White Light/White Heat (Bowie)
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| "White Light/White Heat" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by David Bowie | ||
| from the album Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture | ||
| B-side(s) | "Cracked Actor" | |
| Released | November 1983 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | Hammersmith Odeon, London 3 July 1973 | |
| Genre | Glam rock | |
| Length | 4:06 | |
| Label | RCA Records 372 |
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| Producer(s) | David Bowie, Tony Visconti | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| David Bowie singles chronology | ||
| "Without You" (1983) |
"White Light/White Heat" (1983) |
"Blue Jean" (1984) |
"White Light/White Heat" is a song regularly performed live by David Bowie. It was originally written and recorded by The Velvet Underground in 1968 (see "White Light/White Heat"). In 1983, it was released as a single to promote Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture.
Bowie, a long-time Velvets fan, had been performing “White Light/White Heat" since 1971. It had featured throughout the Ziggy Stardust tour (including a performance with Velvets member Lou Reed on 8 July 1972), been recorded by Bowie for two BBC sessions, and been slated for inclusion on Pin Ups (the backing track from this session was later recorded as a solo version by Mick Ronson in 1975). Despite this, the Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture project would be the first time the song had been issued on a Bowie record, and as such it was released as a single.
With Bowie at the peak of his global stardom thanks to Let's Dance, "White Light/White Heat" was considered an unusual turn for the pop audience he had attracted, and reached only #46 in the UK. The song has continued to feature in Bowie’s live repertoire.
[edit] Track listing
- "White Light/White Heat" (Lou Reed) – 4:06
- "Cracked Actor" (David Bowie) – 2:51
[edit] Production credits
[edit] References
Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
