Candidate (David Bowie song)
Encyclopedia
"Candidate" is a song written by David Bowie
in 1973 and intended for his never-completed musical
version of Nineteen Eighty-Four
. A radically different version, with completely different lyrics and music, was released on the album Diamond Dogs
in 1974
as part of a medley
that split the song "Sweet Thing" in two. The only lyric
shared in the two different versions are the key phrases "I'll make you a deal" and "pretend I'm walking home".
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
in 1973 and intended for his never-completed musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
version of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
. A radically different version, with completely different lyrics and music, was released on the album Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
in 1974
1974 in music
-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...
as part of a medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
that split the song "Sweet Thing" in two. The only lyric
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
shared in the two different versions are the key phrases "I'll make you a deal" and "pretend I'm walking home".
Other releases
- The 1973 version (called "demo version") was released as a bonus track on the RykodiscRykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
reissue of Diamond DogsDiamond DogsDiamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
in 1990. It also appeared on the bonus disc of the album's 30th Anniversary Reissue as an "alternate version". On this same bonus disc another remix called "Intimacy remix" was released. This remix is taken from the soundtrack of the film IntimacyIntimacy (2001 film)Intimacy is a 2001 film directed by Patrice Chéreau, starring Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox.Intimacy is an international co-production among production companies in France, the U.K., Germany, and Spain featuring a soundtrack of pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s...
released in 2001.
Live versions
- A live version of "Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)" from the 1974 tour was released on David LiveDavid LiveDavid Live is David Bowie’s first official live album, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Recorded on the initial leg of Bowie’s US tour supporting Diamond Dogs in July of that year , it has been cited as one of the best live...
. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal album A Portrait in Flesh.
Notable covers
- United States based alternative rockAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band DramaramaDramaramaDramarama is an alternative rock band.It may also refer to:* Dramarama , a 1980s British television series* Dramarama , a 2006 film that was to star Lindsay Lohan but was unreleased...
released a version as the sixth track on the first side of their 1985 album Cinéma VéritéCinéma VéritéCinéma Vérité is the first album by an alternative rock group Dramarama, released in November 1985. Although Dramarama was an American group, specifically from New Jersey, the album was originally released by New Rose Records of France, and in America on Question Mark Records...
. - MorelRichard MorelRichard Morel is an American singer-songwriter, DJ, remixer and record producer from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. He has worked extensively with Washington D.C.-based duo Deep Dish, co-writing, co-producing, performing and singing on many of their tracks, most notably on their albums Junk...
, on the album The Death of the Paperboy (2008) (on Disc-0 of the two-disc set), performed Candidate as part of his cover of the complete trilogy of Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise), as it appears on Diamond Dogs and David Live.