TVC 15

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“TVC15”
Single by David Bowie from the album Station to Station
B-side	”We Are the Dead”
Released	30 April 1976
Format	7" single
Recorded	Either Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, or Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles; October 1975
Genre	Rock
Length	5:33 (Album Version) 3:43 (Single Version)
Label	RCA 2682
Producer	David Bowie, Harry Maslin
David Bowie singles chronology
"Golden Years" (1975) "TVC 15" (1976) "Suffragette City" ( 1976)
Station to Station track listing
"Word on a Wing" (3) "TVC 15" (4) "Stay" (5)

"TVC 15" was a single by David Bowie.

The song was inspired by Iggy Pop who, during a drug-fuelled period at Bowie’s LA home, hallucinated and believed that the television set was swallowing his girlfriend. Beyond oblique mentions to absorption via television, the lyrics are largely nonsensical. Bowie himself hasn’t been able to shed any light on their meaning beyond the Pop anecdote, having very limited recollection of the Station to Station sessions. The 1983 film Videodrome explores similar themes.

The song is considerably more upbeat than the rest of the album. It was chosen as a second single from the album in the UK, where it reached #33. With Bowie unable to perform on the show, Top of the Pops promoted the single with a bizarre interpretation from resident dance troupe Ruby Flipper. The B-side, “We Are the Dead”, originally formed part of Bowie’s attempt to adapt Nineteen Eighty-Four, and had previously been released on the Diamond Dogs album.

In America, "Stay" was preferred as a second single from the album.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Production credits 3 Live version 4 Other releases 5 Cover versions 6 References

[edit] Track listing

1. "TVC15" (Bowie) – 3:43
2. "We Are the Dead" (Bowie) – 4:58

[edit] Production credits

• Producers:
  • Harry Maslin on “TVC15”
  • David Bowie

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
  • Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick: Guitar on “TVC15”
  • George Murray: Bass on “TVC15”
  • Dennis Davis: Drums on “TVC15”
  • Roy Bittan: Piano on “TVC15”
  • Herbie Flowers: Bass on “We Are the Dead”
  • Mike Garson: Piano on “We Are the Dead”
  • Aynsley Dunbar: Drums on “We Are the Dead”

[edit] Live version

• A live version recorded on the Heroes tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum, April 28-29th 1978, was released on Stage.
• On December 14, 1979 Bowie performed TVC 15 as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, accompanied by Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias.
• Bowie performed this song during the Live Aid concerts July, 1985.

[edit] Other releases

• It appeared on several compilations:
  • Best of Bowie (1980)
  • Fame and Fashion (1984)
  • Sound and Vision box set (1989)
  • Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
  • The Singles Collection (1993)
• The 7" single version also appeared on The Best of 1974/1979.
• A version shorter than the single version appeared on the Christiane F. soundtrack.
• It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time disc set.

[edit] Cover versions

• Comateens – Comateens
• The Wannadies - Only Bowie (1995)

[edit] References

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

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