TVC 15
| "TVC 15" | ||||||||||
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| 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, krautrock | |||||||||
| Length |
5:33 (Album Version) 3:43 (Single Version) | |||||||||
| Label |
RCA 2682 | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | David Bowie | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | David Bowie, Harry Maslin | |||||||||
| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"TVC 15" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie and released in 1976.
The track was inspired by an episode in which Iggy Pop, during a drug-fuelled period at Bowie’s LA home, hallucinated and believed the television set was swallowing his girlfriend. Bowie developed a story of a holographic television, TVC 15. In the song, the narrator's girlfriend crawls into the television and afterwards, the narrator desires to crawl in himself to find her.
The song is considerably more upbeat than the rest of the album on which it was released, Station to Station. It was chosen as the second single from the album in the UK, where it reached No. 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 the second single from the album.
Track listing
- "TVC 15" (Bowie) – 3:43
- "We Are the Dead" (Bowie) – 4:58
Production credits
- Producers:
- Harry Maslin on "TVC 15"
- David Bowie
- Musicians:
- David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Saxophone
- Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick: Guitar on "TVC 15"
- George Murray: Bass on "TVC 15"
- Dennis Davis: Drums on "TVC 15"
- Roy Bittan: Piano on "TVC 15"
- Herbie Flowers: Bass on "We Are the Dead"
- Mike Garson: Piano on "We Are the Dead"
- Aynsley Dunbar: Drums on "We Are the Dead"
Live version
- A live version recorded on the Heroes tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum, 28–29 April 1978, was released on Stage.
- On 14 December 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. It was considerably sped up and more upbeat.
Other releases
- It appeared on several compilations:
- The Best of Bowie (1980)
- Fame and Fashion (1984)
- Sound and Vision box set (1989)
- Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
- The Singles Collection (1993)
- Best of Bowie (2002)
- 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.
Cover versions
- Comateens – Comateens
- The Wannadies - Only Bowie (1995)
References
Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
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