| "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byDavid Bowie | ||||
| from the albumThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | ||||
| B-side | "Quicksand" | |||
| Released | 11 April 1974 (1974-04-11)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 4 February 1972 | |||
| Studio | Trident, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Bowie | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" (2012 Remaster) onYouTube | ||||
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by the English singer-songwriterDavid Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the albumThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on 16 June 1972. Co-produced byKen Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing bandthe Spiders from Mars – comprisingMick Ronson,Trevor Bolder andMick Woodmansey. It detailed Ziggy's final collapse like an old, washed-up rock star and, as such, was also the closing number of the Ziggy Stardust live show. In April 1974RCA issued it as a single.
Bowie saw the song in terms of the Frenchchanson tradition,[2] while biographer David Buckley has described both "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" and the album's opening track "Five Years" as "more likeavant-garde show songs than actual rock songs".[3] CriticStephen Thomas Erlewine similarly found it to have "a grand sense of staged drama previously unheard of in rock & roll".[4]
Although Bowie has suggestedBaudelaire as his source, the lyrics "Time takes a cigarette..." are somewhat similar to the poem "Chants Andalous" byManuel Machado: "Life is a cigarette / Cinder, ash and fire / Some smoke it in a hurry / Others savour it".[2] The exhortation "Oh no, love, you're not alone" references theJacques Brel song "You're Not Alone" ("Jef") that appeared in the musicalJacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.[5] Bowie performed Brel's "My Death" during some Ziggy Stardust live shows, and performed "Amsterdam" live on the BBC.
In 2003 Bowie described theJames Brown songs 'Try Me' and 'Lost Someone' as "loose inspiration" for the song.[6]
Bowie's handwritten lyrics for the song were included in theDavid Bowie Is travelling exhibit from 2013 to 2018, and were put up for auction by the owner, who had been gifted the lyrics by Bowie, in late 2023.[7]
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide", recorded on 4 February 1972,[8] was one of the last songs recorded forZiggy Stardust, along with "Suffragette City" and "Starman" which was soon after issued as a single. As the final song on the album and climax to the Ziggy Stardust live shows throughout 1972–73, it soon became a slogan, appearing on many fans' jackets.[9]
In April 1974 RCA, impatient for new material and having already rush-released "Rebel Rebel" from theDiamond Dogs sessions, arbitrarily picked the song for single release. Two years old, and already in the possession of most Bowie fans throughZiggy Stardust, its release has been labelled simply a "dosh-catching exercise".[10] It stalled at No. 22 in the UK charts – Bowie's first RCA single to miss the British Top 20 since "Changes" in January 1972.
Bob Dylan played the song on the "Death and Taxes" episode of Season 1 of hisTheme Time Radio Hour show in 2007. Afterwards Dylan recalled how Bowie "told everyone he was going to retire after theZiggy Stardust Tour" then added, "I remember that. I told him not to do it".[11]
Bowie played the song on theBBC showSounds of the 70s withBob Harris on 23 May 1972. This was broadcast on 19 June 1972 and in 2000 released on the albumBowie at the Beeb.[12] A live version recorded during theZiggy Stardust Tour inSanta Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 was released onSanta Monica '72 andLive Santa Monica '72.[13] The version played at the final Ziggy Stardust concert at theHammersmith Odeon, London, on 3 July 1973 was released onZiggy Stardust – The Motion Picture.[14] Before beginning the song, Bowie announced: "This is the last show we'll ever do." This was later understood as the retiring of Ziggy Stardust.[15] This version also appeared in theSound + Vision boxed set. In 1974, Bowie recorded ablue-eyed soul version of the song for his live albumDavid Live.[16] Another live recording, from the second leg of the same tour (previously available on the unofficial albumA Portrait in Flesh), was released in 2017 onCracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74). A live version from the third leg of the tour was released in 2020 onI'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74). Bowie performed the song for the final times during his 1990Sound+Vision Tour, retiring it from his live repertoire at the conclusion of the tour.[17]
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" was released as a picture disc in theRCALife Time picture disc set, and has appeared on a variety of compilation albums, includingThe Best of David Bowie (Japan 1974),The Best of Bowie (1980),The Singles Collection (1993),The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 (1997), andThe Platinum Collection (2006).
All tracks written byDavid Bowie.[18]
According to Chris O'Leary:[19]
Technical
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[20] | 39 |
| French Singles Chart[citation needed] | 30 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[21] | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[22] | 22 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)