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 congas (Geoff MacCormack). It was swiftly withdrawn and replaced by the UK single version, but the same arrangement was used on Bowie's North American tour in 1974, appearing on the concert album David Live.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".
Read more about this topic: Rebel Rebel
Famous quotes containing the words release and, release and/or aftermath:
“We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.”
—Elizabeth Drew (1887–1965)
“We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.”
—Elizabeth Drew (1887–1965)
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)