Never Let Me Down - Album Development

Album Development

Following the rise in fame and success from his Serious Moonlight Tour, Bowie stated that while he appreciated the "sudden accessibility that my music seemed to have, ... there was a feeling where I wasn't comfortable for a while with all the glossiness and I wanted to come back into a small, tight rock group like I kind of started with." Despite criticism in the press, Bowie stated that this was one of the most enjoyable and energetic albums he'd made in a long time.

For the first time since 1980's Scary Monsters album, Bowie played instruments on the record instead of just singing. Bowie spent much of 1986 in his home in Switzerland, writing songs with Iggy Pop. Recalled Bowie, "I took up a 4-track and some guitars, a drum machine, and we started writing up in the mountains. It just worked really well." He then recorded a few demos with Erdal Kızılçay prior to working on the album with the full band. For the final cut, Bowie described his musical involvement on the album by saying "I do a lot of keyboard things, little synthesizer parts, and some rhythm guitar and I play lead guitar on a couple of tracks: "New York's in Love" and "'87 and Cry"."

Bowie admitted that the songs on the album lacked a cohesive musical style, which he claimed reflected his eclectic musical tastes at the time, and stated that the album was "a reflection of all the styles of writing I've used over the last few years."