“It’s a crash-course for the ravers”
As hard as it may be to comprehend, David Bowie’s Drive-In Saturday single was released forty five years ago on this day in 1973.
The track was backed by the non-album Ziggy Stardust outtake, Round And Round, a Chuck Berry song originally titled Around And Around.
Drive-In Saturday was the second single taken from the forthcoming Aladdin Sane album (it was the follow up to The Jean Genie), and it made #3 on the UK’s official single chart.
The song name-checks Twiggy (Twig the Wonder Kid) along with Mick Jagger, whose band The Rolling Stones also covered Around And Around and whose Let’s Spend The Night Together also appeared on Aladdin Sane.
The success of the 45 was certainly not hampered by the sublime appearance of Bowie and The Spiders on the Russell Harty Show in the UK in February 1973. If you’ve never seen it, it’s an absolute treat to look back at the 26-year-old Bowie, nervous in interview but peacock proud in performance for his first ever TV chat show appearance.
Check out various pieces of surviving footage and audio on YouTube.
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