David Bowie – ‘Diamond Dogs’ 50th Anniversary Reissues Announced
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the David Bowie classic, Diamond Dogs, the album will be reissued as a limited edition half-speed mastered LP and a picture disc LP. The reissues, which are pressed from the same master, will be released on 24 May 2024 and are available to pre-order now.
pre-order ‘diamond dogs’ 50th anniversary reissues here
The writing of the album was influenced by Bowie not being able to secure the rights for a theatrical production of George Orwell’s 1984 and the work of William S Burroughs, whom Bowie had interviewed for Rolling Stone in November 1973. The songs on the album created an urban apocalyptic scenario with Bowie appearing on the cover as a controversial half-man, half-dog hybrid painted by the Belgian artist Guy Peellaert from photos by the world-renowned photographer Terry O’Neill.
To promote the album Bowie undertook his most theatrical and elaborate tour to date, which was captured on film for the infamous BBC programme Cracked Actor and the classic David Live album. Despite written promises to fans that the tour would reach the UK, it never did. For the second leg of the US tour, Bowie stripped back the show and started taking his material in a more soulful direction, which would be fully realised with the release of his next album, Young Americans.
This new pressing of Diamond Dogs was cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. The half-speed was cut by John Webber at AIR Studios.
DAVID BOWIE – DIAMOND DOGS TRACKLISTING
SIDE ONE
Future Legend
Diamond Dogs
Sweet Thing
Candidate
Sweet Thing (Reprise)
Rebel Rebel
SIDE TWO
Rock ’n’ Roll With Me
We Are The Dead
1984
Big Brother
Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family