Suffragette City

"Suffragette City"
Single by David Bowie
from the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
B-side	"Stay"
Released	9 July 1976
Format	7" single
Recorded	Trident Studios, London, January 1972
Genre	Glam rock
Length	3:25
Label	RCA Records 2726
Producer	David Bowie, Ken Scott
David Bowie singles chronology
"TVC 15" (1976) "Suffragette City" (1976) "Stay" (1976)
Alternative cover The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars track listing Side one "Five Years" "Soul Love" "Moonage Daydream" "Starman" "It Ain't Easy" Side two "Lady Stardust" "Star" "Hang on to Yourself" "Ziggy Stardust" "Suffragette City" "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"

"Suffragette City" is a song by David Bowie. Originally from the 1972 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, it was later issued as a single in 1976 to promote the Changesonebowie compilation in the UK, with the US single edit of "Stay" on the B-side. The single failed to chart.

Recorded towards the end of the Ziggy Stardust sessions, "Suffragette City" features a piano riff heavily influenced by Little Richard, a lyrical reference to the film A Clockwork Orange (the word "droogie") and the sing-along hook "Wham bam thank you ma'am!".

Before recording it himself, Bowie offered it to the band Mott the Hoople if they would forgo their plan of breaking up. The group refused, but recorded Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" instead.

Track listing

1. "Suffragette City" (Bowie) – 3:25
2. "Stay" (Bowie) – 3:21

Production credits

• Producers:
  • Ken Scott on "Suffragette City"
  • Harry Maslin on "Stay"
  • David Bowie

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar on "Suffragette City"
  • Mick Ronson: Guitar, piano and ARP synthesizer on "Suffragette City"
  • Trevor Bolder: Bass on "Suffragette City"
  • Mick Woodmansey: Drums on "Suffragette City"
  • Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick: Guitar on "Stay"
  • George Murray: Bass on "Stay"
  • Dennis Davis: Drums on "Stay"
  • Roy Bittan: Piano on "Stay"

Other releases

• It was released as the B-side of the singles "Starman" in April 1972 and "Young Americans" in February 1975.
• A picture disc release appeared in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.
• It also appeared on the following compilations:
  • The Best of David Bowie (Japan 1974)
  • Changesonebowie (1976)
  • Changesbowie (1990)
  • Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
  • The Singles Collection (1993)
  • RarestOneBowie (Japan 1995)
  • The Best of 1969/1974 (1997)
  • Best of Bowie (2002)

Live versions

• Bowie recorded the song for the BBC radio programme "Sounds of the 70s: John Peel", and this was broadcast May 23, 1972. In 2000, this recording was released on the Bowie at the Beeb album.
• A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72.
• The version played at the famous concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, July 3, 1973 was released on Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture.
• A recording from the 1974 tour was released on David Live. This version was also released in the Sound and Vision box set. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal A Portrait in Flesh.

Cover versions

• Mr. Big - Live recording on "Live at Budokan" (1997)
• Alice in Chains - Sweet Alice (1989)
• Toni Basil - Live at the Roxy
• Big Audio Dynamite - F-Punk (1995)
• Boy George - The Unrecoupable One Man Bandit (1998)
• Corpus Delicti - Goth Oddity - A Tribute to David Bowie (1999)
• Duran Duran - Live recording - 1980 Birmingham Christmas Show
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Single (1989)
• Golden Delicious - Crash Course for the Ravers - A Tribute to the Songs of David Bowie (1996)
• The Get Up Kids - Eudora (2001)
• Steve Jones - Fire and Gasoline (1989)
• Seu Jorge recorded a Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
• Kyosuke Himuro – B-side of "Dear Algernon" (1988)
• L.A. Guns – Cuts (1992)
• Hazel O'Connor – Single
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – B-side to the "Aeroplane" single (1996)
• Andy Taylor – Single
• Turbonegro – Single (1998)
• Warrant - Under the Influence (2001)
• Wakefield and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen - New York Minute soundtrack (2004)
• The Nerve Agents - Kill Your Idols / The Nerve Agents split (2000)
• Storm Large ft. Dave Navarro - Rock Star: Supernova
• Vixen - Live & Learn (2006)
• Burden Brothers - Mercy (2006)
• Tara Slone - Just Look Pretty and Sing (2007)
• Poison - Poison'd! (2007)
• Rehasher - "Off Key Melodies"
• *The Spiders from Mars - The Mick Ronson Memorial Concert (2001); the Spiders here consisting of Joe Elliott (vocals, acoustic guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Bill Nelson (guitar), Trevor Bolder (bass), Woody Woodmansey, (drums), Billy Rankin (guitar), and Phil Lanzon (keyboards)
• Ozark Henry - Glittering 2000: Belgian Acts Revisiting Glam Classics (2000)
• Glay - Aka to Kuro no Matadora (2008)
• LehtMoJoe - B-Side to 'Johnny Jazz' (2009)
• A Place To Bury Strangers - We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie (2010)
• The Horrors (2011)
• Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin - "Castle-face Records presents Group Flex" (2011)

References

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5