“The song they’re playin’ on the radio”
David Bowie’s worldwide smash hit single, Let’s Dance, was released 32 years ago today.
Considering the previous album, Scary Monsters, Let’s Dance heralded yet another sharp change in direction for Bowie and this single and it’s flipside (a rerecording of Cat People) were perfect tasters for the album of the same name which followed in April.
Aside from the new sound that producer Nile Rodgers brought to the table, albeit very much influenced by the sound of his own band, Chic, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan provided his distinctive signature guitar sound for solos on both sides of the disc.
The massive success of the song was unquestionably helped by Bowie and David Mallet’s iconic video, with its statements against racism and oppression, symbolised neatly by a pair of red shoes.
You can read more about the cultural impact the video had in an item we highlighted back in 2013, wherein Ed Gibbs speaks with Joelene King, one of the stars of the video, about its importance 30 years on.
We’ll leave you with an indicator of the single’s success via this list of some of the peak chart positions held by Let’s Dance back in 1983.
Australian Singles Chart – 2
Austrian Singles Chart – 2
Canadian Singles Chart – 1
Dutch Singles Chart – 1
German Singles Chart – 2
Irish Singles Chart – 1
New Zealand Singles Chart – 1
Norwegian Singles Chart – 1
Swedish Singles Chart – 1
Swiss Singles Chart – 1
UK Singles Chart – 1
US Billboard Hot 100 – 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play – 1
The album and attendant tour would provide Bowie with a bigger commercial success than he had previously known. But that’s another story.