The Buddha of Suburbia (song)

Infobox Single
Name = The Buddha of Suburbia


Caption =
Artist = David Bowie featuring Lenny Kravitz
from Album = The Buddha of Suburbia
A-side =
B-side = "Dead Against It"
Released = November 1993
Format = 7"/CD single
Recorded = Mountain Studios, Montreux, mid-1993
Genre = Rock
Length = 4:24
Label = Arista Records
74321 177057
Writer =
Producer = David Bowie, David Richards
Certification =
Chart position = * #35 (UK)
Last single = "Miracle Goodnight"
1993
This single = "The Buddha of Suburbia"
1993
Next single = "The Hearts Filthy Lesson"
1995
Misc =

"The Buddha of Suburbia" is the theme song to the BBC TV series of the same name, released by David Bowie in 1993. It was re-recorded with Lenny Kravitz for Bowie's album, also titled "The Buddha of Suburbia", and inspired by his musical score for the series.

Background

One of the few tracks from the series that was actually retained unchanged for the album, its nostalgic lyrics were matched by a sound that was something of a pastiche of Bowie's past work, while retaining a fresh sound. Two places in the song there are references to older Bowie songs, the guitar break from "Space Oddity" and the line "Zane, zane, zane, ouvre le chien" from "All the Madmen".

A slightly altered version, incorporating a guitar solo from Kravitz, was dubbed the "Rock Mix" and issued as a single (also being included alongside the original version on the album). This was promoted by a video featuring Bowie performing the song while strolling around an English suburb, intercut with scenes from the series, and reached #35 in the UK.

Controversy

The song caused minor controversies on both sides of the Atlantic, with Radio 1 making an airplay edit to cover up the word "bullshit" in the lyric, and US networks re-edited the video to remove shots where Bowie was smoking a cigarette.

Track listing

All songs written by David Bowie.

7": Arista-BMG / 74321 17705 7 (Netherlands)

# "Buddha of Suburbia" – 4:24
# "Dead Against It" – 5:48

CD: Arista-BMG / 74321 17705 2 (Netherlands)

# "Buddha of Suburbia" – 4:24
# "South Horizon" – 5:26
# "Dead Against It" – 5:48
# "Buddha of Suburbia (Rock Mix)" – 4:24

A collectors edition with a holographic disc featuring the same tracks as the 7" version was also released.

Production credits

* Producers:
** David Bowie
** David Richards

* Musicians:
**David Bowie: Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Synthesizers, Saxophone
**Lenny Kravitz: Guitar on "The Buddha of Suburbia"
**Erdal Kizilcay: Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Percussion, Trumpet

References

Pegg, Nicholas, "The Complete David Bowie", Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5