David Bowie may have left this mortal coil in 2016 but his spirit and legend lives on.
In celebration of what would have been his 71st birthday*, a demo version of "Let's Dance" has been released as a digital single.
Bowie and Nile Rodgers (who would go on to produce the full album Let's Dance) recorded the demo in December 1982 with local artists at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland. Rodgers recently mixed the demo at his studios in Connecticut especially for this Very Special Bowie Birthday Surprise!
The "Let's Dance" demo is available now as a digital single and on streaming services. Check out the demo along with commentary from Nile Rodgers via David Bowie's website below:
“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career but my creative partnership with David Bowie ranks very, very, very high on the list of my most important and rewarding collaborations. This demo gives you, the fans, a bird's eye view of the very start of it! I woke up on my first morning in Montreux with David peering over me. He had an acoustic guitar in his hands and exclaimed, “Nile, darling, I think this is a HIT!”.
This recording was the first indication of what we could do together as I took his 'folk song' and arranged it into something that the entire world would soon be dancing to and seemingly has not stopped dancing to for the last 35 years! It became the blue print not only for Let’s Dance the song but for the entire album as well.
If you played 2nd guitar or drums let us know who you are!
The time we spent mixing it just before Christmas was full of tears as it felt like David was in the room with us. Happy Birthday David, I love you and we all miss you!"
Nile Rodgers previously revealed how "Let's Dance" came together in 2015. Check out video of Rodgers in action below:
*David Bowie's birthday is January 8th; the single was released January 8th at midnight UK time (January 7th, 7pm ET)
Published January 7th, 2018