"Absolute Beginners" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. Released on 3 March 1986, it was the theme song to the 1986 film of the same name. Although the film was not a commercial success, the song was a big hit: reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top ten on the main singles charts in ten other countries, becoming his last single to achieve that. It was less successful in the US, peaking at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bowie performed "Absolute Beginners" live on his 1987 Glass Spider Tour, his 2000 "Mini" Tour, and his 2002 Heathen Tour. The song has been included on a number of Bowie's compilation and "Best-of" releases, and was included as a bonus track on the 1995 re-release of Tonight.
Background and recording
Bowie was good friends with the film's director, Julien Temple. Bowie agreed to Temple's request to write music for the film if he could also play the part of Vendice Partners. It was recorded at Langer & Winstanley's Westside Studios, London. The sessions were completed rapidly, but the song was delayed due to the problems with completing the film. Virgin wanted the release to tie in with the film's opening. The song featured Rick Wakeman on piano, who had previously performed on Bowie's "Space Oddity" single and Hunky Dory album. Shortly after the sessions wrapped, Mick Jagger flew in to record the charity cover of "Dancing in the Street" with Bowie, which used many of the same musicians. Bowie recorded the lead vocal of "Absolute Beginners" at Westside Studios in August.
Reception
described "Absolute Beginners" as "the gem of his post-Let's Dance '80s output, a big, breathtaking ballad allowing him to indulge the Sinatra croon that's driven many of his best performances". It was chosen by Jeremy Allen in The Guardian as one of Bowie's "ten of the best" songs. Biographer Paul Trynka described "Absolute Beginners" as "Bowie's last great composition of the 1980s", while rock critic Chris O'Leary described it as "gorgeous and valedictory," with "one of the great Bowie melodies" in its refrain. Mojo chose the song as number 61 in its countdown of Bowie's 100 greatest songs. Don Weller's saxophone solo has been described by musicOMH as "perhaps the best" saxophone solo in a Bowie song. They characterised it as "the sound of one man trying to violently expel his innards through the bell of his instrument" and "one of the most heartbreaking things put to record".
Track listing
All tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted.
shot the music video, which echoed the 1950s style of the movie. The video was a homage to an old British advert for Strand cigarettes. The ill-fated advertising tagline "You're never alone with a Strand" is quoted by Partners in the film. The video also uses footage from the film. In 2016, Entertainment Weekly chose it as one of Bowie's 20 best music videos. They stated the video "does a far better job of expressing the noirish romanticism" of MacInnes' novel than the film did and also praised the "great dance-fighting scene at the end".
It was performed live on several occasions on the 2002 Heathen Tour as a duet with bassist Gail Ann Dorsey; usually the song would end with Bowie and Dorsey dancing. Mark Plati would play bass while she sang.
Other releases
In 1995, the full-length version appeared as a bonus track on the Virgin Records rerelease of the albumTonight.
The 5:36 single version has appeared on the following compilations:
A 4:46 edit, released to promote the single in 1986, was included on the 1-CD and 2-CD editions of Nothing Has Changed and the 2-CD version of Bowie Legacy.
