David said that John Lennon had stopped by the studio while he was out, and when he came back, they were messing about without him with the riff to Footstompin' and Fame came out of it.
It's a James Brown cover. The almost hypnotically repetitive guitar figure in this version was all the work of Carlos Alomar and apparently doesn't feature in the James Brown original. And you're right about the Fame connection. When Bowie and Lennon first got into the studio together during the Young Americans sessions Lennon had the distorted deep guitar riff that's on Fame. Bowie got Alomar to play his funky repetitive bit alongside. Genius stuff, Fame's a great track.
@ArtisanPaul Obviously a JB influence pervades any music that aspires to funk, but in addition to this being a Flares tune superimposed over a "Fame"-like backing, JB himself took this riff from Bowie for a later tune, (the title eludes me at the moment).
I saw an interview where he said that he kept all the Ziggy clothes. It's a safe bet that he kept these suits, his Thin White Duke outfits, the clown suit, and the Earthling jackets too.
1974 was actually his worst year for the cocaine. He weighed only around 80lb here. He's actually in better physical (although not mental) shape as The Thin White Duke, although not much...
It's a shame shame shame this didn't appear in the Young Americans collector DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Whether the master tape has been lost, whether they thought he looks too cocked up, which is obvious, but who cares?
He is allegedly sniffing coke off that cane during the interview. Ava Cherry in the background, is that her name, that was Bowie's GF. Bowie was said in a bio that he didn't see why humans required sleep. Very few Brits could break thru to gospel etc. But isn't that Luther Vandross in the background. And Carlos Alomar too?
He is so talented. I'm so glad he survived his coke days. It's painful to watch him so thin. Especially the interview-he looks like he's going to jump out of his skin. Just love him.
If you look at this video as well as the previous clip of the same Dick Cavett show in which he sings "Young Americans" Dave seems to be very conscious of his mouth and nose. While singing "Young Americans" Dave almost seems to have an itch there, and licks his lips more than a few times - very much like he is very buzzing on Coke. He also looks very thin. I have read that he had a Coke problem for awhile in the 70's, and I am convinced that these clips were taken from that era.
You are right about this video. It was during 1974 when he had the coke problem. That's why he has a cane. He could barely walk. I never liked him this skinny. :( But, he is damn cute for a man nearly sixty years old! :)
I do not know who the other background singer is, but another person destined for fame, (saxophonist David Sandborn) is in the background. The guitar riff did turn into "Fame", but "Footstompin" came first. It is a cover, not an original Bowie song. I love the line,"red-haired Mr. Blue sure can do his stompin too".
Shades of things to come?! This is one of my all-time favorite performances. I can't stop watching it either!
Reminiscent of the song "Fame". That simple guitar riff and the answering rhythm guitar is exactly like in "Fame". Did Footstompin' come 1st? As Chuck Berry said "there's nothing new under the sun in music".
HELP !! I CAN'T STOP WATCHING THIS !!! Love the gruff vocal, and DAMN that 'meet me in the dancehall' bit - positively YELLING it out- WOW. Love at 2:23 when they shimmy sideways in unison and then back again, and hell that ending where they all stomp together sans music. Watching this is absolutely the most fun I've had in a long damned time. WHAT is it w/this guy? The more old Bowie videos I see, the more I keep asking myself, seriously, has there been anyone cooler, ever?
Another amazing thing about this performance being on You Tube is that Dick Cavett says on His DVD that this performance was 'lost' and therefore is not on the Dick Cavett DVD!! Buppie... this is incredibly rare !! :O)
Ditto TJa599...Luther is in blue on the far left of the backing singers as seen on Young Americans and 1984. The guy in the salmon suit looks remarkably like Cuba Gooding Jr ex lead singer of The Main Ingredient and also father of Cuba Gooding Jr the actor. Can anybody verify this as I don't think he was used on the Young American sessions???? and I can't get hold of my copy of the LP to check.....at work you see!!!
No, Luther is on the side, we cannot see him in this performance, he is very visible when Bowie does "Young Americans" that night.(He is wearing blue) Thank you for posting this, it is a rare and special performance.
Can someone please tell me what it is about his teeth??? I have fallen in love with his teeth and I really, really don't know why...why is it that out of everything he has, I love his teeth and his cheekbones most of all...
If you didn't live in these days, you don't realize how outlandishly unheard of this style of music and fashion was then. All we had then was hippies, and some disco. NO 20's zoot suits or Puerto Rican suits, no jazzy stuff. David Bowie laid out the entire future of popular culture in five minutes and we still havent caught up.
I may be wrong but I'm guessing this is during his coke period. lol
riverdale999 2 months ago
Comment removed
angela1sintez 5 months ago
I grab a cane and walk down the street with this song on my Ipod...EVERYDAY!!!
pbmax 5 months ago
"Footstompin'" sort of "was" recorded...thanks to Carlos Alomar it became "Fame." I like "Footstompin'" better.
nativesspoken 7 months ago
Absolute low point of his pre 1981 career, but still interesting.
weaselsuit 10 months ago
@weaselsuit : Not at all. He was redefining himself. Going back to basics and cleaning his palate. And using a LOT of cocaine.
gloeden2 6 months ago
If wearing makeup and dressing like that can get you a girlfriend as hot as Ava Cherry ,then every man in America will be effiminate pretty soon!
CountessVonRad 11 months ago 5
i wish he would've recorded that on an album.
jojoda4thnigga 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I think I've seen Ava Chery's dance before... Oh yeah, on an episode of Seinfeld, Elaine's dancing...
NPiglowski 1 year ago
I think I've seen Ava Chery's dance before... Oh yeah, on an episode of Seinfeld, Elaine's dancing...
NPiglowski 1 year ago
Late, great Luther Vandross on background vocals behind him.
matthewche 1 year ago
I just love this. Ava Chery shimmy is so sexy!
leonoel42 1 year ago
He's a musical chameleon as he controls everything.
MittNamnFrigolit 1 year ago
My goodness!! That doesn't even sound like Bowie!!!
kiddycato 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Everything is OK. But why his inspiration were drugs? I can not understand this.
miroslava1983 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Everything is OK. But why his inspiration were drugs? I con not understand this.
miroslava1983 1 year ago
Everythink is ok. But why his inpiration were drugs? I can not understand this.
miroslava1983 1 year ago
David said that John Lennon had stopped by the studio while he was out, and when he came back, they were messing about without him with the riff to Footstompin' and Fame came out of it.
lovedeliberate 1 year ago
doesn't this song sound a little like fame.
jojoda4thnigga 1 year ago
Cocaine makes your voice horse...just ask David.
pbmax 2 years ago
Thought this was lost forever..
pospisiltheband 2 years ago
It's a James Brown cover. The almost hypnotically repetitive guitar figure in this version was all the work of Carlos Alomar and apparently doesn't feature in the James Brown original. And you're right about the Fame connection. When Bowie and Lennon first got into the studio together during the Young Americans sessions Lennon had the distorted deep guitar riff that's on Fame. Bowie got Alomar to play his funky repetitive bit alongside. Genius stuff, Fame's a great track.
ArtisanPaul 2 years ago
@ArtisanPaul That not a JB cover...it's by the Flares,an early 60s smash.
hollies65 1 year ago
@ArtisanPaul Obviously a JB influence pervades any music that aspires to funk, but in addition to this being a Flares tune superimposed over a "Fame"-like backing, JB himself took this riff from Bowie for a later tune, (the title eludes me at the moment).
lazur1 1 year ago
this beat sounds similiar to the song fame.
doctorw2 2 years ago
Coolest motherfucker who ever sucked a dick.
pbmax 2 years ago 18
@pbmax he's not gay
TheSHEERHEARTATTACK 1 year ago
@TheSHEERHEARTATTACK No, he was just happy ;) (quote from bowie himself. But yeah he was bisexual.)
TheJesterGirl 9 months ago
@pbmax not nice...
ennui406 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@ennui406 It's funny and true.
TheRonaldo666 6 months ago
Who did this song originally?
aieiaristeuein 2 years ago
The one hit wonders The Flares in 1961
burnsyyy 2 years ago
He is so damn cool.
19HALLOWEENJACK84 2 years ago 2
2:34
I'm in space)))
GretaBowie 2 years ago 3
Comment removed
GretaBowie 2 years ago
I want a girlfriend like Ava Cherry.
As she was then obviously, I'm not some granny snatcher.
BarrytheBigot 2 years ago
NOW I want a walking stick or cane! i LOVE HIS SHOES! I wonder what hes done with them? I wonder what hes done with everything from the 70's?
BowieGirley 2 years ago
I saw an interview where he said that he kept all the Ziggy clothes. It's a safe bet that he kept these suits, his Thin White Duke outfits, the clown suit, and the Earthling jackets too.
nedzroz 2 years ago
You can see all those outfits at the Rock and Roll hall of fame in Cleveland, Ohio
BreakingGlass77 2 years ago 2
@nedzroz I have a feeling, he puts on the ziggy outfits sometimes i bet.
TheSHEERHEARTATTACK 1 year ago
@TheSHEERHEARTATTACK we can only hope! lol.
hmae20 1 year ago
he is truly the master of time and music
i mean look at him here, hes unbelievable
StarFox64ftw 3 years ago 7
No he is MINE!!!
dsplatterfreak1 3 years ago
He is MINEEE!!
ziggystardustlover 3 years ago
Marry me David!
boktor59 4 years ago 2
I love the look the MacCromack gives Bowie at 1:34
hahahahahahhahahah!
DBCrowns 4 years ago
hahaha he's the one on the left, correct?
GlssSpders 3 years ago
I know Ain't it great!
Bemywife1 4 years ago
Ouch. That bit at 2:33 may possibly be the cutest thing I've ever seen. XD
He's adorable.
ziggybabe01 4 years ago 8
he looks so hot wen hes all druggy lol
bigmdogs 4 years ago 3
1974 was actually his worst year for the cocaine. He weighed only around 80lb here. He's actually in better physical (although not mental) shape as The Thin White Duke, although not much...
Izzierocks 4 years ago 2
It's a shame shame shame this didn't appear in the Young Americans collector DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Whether the master tape has been lost, whether they thought he looks too cocked up, which is obvious, but who cares?
Myocastor 4 years ago
This song was later reworked by Bowie and it became the classic "Fame."
Glenn4romance 4 years ago
Strangely decadent. Nice how David Starsky started out as Bowie's backup singer.
DeeDeeTwo 4 years ago 2
as did Luther Vandross in this same period.
arabiansanchez 4 years ago
that's not starsky. his name is geoff mccormack
TeenageWildlife 4 years ago
God that man can sing!
unklejohn 4 years ago 2
It sounds almost like "Fame"...
bowie1983 4 years ago
his vocals here are more scruffier than they usually were for this period.. probably due to the "drip" from all the coke
TeenageWildlife 4 years ago
does anyone knows who sings the original footstompin ? Thank you
ladystardustdb 5 years ago
the flare.
kittymommy 5 years ago
he was totally the Coke monster at this point.
Luther was with the Bowie at this time.
theuncletodd 5 years ago
He is allegedly sniffing coke off that cane during the interview. Ava Cherry in the background, is that her name, that was Bowie's GF. Bowie was said in a bio that he didn't see why humans required sleep. Very few Brits could break thru to gospel etc. But isn't that Luther Vandross in the background. And Carlos Alomar too?
bowiegirl 5 years ago
Soooooo skinny!
mybabba 5 years ago
He is so talented. I'm so glad he survived his coke days. It's painful to watch him so thin. Especially the interview-he looks like he's going to jump out of his skin. Just love him.
samody 5 years ago 2
If you look at this video as well as the previous clip of the same Dick Cavett show in which he sings "Young Americans" Dave seems to be very conscious of his mouth and nose. While singing "Young Americans" Dave almost seems to have an itch there, and licks his lips more than a few times - very much like he is very buzzing on Coke. He also looks very thin. I have read that he had a Coke problem for awhile in the 70's, and I am convinced that these clips were taken from that era.
Charleybones 5 years ago
You are right about this video. It was during 1974 when he had the coke problem. That's why he has a cane. He could barely walk. I never liked him this skinny. :( But, he is damn cute for a man nearly sixty years old! :)
spikelilgirl 5 years ago
I do not know who the other background singer is, but another person destined for fame, (saxophonist David Sandborn) is in the background. The guitar riff did turn into "Fame", but "Footstompin" came first. It is a cover, not an original Bowie song. I love the line,"red-haired Mr. Blue sure can do his stompin too".
Shades of things to come?! This is one of my all-time favorite performances. I can't stop watching it either!
TJa599 5 years ago
The Philly soul man from Mars period. Very cool.
cloonmore 5 years ago
Reminiscent of the song "Fame". That simple guitar riff and the answering rhythm guitar is exactly like in "Fame". Did Footstompin' come 1st? As Chuck Berry said "there's nothing new under the sun in music".
Bobb9999 5 years ago
It should be illegal for anybody to be that cute!!!
RavynneRune 5 years ago
There is a Youtube video called Bowie's teeth incidentally. Bowie and Ava where lovers at the time of this video.
dejahthoris 5 years ago
HELP !! I CAN'T STOP WATCHING THIS !!! Love the gruff vocal, and DAMN that 'meet me in the dancehall' bit - positively YELLING it out- WOW. Love at 2:23 when they shimmy sideways in unison and then back again, and hell that ending where they all stomp together sans music. Watching this is absolutely the most fun I've had in a long damned time. WHAT is it w/this guy? The more old Bowie videos I see, the more I keep asking myself, seriously, has there been anyone cooler, ever?
bboinnng 5 years ago
By the way, I saw Bowie in concert a month before this was filmed! Nov. 23, 1974.
dejahthoris 5 years ago
Oops I meant october
dejahthoris 5 years ago
he is the coolest man alive.
and the most talented man i've ever seen.
yeah, the gruff/raspy voice is the best, gave a lot of flavor and soul to the Young Americans album.
motellife 3 years ago 19
dont you just love the 2.36 effeminate look to the left.shocking for the day.
femguy 5 years ago
amazing to see this in the UK. wonderful clip.thanks
femguy 5 years ago
Another amazing thing about this performance being on You Tube is that Dick Cavett says on His DVD that this performance was 'lost' and therefore is not on the Dick Cavett DVD!! Buppie... this is incredibly rare !! :O)
fearclownz 5 years ago
Ditto TJa599...Luther is in blue on the far left of the backing singers as seen on Young Americans and 1984. The guy in the salmon suit looks remarkably like Cuba Gooding Jr ex lead singer of The Main Ingredient and also father of Cuba Gooding Jr the actor. Can anybody verify this as I don't think he was used on the Young American sessions???? and I can't get hold of my copy of the LP to check.....at work you see!!!
TennesseeLBow 5 years ago
His backing singers for the Young Americans album included Luther Vandross - is that him in the salmon suit doing bvs?
MPObrands 5 years ago
No, Luther is on the side, we cannot see him in this performance, he is very visible when Bowie does "Young Americans" that night.(He is wearing blue) Thank you for posting this, it is a rare and special performance.
TJa599 5 years ago
When was this filmed?
BowieLover2 5 years ago
hes so pretty! yes his teeth!!!
thesweetthing 5 years ago
thank you thesweetthing!!! i thought i was only one who had something for his teeth :D
BowieLover2 5 years ago
I like the part that starts at 1:17 and ends at 1:20...he shows his teeth off really well...
BowieLover2 5 years ago
Hmm, I most admire that dialated pupil of his. And the manner in which his lips pucker is so potent as to weaken a boy's stomach. Ah ..
ChristianJackAhl 5 years ago
Can someone please tell me what it is about his teeth??? I have fallen in love with his teeth and I really, really don't know why...why is it that out of everything he has, I love his teeth and his cheekbones most of all...
BowieLover2 5 years ago
finally a use for that cane
BowieLover2 5 years ago
If you didn't live in these days, you don't realize how outlandishly unheard of this style of music and fashion was then. All we had then was hippies, and some disco. NO 20's zoot suits or Puerto Rican suits, no jazzy stuff. David Bowie laid out the entire future of popular culture in five minutes and we still havent caught up.
dejahthoris 5 years ago
'David Bowie laid out the entire future of popular culture in five minutes and we still haven't caught up. ' Thank you - very very well put.
bboinnng 5 years ago
David Bowie during his funky soul period classic
JEZZER32 5 years ago
So great...and very cool to see Ava doin' her thang!
Zzz80 5 years ago
holy toledo that ava cherry is AWESOME!!! Have you ever seen anyone dance like that in your whole life???
ThomasDeP 5 years ago
That girl can dance :-)
digigami 6 years ago
Dick Cavett show 4 December 1974. TV schlock. Compare to his Cher appearance.
eeksypeeksy 6 years ago