Fame, makes a man take things over…
Thirty five years ago today David Bowie released the second single from his Young Americans album, Fame, backed with another YA track, Right.
In September the single peaked at #17 in the UK, beating the previous single, Young Americans, by one position.
Proving that Brits weren’t quite as receptive to the new Bowie sound as their American cousins, the 45 became his first #1 single ever when it reached the top of the Billboard chart in the US.
This seemed a little ironic considering the UK was the territory where Bowie had already scored many top ten hits, but hadn’t quite managed a #1 there yet.
That would change when he reached the top of the UK chart with his next RCA single, a reissue of Space Oddity.
Famously co-written with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar, Fame became a staple of the Bowie live show and remains a firm favourite with funky types everywhere.