Alabama Song/Joe the Lion (40th Anniversary Picture Disc) has topped the UK’s Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40. It entered at #1 after its official release last week. Chart link HERE
Originally released in the UK on 15th February 1980, ‘Alabama Song’ was initially written as a poem by Bertolt Brecht in 1925 and was put to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 play ‘Little Mahogany’. David Bowie was a longstanding Brecht fan and included the song in the setlist for his 1978 Isolar II tour.
The studio version of ‘Alabama Song’ on the A-side of this release was recorded on July 2nd 1978, the day after the final show of the European leg of the tour, at Tony Visconti’s Good Earth Studios in Soho, London.
The AA-Side features two previously unreleased tracks: a rendition of ”Heroes” track ‘Joe the Lion’, recorded at the soundcheck of the tour’s final Earls Court show on 1st July 1978, and a live version of ‘Alabama Song’ also recorded on July 1st 1978
More info: Amazon UK
Track Listings
A-side:
1. Alabama Song (2017 Remaster) – David Bowie
AA-side:
1. Joe The Lion (Live Earls Court ’78 Soundcheck) – David Bowie
2. Alabama Song (Live Earls Court ’78) – David Bowie
Photo credits:
(A-Side 1980) Dean Chamberlain © The David Bowie Archive®
(Aa-Side 1978) Chris Walter © Chris Walter Courtesy Of Getty Images
