1984

"1984" is a song by English musician David Bowie, from his 1974 album Diamond Dogs, released as a single in the United States and Japan. Written in 1973, it was inspired by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and, like much of its parent album, originally intended for a stage musical based on the novel, which was never produced because permission was refused by Orwell's widow Sonia. Music and lyrics The centrepiece of side two of the original vinyl album, in the context of Bowie's adaptation of Orwell's story, "1984" has been interpreted as representing Winston Smith's imprisonment and interrogation by O'Brien. The lyrics also bear some similarities to Bowie's earlier song "All the Madmen", from The Man Who Sold the World ("They'll split your pretty cranium and fill it full of air"). "1984"'s wah-wah guitar sound is often likened to the "Theme from Shaft" (1971) by Isaac Hayes. Played by Alan Parker, it was one of the few instances on the Diamond Dogs album where Bowie himself did not take the lead guitar part. The track's funk/soul influence has been cited as a clear indicator of where Bowie's style was headed on his next album, Young Americans. Recording and release "1984" was first recorded during the Aladdin Sane sessions. The song received its public debut, in a medley with "Dodo", known as "1984/Dodo", on the U.S. TV special The 1980 Floor Show (later bootlegged as Dollars in Drag), which was recorded in London on 18–20 October 1973. A studio version of "1984/Dodo" was recorded around that time, but went unreleased until it appeared on the Sound + Vision box set in 1989. This was Bowie's last recording with Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and producer Ken Scott at Trident Studios, London.