B-side "Holy Holy" Format 7" single | Released 14 June 1974 Length 5:56 | |
Recorded Olympic Studios, London, January–February 1974 Genre Garage rock
blues rock
glam rock | ||
"Diamond Dogs" is a 1974 single by David Bowie, the title track of the album of the same name.
Contents
The lyric introduces the listener to Bowie’s latest persona and his environment; Halloween Jack dwells on top of an abandoned skyscraper ("Manhattan Chase", a.k.a. One Chase Manhattan Plaza) in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. The guitar sound is heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones, and signalled Bowie moving away from glam rock and closer to a proto-punk Stooges-influenced sound.
The track was considered by many commentators to be an unconventional single, and it only reached number 21 in the United Kingdom. According to NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray, "As a potential hit single, the title track from Diamond Dogs was something of a non-event. Too long, too bleak in vision, too tough to dance to... you know the drill."
While it failed to make the U.S. charts, the song became a central part of Bowie’s North American tour in 1974.
The B-side was a version of Bowie’s 1971 single "Holy Holy", re-recorded during the Ziggy Stardust sessions the same year.
Track listing
- "Diamond Dogs" (Bowie) – 5:56 (In Australia, a 2'58" edit was used (RCA 102462) instead of the full-length album version.)
- "Holy Holy" (Bowie) – 2:20