“Boogie down with Daddy now”
Perhaps it’s not easy to imagine in these days of deluxe box sets with extra tracks and previously unreleased versions, etc., just how big a deal the release of John I’m Only Dancing (Again) was to the Bowie faithful, in December 1979.
Aside from the fact that the record was Bowie’s very first UK 12″ 45, John I’m Only Dancing (Again) was legendary among fans aware of the song’s existence, but who hadn’t actually heard it until this single was issued.
The track seemed to have evaded bootleggers and this release provided the full length version, (along with an edited version for the 7″) not to mention a new mix of the original Ziggy Stardust sessions version of John I’m Only Dancing. This 1979 remix of the original 1972 Ziggy version of John I’m Only Dancing created a third version of the track.
The first version was released by RCA as a UK 45 on September 1st 1972, there was no US release at this time. This version was superseded by a second version recorded during the Aladdin Sane sessions which eventually came to be known as the Sax Version.
It seems this second version was issued without fanfare sometime close to the release of Aladdin Sane in 1973. Though Bowie’s RCA singles remained on catalogue for many years after their release, for a time John I’m Only Dancing was unavailable.
It would appear that once John I’m Only Dancing was once again made available as a back catalogue single, it was the Sax Version, and not the Ziggy version, that unsuspecting buyers got. Either way, the same RCA 2263 catalogue number was used for both pressings.
In fact, it wasn’t until one or two thousand (depends where you read it) ‘mispressed’ copies of the 1976 CHANGESONEBOWIE album were released with the Sax Version included that the different versions became known to fans. Indeed, it’s hard to find a mention, anywhere, of the Sax Version before the CHANGESONEBOWIE mispress.
Therefore, the 1979 remix created a third version, albeit a very slight variation of the original Ziggy version.
To confuse matters further, when RCA pressed black label variations of their 45s in the UK (including the Lifetimes series) they inadvertently created a fourth version by swapping the stereo channels!
Coincidentally, both the 1972 and 1979 45s reached #12 on the UK single chart.
Listen to John I’m Only Dancing (Again) here.
#JIOD #JIODagain #BowieJohn