"Rebel Rebel" is a song by the English singer-songwriter

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. It was released in the UK on 15 February 1974 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from the album ''

Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 in London and the Netherlands, following the disbanding o ...

''. Written and produced by Bowie, the song is based around a distinctive guitar

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

reminiscent of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Cited as his most-covered track, "Rebel Rebel" has been described as Bowie's farewell to the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

movement that he had helped initiate, as well as being a

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

track. Two versions of the song were recorded: the well-known UK single release and the shorter US single release, which featured added background vocals, extra percussion and a new arrangement. Upon its release, the song was a commercial success, peaking at number five on the UK

Singles Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

and number 64 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. The song received critical acclaim for its central guitar riff and strength as a glam anthem. Several publications consider it to be one of Bowie's greatest songs. It was performed live by Bowie during many of his concert tours and since appeared on many compilation albums. It was remastered in 2016 as part of the ''

Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976) ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 23 September 2016, focused on the artist's "American Phase". A follow-up to the 2015 compilation '' Five Years (1969–1973)'', ''Who Can I ...

'' box set.

Background

Originally planned in late 1973 as part of an aborted '' Ziggy Stardust'' musical, "Rebel Rebel" was Bowie's last single in his signature

style.Mat Snow (2007). "Hang on to Yourself", ''

MOJO Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

60 Years of Bowie'': p.51 It was also his first hit since 1969 not to feature lead guitarist

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

; Bowie played guitar himself on this and almost all the other tracks on ''

'', producing what ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' critics

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Black ...

and

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...

called "a rocking dirty noise that owed as much to

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

as it did to the departed Ronno". Singer-songwriter

Jayne County Jayne County (born Wayne Rogers) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, and visual artist whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), she was the vocalist of infl ...

, who was a cast member of ''Pork'' and among Bowie's entourage for two years, maintains that her 1973 song "Queenage Baby", which included the lyric "can't tell whether she's a boy or a girl", was an influence for "Rebel Rebel".

Recording and composition

Recording for "Rebel Rebel" began at a solo session at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

in London in the week after Christmas 1973. It was Bowie's last known visit to Trident, his principal recording studio since 1968. The recording was completed in January 1974 at Ludolph Studios in

Nederhorst den Berg Nederhorst den Berg () is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It lies about 8 km northwest of Hilversum in the Vechtstreek area, near the Vecht river. Until 1 January 2002, it was a separate municipality; it is now part ...

, Netherlands. In the studio, Bowie informed bassist

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. ...

and guest guitarist

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After abo ...

that he wanted it to "sound like the

Stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

", before he picked up Parker's black

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

and played it to them. Parker then completed it, before the rest of the backing track was recorded. According to biographer

Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, writer and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin (magazine), Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''Th ...

, the lyrics of "Rebel Rebel" revisit familiar Bowie territory, featuring "a 'hot' young 'tramp' worrying his or her parents with his or her sexy nihilism", are reflected by the line "You got a few lines and a handful of 'ludes'." Even though the world is ending, the "Rebel" doesn't care, suggesting "we like dancing and we look divine." It also features gender-bending lyrics ("You got your mother in a whirl / She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl"). According to author Peter Doggett, in the context of ''Diamond Dogs'', the song serves as a "musical continuation" between the " Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)" medley: it begins with a D to E chord change that was prefigured with a bass guitar slide that constructed the medley's final "chaotic" moments. The song's distinctive guitar riff is described by rock journalist

Kris Needs Kris Needs (born 3 July 1954) is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. He became editor of proto-punk and early punk rock ''ZigZag'' magazine in August 1977 at 23 and has since written biographies ...

as "a classic stick-in-the-head like the Stones' ' Satisfaction'". The riff's chords are D, E, and A and were created by Bowie and enhanced by Parker, who, according to Doggett, added the "downward trail" at the end of each line. Paul Trynka writes that Parker added "a particular chord shape rather than the original single note just before the chord change and a distinctive 'beeeoonng' in the last line of the chorus just as

owie Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with b ...

sings 'I love you so'." Bowie later said, "It's a fabulous riff! Just fabulous! When I stumbled onto it, it was 'Oh, thank you!" Parker later said Bowie came up with the Stones-like riff to "piss off"

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

. Parker was upset upon learning he was uncredited on the final version. He stated: "I can tell my own playing, and my own sound, and I know it's me." Flowers further recalled: "David played the riff to Alan, Alan made sure it was good enough to record, then

lan Lan or LAN may refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space * ...

played it." Although O'Leary compliments the riff, he notes that with Ronson's absence, it gets "run into the ground"; throughout the song's over four-minute runtime, the riff is solely absent in the two bridges and the "hot tramp" lines.

Release

"Rebel Rebel" was released on 15 February 1974 in the UK by

(as LPB05009) as the lead single of ''Diamond Dogs'' with the ''Hunky Dory'' song " Queen Bitch" as the B-side. The B-side, according to Spitz, was selected by RCA to provide the label with some "much needed fiscal plasma". The single quickly became a glam anthem, the female equivalent of Bowie's earlier hit for Mott the Hoople, "

All the Young Dudes "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given t ...

". It reached number five on the UK

and number 64 on the US ''

. The original UK single version had a slightly different mix than the album version; the album mix was the only mix to appear on compilation albums, until the single mix appeared on ''Re:Call 2'', as part of the 2016 box set ''

''. The UK single mix was again remastered in 2019 and released on digital media streaming services.

US single

"Rebel Rebel" was released as a single with a different mix in the US and Mexico in May 1974, with " Lady Grinning Soul" as the B-side. According to Doggett, Bowie was not satisfied with creating an enduring "dance-floor anthem", so he recorded a new mix in New York in April 1974, which Doggett calls a "Latin dub mix" that was over two decades ahead of its time. The US mix is shorter (2:58) and more uptempo, dense and

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

than the UK single, featuring "sine waves" of percussion by Geoff MacCormack, an original backing vocal line that is preceded by a "rush of backward echo", acoustic guitar and a new arrangement that buries the signature riff beneath phasing. According to Pegg, the US mix begins at the first "hot tramp" lyric at the 1:20 mark in the original UK mix. Within a couple of months, it was withdrawn and replaced by the UK single version, but the same arrangement was used on Bowie's

Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album '' Diamond Dogs'', which was released the same year. The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-sty ...

, appearing on its live album ''

David Live ''David Live'' is the first official live album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released through RCA Records in October 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the ...

'' (1974).

Reception

The song has received critical acclaim for its guitar riff and strength as a glam anthem, being described as a fitting farewell to Bowie's glam era. Marc Spitz praised the song in the biography '' Bowie: A Biography'', calling the riff "magnificent" and Bowie's "last great glitter anthem". He also described the song as Bowie's most "pure and lasting rocker" when mentioning the artist's early 2000s re-recorded version for his 2003 album ''

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

''. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that this was "Bowie's best single ever," describing it as a "strong rocker with incredible hooks throughout." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that Bowie "integrates the aura of the American disco-right on down to castinets into his multi-sensual sound." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, in his review of ''Diamond Dogs'', called the song "tight" and "sexy" and one of Bowie's best, although he felt the song did not contribute to the overall theme of the album. Dave Thompson, also of AllMusic, described "Rebel Rebel" as one of Bowie's most "playful" numbers and considered it a fitting farewell to the artist's glam rock era and, in a way, to "the entire glam movement which Bowie created", as well as indicating the direction his career was taking. Barry Walters of ''Pitchfork'', in a review of ''Diamond Dogs'' following Bowie's death, praised the song's "glorious" guitar riff, its "stomping beat", the "hot tramp" lyric pause between both and their "return". Walters continued, "If Bowie often drifted above listeners' heads, here he shoots straight at their solar plexus and scores with what ranks among the greatest, most insistent riffs of the '70s. Rockers who'd dismissed Bowie as a dandy now gave the dude a pass." Journalist C. M. Crockford of punknews.org called "Rebel Rebel"'s guitar riff the best Bowie ever wrote, and a fitting end to his glam rock era. Following Bowie's death in 2016, ''Rolling Stone'' listed "Rebel Rebel" as one of his 30 essential songs. Spencer Kaufman of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' ranked the song at number seven on his list of Bowie's 10 greatest songs, praising its guitar riff – "one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock history" – and as a glam rock anthem, writing, "the tune serves as the perfect bridge between the Rolling Stones and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

." In 2018, the writers of ''NME'' listed "Rebel Rebel" as Bowie's fifth greatest song. They praised the "heaven-sent" riff and also believed it to be reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Jon Savage of ''The Guardian'', in his list of the 20 best glam-rock songs of all time, ranked the US version of the single at number 18.

Live performances

On 14 February 1974, Bowie recorded a lip synced performance of "Rebel Rebel" at Hilversum's Avro Studio 2 for the Dutch television programme ''Top Pop''. Broadcast two days later, it featured Bowie superimposed over flashing disco lights "by the miracle of chromakey" and donning what Pegg called his short-lived "pirate image" – a spotted neckerchief and a black eye-patch. Bowie later recalled: Following the performance, the pirate look, along with the Ziggy Stardust hairstyle, was ditched in favour of the "swept-back parting and double-breasted suits" of the Diamond Dogs Tour. The ''Top Pop'' clip later became the song's semi-official video. The song was a standard of Bowie's concerts from the Diamond Dogs Tour to the

Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

. For his performance at

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

in 1985, Bowie performed a saxophone-heavy version. After retiring the song on his Sound+Vision Tour in 1990, Bowie restored "Rebel Rebel" for the "Hours..." Tour. In early 2003, he recorded a new version, featuring an arrangement by

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Early life and education Plati grew up in Aurora, Colorado. He studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of ...

without the original's reference to

quaaludes Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg ...

. This was issued on a bonus disc that came with some versions of ''Reality'' the same year and on the 30th Anniversary Edition of ''Diamond Dogs'' in 2004. In 2004 the track was blended in a mash-up with the ''Reality'' song "Never Get Old"; the result was issued as the single " Rebel Never Gets Old". "We love David Bowie", commented

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...

front-man

Perry Farrell Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician referred to as the " Godfather of Alternative Music". Farrell began his career with Psi Com in the early 1980s, before becoming the frontman ...

in 2001. "Given the length of his career, I'm stunned that he still pushes things musically. But, please, please, David, can you sing 'Rebel Rebel' still?" Live versions of the song by Bowie have been released on ''David Live'', ''

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in support of his 2003 album ''Reality''. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asi ...

'' (recorded 2003), '' Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'', ''

Live Nassau Coliseum '76 ''Live Nassau Coliseum '76'' is a live album by David Bowie recorded on 23 March 1976 during Bowie's Isolar – 1976 Tour, Isolar Tour in support of the album ''Station to Station''. The recording was first released in September 2010, as part of ...

'', ''

Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) ''Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)'' is a live album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, recorded on the Isolar II – The 1978 World Tour, Isolar II Tour. It had a limited vinyl release on 21 April 2018 for Record Store Day. ...

'', ''

Glastonbury 2000 ''Glastonbury 2000'' is a live album by English musician David Bowie. It was recorded during his Sunday night headline slot at the Glastonbury Festival on 25 June 2000, part of his Mini Tour. The album marks the first time the full video and au ...

'', ''Serious Moonlight (Live '83)'' and '' Glass Spider (Live Montreal '87)'', which were both part of the box set ''

Loving the Alien (1983–1988) ''Loving the Alien (1983–1988)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 12 October 2018. A follow-up to the compilations '' Five Years (1969–1973)'', '' Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', and '' A New Career in ...

'', and '' I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)''.

Legacy

"Rebel Rebel" has appeared on several compilation albums, the first being ''

ChangesoneBowie ''Changesonebowie'' is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie, issued through RCA Records in 1976. It collected songs from the 1969–1976 period, including the first LP appearance of " John, I'm Only Dancing". A " sax version" of t ...

'' in 1976. It was also remastered in 2016, along with the entire ''Diamond Dogs'' album, as part of the ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'' box set. The rare US single version was included on '' Sound + Vision'', the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of ''Diamond Dogs'', and ''Re:Call 2''. The song's original UK single mix appeared on ''Re:Call 2''; however, it was sourced not from the original analog tape, but rather from a pristine 7-inch single, as the tape was thought to be lost. The original single mix was released again on 24 May 2019 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the ''Diamond Dogs'' album, this time sourced from the original tape, which had been recovered since the release of ''Who Can I Be Now?'' The track is cited by Nicholas Pegg as Bowie's most-covered track. A cover version by

Dead or Alive A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

was released as a single in 1994, under the name International Crysis, and peaked at number 76 on the UK Singles Chart. American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer Chris Young sampled the song's guitar riff for his 2023 song " Young Love & Saturday Nights".

Track listing

All songs written by David Bowie. #"Rebel Rebel" – 4:20 #" Queen Bitch" – 3:13 The U.S. version of the single, also released in Canada and Mexico, had " Lady Grinning Soul" as the B-side.

Personnel

According to Kevin Cann: *

– vocals, lead guitar, producer *

– rhythm guitar *

– bass *

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight, The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur, CSS and The Pretty Reckless. Early caree ...

– piano *

Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ron ...

– drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rebel Rebel 1974 songs 1974 singles 1994 singles David Bowie songs Dead or Alive (band) songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by David Bowie RCA Records singles Protopunk songs LGBTQ-related songs Transgender-related music