The London Boys

"The London Boys" is a song written by David Bowie. It was first released as the B-side of the single "Rubber Band" in the UK, and as a single of its own in France in December 1966.

The song was rerecorded in 2000 for the unreleased album Toy that leaked in 2011. Two excerpts appeared on BowieNet in 2002, one in July that was 1'26" long and the other in August that was 1'30" long; however, both clips did not cover the entire song. It was performed for a special BowieNetter gig in 2000.

Production credits

• Producers:
  • Mike Vernon

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar
  • Derek Boyes: Organ
  • Dek Fearnley: Bass
  • John Eager: Drums

Release history

Other releases

• "London Boys" was re-released by Decca in France in May 1975 and at the same time in the UK with "Love You Till Tuesday" as the B-side. The B-side on the 1975 French release was mistitled "Love You Till Tuesday" on early pressings. It took Decca two years to follow up the reissue of "The Laughing Gnome" in the UK, which meant that the 1975 reissue mostly went by unnoticed.

• It also appeared on the following compilations:
  • The World of David Bowie (1970)
  • Images 1966-1967 (1973)
  • Coccinelle Varietes (France 1973)
  • El Rey Del Gay Power (Spain 1973)
  • Starting Point (US 1977)
  • 20 Bowie Classics (Australia 1979)
  • Another Face (1981)
  • Historia De La Musica Rock (Spanish 1981)
  • Love You Till Tuesday (1984)
  • The Collection (1985)
  • The Gospel According to David Bowie (Germany 1993)
  • London Boy (1996)
  • The Deram Anthology (1997)

• It was covered by The Times in 1983 on their album I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape.
• It was also covered by Marc Almond in 2007 on his album Stardom Road.