David Bowie and Mick Jagger's 1985 version of Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" has been remastered and is being reissued on 12-inch white vinyl.
Jagger says, ‘’We had such a laugh doing 'Dancing in the Street' with both the song recorded in the studio and the video done in one day. Remarkable how we pulled it off really. The video is hilarious to watch now. We enjoyed camping it up and trying to impersonate each other’s moves, making it up as we went along. It was the only time David and myself collaborated on anything, which is a real shame.”
Speaking about the song and video at the time, Bowie said, “We thought about it on a Thursday night and we just went through a bunch of old songs and thought that ‘Dancing’ was one we both knew very well and then we went into the studio between 7 and 11 on Saturday night and then we went over to the Docklands and shot the video for the rest of the night so we did the whole thing in 10 hours, it was great.”
Bowie and Jagger were going to perform the song at Live Aid on July 13th, 1985 with Bowie in London and Jagger in Philadelphia, but the satellite link-up between the two countries meant a half-second delay, rendering the plan impossible. Instead, they convened at Westside Studios in London on June 29th to record the song, and then over to Spillers Millennium Mills in the East End to shoot the video with director David Mallet.
This limited-edition disc, set for release on August 29th, two days after its original release in 1985, brings together all of the song's mixes for the first time. 30% of the retail price from the sale of this single will be donated by Bowie's estate, Jagger and Parlophone Records to The Band Aid Charitable Trust.
This new release contains three versions on Side One, and two on Side Two.
Side One:
- Dancing in the Street (Bob Clearmountain Mix)
- Dancing in the Street (Instrumental)
- Dancing in the Street (Steve Thompson Mix)
Side Two:
- Dancing in the Street (Edit)
- Dancing in the Street (Dub)
The video has been upgraded to high resolution to celebrate the anniversary using the original film negative.
Over the years, there have been a few parodies, including the "Silent Music Video" where all you hear are two people imitating Bowie and Jagger singing the song without the music.
Then there's the version where you hear them making all sorts of bodily noises while dancing.
And finally there's a Lego version.
Last year it was revealed that Bowie and Jagger also wanted to act together in a murder mystery film.
U.K. screenwriter Lynda La Plante, in her new book, Getting Away With Murder, says that following the success of her series Prime Suspect in the early '90s, she was asked to take a meeting with them to discuss their ideas about a "crime thriller."
She agreed, but they showed up hungover and, insisting they didn't want to play rock stars, they couldn't agree on a plot with Jagger wanting it to be a murder mystery on the road and Bowie saying he wanted "a murder on the Orient Express.”
Lynda says, "I sat and smiled politely, but the truth was I could barely believe that this was their big idea. I sat for a good 15 minutes while Jagger and Bowie batted back and forth, trying to recall whatever plot they had discussed the previous evening under the influence of God knows what. In the end, I lost patience. It seemed pointless me even being there, but told them, 'When you have an idea, call me.'"
David Bowie died of liver cancer on January 10th, 2016. He was 69.
Check out the videos, linked in the above copy, and also added below.