Today would have been David Bowie's 71st Birthday and to celebrate the day, an early demo of 'Let's Dance' has been released by Bowie's camp. The demo is a stripped-back version of the song, which came to life with the help of bassist, Erdal Kisilcay, and engineer David Richards.
It's the first time that the track has been released in 35 years, after the original was mixed by Chic founder, Nile Rodgers. The iconic track was featured on Bowie's 1983 album, of the same name - 'Let's Dance'.
As well as his stunning vocals, we can also hear his delight at achieving the vocal he wanted, with him exclaiming, 'that's it, that's it! Got it, got it!' at the end of the track.
Speaking about the demo, Nile Rodgers said: “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."
He continued: "If you played 2nd 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!"
Feature Image: Brandon Carson
