Day-In Day-Out

"Day-In Day-Out"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Never Let Me Down
B-side Julie
Released March 1987 (1987-03)
Format 7"/12" single
Recorded Mountain Studios, Montreux, Autumn 1986
Genre Rock/Pop
Length 4:14
Label EMI
EA230
Producer David Bowie, David Richards
David Bowie singles chronology
"When the Wind Blows"
(1986)		 "Day-In Day-Out"
(1987)		 "Time Will Crawl"
(1987)
"Groucho Mix" Single Cover

"Day-In Day-Out" is the first track on David Bowie's album Never Let Me Down. It was issued as a single ahead of the album's release.

The song criticised the urban decay and deprivation in American cities at the time, concerned largely with the depths a young mother has to sink to in order to feed her child, including attempting to shoplift and becoming a prostitute.[1]

Contents

Music video

Julien Temple's video, which Bowie said is "not going to sell the song at all,"[2] made the song's message explicit, showing the young couple's struggle against an uncaring society, watched by a pair of angels through fake video cameras. This was banned by some TV stations (though contrary to popular belief, not the BBC, who showed the first part of the video on their Top of the Pops music show), even after edits removed the female protagonist's heavily implied rape, and an alternate version of a scene where the couple's child spells out "Mom", "Food" and "Fuck" in building blocks (representing the child's cycle of dependency; the alternate version had the child spell out the meaningless words "Mom", "Look" and "Luck") – as a result, EMI issued it on a video EP. The video was nominated for a 1987 MTV Video Music award in the category of "Best Male Video," but lost to Peter Gabriel's video for "Sledgehammer."

When Bowie heard of the video being banned, he stated: "I think it's ludicrous. [The censors] got caught up in the usual yellow press kind of excitement because of what it looked like instead of what it said."[3] He responded to later question about the controversy by making this statement:

“ We asked the LA police to work with us and they did very happily. We wanted to indicate how some of the houses for the homeless are removed, so we asked them to bring along the kind of contraption they use... it's kind of like a tank with a big battering ram on the end of it. And on the end of the battering ram they've made a little joke. As it goes through the windows it goes "Have a nice day." And I pointed out that it would be in the video and they said they were only too pleased to keep it on, so they kept it on. Is that controversial? I don't know."[4] ”

Track listing

All songs written by Bowie.

7": EMI America / EA 230 / EAX 230 (UK)

  1. "Day-In Day-Out" – 4:14
  2. "Julie" – 3:40

12": EMI America / 12 EA 230 (UK)

  1. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dance Mix)" – 7:15
  2. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dub Mix)" – 7:17
  3. "Julie" – 3:40

12": EMI America / 12 EAX 230 (UK)

  1. "Day-In Day-Out (Remix)" – 6:30
  2. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dub Mix)" – 7:17
  3. "Julie" – 3:40

12": EMI / V-19239 (US)

  1. "Day-In Day-Out (Groucho Mix)" – 6:29
  2. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dance Mix)" – 7:15
  3. "Day-In Day-Out (Single Version)" – 4:14
  4. "Julie" – 3:40

12": EMI / SPRO 9996/9997 (US)

  1. "Day-In Day-Out (7" Dance Edit)" – 3:35
  2. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dance Mix)" – 7:15
  3. "Day-In Day-Out (Edited Dance Mix)" – 4:30

Download: EMI / iEAX 230 (UK)

  1. "Al Alba" – 5:37
  2. "Julie" – 3:40
  3. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dance Mix)" – 7:15
  4. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dub Mix)" – 7:17
  5. "Day-In Day-Out (12" Groucho Mix)" – 6:29

Video EP

  1. "Day-In Day-Out"
  2. "Loving the Alien"
  3. "Day-In Day-Out (Extended Dance Mix)"

Production credits

Other releases

Chart positions

Chart Position
Canada Singles Chart 3
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
US Hot Dance Music/Club Play 10
UK Singles Chart 17
US Billboard Hot 100 21

Notes

  1. ^ Stockholm Glass Spider Press Conference, March 28, 1987
  2. ^ "David Bowie Opens Up - A Little" by Scott Isler, Musician Magazine, August 1987, pp 60-73
  3. ^ Amsterdam Glass Spider Press Conference, March 30 1987
  4. ^ New York Glass Spider Press Conference, March 18 1987

References

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