The David Bowie song deemed “too risqué” for America
David Bowie wouldn’t have been David Bowie without the intent to push boundaries. In fact, he built his entire career around going against the grain, so anything he did that was deemed out of the ordinary often said more about the listener than the artist himself. After the release of ‘Starman’, Bowie sought to continue his otherworldly trajectory by crafting an even more daring follow-up.
Throughout his career, Bowie experienced several push-backs when it came to potential chart-topping hits. Most of the time, this was related to timing or the singer’s rejection of conventional musical themes. Bowie painted himself as an outsider, of course, but institutions and broadcasters didn’t always meet this with the same enthusiasm that it is today.
One of the most notable examples of Bowie being banned is undeniably the situation with ‘Space Oddity’ when it was once in the BBC’s direct line of fire due to its potential to be aired in poor taste as the nation awaited Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins’ safe return to earth. However, Bowie almost experienced a similar experience when he chose to express a part of himself that certain parts of America felt was too on the nose.
The song in question, ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’, was written by Bowie with the intention of becoming a successful bisexual anthem. Although the BBC played the piece, which the singer “was amazed” by, RCA chose not to release the single in the USA due to its suggestive lyrics. This was, after all, the early 1970s, and even Bowie’s proud display of fluid sexuality didn’t entirely change the course of time.
According to Woody Woodmansey, RCA “considered the song too risqué”, and Top of the Pops followed suit, “given that it wasn’t to the BBC’s taste”. However, he added that they were also “too busy in the US to think about the fact that it wasn’t performing quite as well as ‘Starman’.” Looking at the lyrics, there’s no ambiguity as Bowie sings about Annie, who is “pretty neat”, and Joe, who is “awful strong”.
As the chorus hits, Bowie seems to have been seduced by another girl he is attracted to but reassures “John” that he’s “only dancing”. While it has also been suggested that this song addresses a previous derogatory comment the singer faced from John Lennon about his androgyny, ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’ more blatantly taps into Bowie’s bisexuality, which he had come out about several months prior to the single’s release.
Although Bowie would later largely regard his sexuality in the 1970s as merely an aspect of his characterisations, he never expressed remorse for pioneering the LGBTQ+ scenes and starting those more challenging conversations in musical spaces. “I really opted to drown in the euphoria of this new experience, which was a real taboo with society,” he later said, adding, “I must admit I loved that aspect of it.”
