David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ demo has been released to mark his 71st birthday (08.01.18).
An early version of the track from the late music legend’s 1983 record of the same name was mixed after Chic star Nile Rodgers took a trip to the ‘Starman’ hitmaker’s old house in Blonay, Switzerland, to work on music with his friend.
Erdal Kizilcay and engineer David Richards then joined the pair at Montreux’s Mountain Studios to get it finished.
The recording, which has been dropped 35 years since it was finished by Rodgers, also features Bowie sounding thrilled that he’d perfected the take.
He can be heard saying: "That’s it, that’s it! Got it, got it!"
Nile says they knew right away it would be a huge "hit", and that it would be the start of a "wonderful creative partnership".
He explained: "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."
Nile completed the mix ready for release today over the festive period and said it was an emotional time.
The ‘Get Lucky’ star also reached out for the original guitar and drum players to come forward as it’s not known who they are.
He concluded: "If you played second 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!."
The track is available now to stream on Spotify and download.
David Bowie Let’s Dance demo released on his birthday
