"Tonight" by David Bowie

Song#:  2143
Date:  12/01/1984
Debut:  74
Peak:  53
Weeks:  9
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Bowie got his fifth US Top 10 hit with "Blue Jean," the lead single from his album Tonight. As a follow-up, this title-track song was released. Although not credited on the single's label (but listed in the credits on the album), Tina Turner made a guest appearance on this tune. She provided backing vocals, so it wasn't considered an actual duet. Despite the fact that both artists were experiencing career highs, the song didn't catch on and it stopped short of the top half of the Pop chart while getting to #28 Dance and #32 Rock.

ReduxReview:  Bowie takes back his own song that he wrote for Iggy Pop (see below) and turns the rock song into a reflective reggae-tinged, mid-tempo ballad. I don't think it works all that well. It makes the song a bit bland. Even Turner can't do much to make this tune stand out. It was kind of a dud on the album, but it was even worse when turned into a single. My guess is that the label pushed this song out due to Turner's involvement, thinking her major popularity at the time would help carry the single. It didn't. There still has to be a good song involved and this one was not it. Stick with Iggy's original version.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This is a remake of a song originally performed by Iggy Pop. Bowie, who co-produced Pop's 1977 album Lust for Life, wrote and contributed this song to that album. Bowie then revived the song and made it the title track to his 1984 LP. It wouldn't be the only song Bowie would cover from Lust for Life. Also included on Tonight was the song "Neighborhood Threat," which Bowie also co-wrote for Pop.  2) In 1988, Tina Turner released a double-LP titled Tina Live in Europe. Chronicling her recent tours, the album featured two songs from a performance where David Bowie joined her on stage. They performed "Tonight" and "Let's Dance." In Europe, "Tonight (Live)" was released as a single and it did well in a couple of countries. It hit #1 in the Netherlands and #3 in Belgium.

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