubbed a few tom-tom fills. For his bassline, Trevor Bolder employed a progression up the E minor scale in the refrains followed by, in O'Leary's words, "an aneurysm of octave root notes".[4]

Allegedly inspired by a 1970 incident between Bowie, his then-wife Angie and his former drummer John Cambridge,[4][8] "John, I'm Only Dancing" describes a situation in which the narrator informs his lover not to worry about the girl he is with because he is "only dancing" with her. Although ambiguous and up to individual interpretations,[9][10] commentators have widely viewed the song as concerning a gay relationship.[11][5][12] Having 'outted' himself as bisexual in an interview with Melody Maker in January 1972, Bowie was adamant about joining the gay culture and claimed in 1993 that "John, I'm Only Dancing" was his "attempt to do a bisexual anthem".[13] He later said:[4]

Gay clubs really became my lifestyle and all my friends were gay. I really opted to drown in the euphoria of this new experience which was a real taboo with society. And I must admit I loved that aspect of it.

Despite being among Bowie's "most gay-indentified [sic] songs", O'Leary argues that "there's not much in it to justify the claim", comparing it to his other songs "Queen Bitch" (1971) and "Suffragette City" (1972), tracks that involve another man in a "vaguely-defined" relationship with another person.[4] Biographer Nicholas Pegg asserts that while the hook ("John, I'm only dancing / She turns me on / But I'm only dancing") has long been considered a gay tease, the song's narrator "could just as easily be a straight man reassuring the girl's lover".[2]

Bowie and the Spiders initially attempted "John, I'm Only Dancing" at London's Trident Studios on 24 June 1972 with Ken Scott producing. They recorded two takes, along with a version of the Who's "I Can't Explain" (1964),[lower-alpha 1][6] although the session was unsuccessful and remains unreleased.[2][14] Returning to the song two days later on 26 June at London's Olympic Studios, the session was produced by Bowie himself with assistance from engineer Keith Harwood. Recording nine takes, the Spiders were joined by violinist Lindsay Scott, a member of the JSD Band and regular supporting act during the Ziggy Stardust Tour, who copied Ronson's guitar solo note-for-note;[lower-alpha 2] Scott went uncredited until the 2002 reissue of Ziggy Stardust.[2][6] Handclaps were contributed by members by the Faces who had just arrived to the studio;[15] these were recorded in the studio's entrance hall to capture an echo effect Bowie desired.[2][14]

"John, I'm Only Dancing" boasted Bowie's first promotional video, directed by photographer Mick Rock. Shot in two and a half hours at London's Rainbow Theatre on 25 August 1972 on a budget of £200, the video featured side-lit shots of Bowie and the Spiders interspersed with footage of androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp's mime troupe, filmed a week earlier.[2][11][16] O'Leary comments that the band looks "as if they've stepped out of Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising".[4] The anchor motif on Bowie's cheekbone was inspired by the television series Bewitched.[2] Of the video, his manager Tony Defries said: "It's a bit ethereal, not a straightforward band doing their numbers. It's as if it were a work of art."[17] The video was not screened on the BBC's Top of the Pops, possibly because the programme viewed it as too risqué,[15] declined Defries' asking fee of £250,[2] or felt the video itself was subpar. Biographer David Buckley notes that Bowie's miming is poorly synched, due to the faulty record player used for filming.[11] The BBC aired a film of tough-looking motorcycle riders in its place, which Pegg states "inadvertently ended up looking ten times more camp".[lower-alpha 3][2]

The follow-up single to "Starman",[10] "John, I'm Only Dancing" was released as a single in the UK and Europe on 1 September 1972, backed by the Ziggy Stardust track "Hang On to Yourself".[13] RCA Records refused to release the single in America due to its suggestive lyrical content,[12] so the song did not appear in the country officially until it was issued on the Changesonebowie compilation in 1976;[2][10] Bowie wrote "The Jean Genie" as a replacement single.[14] A commercial success, "John, I'm Only Dancing" reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart by mid-October,[17][18] and also charted at number 19 on the Irish Singles Chart and number 49 on the Belgian Ultratop 50 in Wallonia.[19][20]

Bowie was unsatisfied with the original recording and rerecorded it several times.[4] While on tour in America, a not-intended-for-release version was recorded on 7 October 1972 at RCA Studios in Chicago, Illinois.[2] This version, recorded in tandem with Lou Reed's "Vicious",[21] possibly featured Reed on rhythm guitar.[4] A third take was recorded back at Trident on 20 January 1973 during the sessions for the upcoming Aladdin Sane album.[22] Originally intended as the album closer,[2] it was replaced at the last minute by "Lady Grinning Soul".[23] For this version, Bowie added a saxophone section composed of Brian Wilshaw and Ken Fordham.[4] Pianist Matthew Fisher, a studio visitor at the time, recalled in 1992 that "instead of describing the type of sound he wanted from [the saxophonists] in a musical way, David talked about it in terms of colours."[22] He also informed them to think "renaissance" and "impressionist".[14] He made additional changes to the arrangement. According to O'Leary, Bowie "reduced the gawkiness" of his original vocal, such as the "touch me!'s" in the coda and spoken-word "ever cared", but "kept the phrasing in which he sang a tone above the bassline".[4] AllMusic's Dave Thompson described this take as "punchier" than the original.[10]

Following its replacement on Aladdin Sane, this often-called "sax version" was released—in Pegg's words "rather confusingly"—as a single in April 1973 with little fanfare, packaged with precisely the same catalogue number and B-side as the original single and no indication it was a different recording.[2][14][24]

According to O'Leary:[36]

• David Bowie – lead vocal
• Carlos Alomar – guitar
• Willie Weeks – bass
• Mike Garson – Fender Rhodes, clavinet
• Andy Newmark – drums
• David Sanborn – alto saxophone
• Larry Washington – conga
• Pablo Rosario – chimes, cowbell
• Ava Cherry – backing vocals
• Robin Clark – backing vocals
• Luther Vandross – backing vocals
• Diane Sumler – backing vocals
• Anthony Hinton – backing vocals

Technical

• Tony Visconti – producer
• Carl Paruolo – engineer