Album
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is David Bowie's eighth studio album, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA. It arrived after the Spiders from Mars had broken up and producer Ken Scott had gone, so Bowie produced it himself and played lead guitar in Mick Ronson's absence. It also brought back Tony Visconti, who had not worked with him for four years and would stay a collaborator for the rest of the decade. It was Bowie's last glam rock album, though funk and soul touches hint at the direction of Young Americans.
The songs grew out of several ideas: a scrapped Ziggy Stardust musical, an adaptation of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, and a Burroughs-inspired vision of urban apocalypse. The title track introduces Halloween Jack, and "Rebel Rebel" led the way as the single. Guy Peellaert's half-man, half-dog cover caused a stir. Reviews have been mixed, with some finding it uneven, yet it topped the UK chart and its admirers include Bowie's biographers.
Diamond Dogs: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 38:24Tracklist
- 1Future LegendDavid Bowie1:08
- 2Diamond DogsDavid Bowie5:58
- 3Sweet ThingDavid Bowie3:39
- 4CandidateDavid Bowie2:40
- 5Sweet Thing (reprise)David Bowie2:32
- 6Rebel RebelDavid Bowie4:34
- 7Rock ’n’ Roll With MeDavid Bowie and Warren Peace4:02
- 8We Are the DeadDavid Bowie4:59
- 91984David Bowie3:27
- 10Big BrotherDavid Bowie3:20
- 11Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal FamilyDavid Bowie2:04
- Produced by
- David Bowie
- Recorded at
- Basing Street Studios, Olympic Studios (London), Ludolph Studios (Nederhorst den Berg, Netherlands), Trident, London
- Recorded
- January–February 1974
- Mixed by
- David Bowie, Keith Harwood, Tony Visconti
- Engineered by
- Keith Harwood
- Labels
- RCA, RCA Victor
- Length
- 38:24
Line-up
- David Bowie · guitar, keyboard, saxophone, lead vocals, percussion, vocals
- Aynsley Dunbar · drums (drum set)
- Herbie Flowers · bass
- Mike Garson · harpsichord, mellotron, Moog, piano
- Tony Newman · drums (drum set)
- Alan Parker · guitar
Singles
- “Rebel Rebel” · 15 February 1974
- “Diamond Dogs” · 14 June 1974
- “1984” · July 1974 (US and Japan only)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1974 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2024 | 13 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Sweden | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United States · 1974 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
89.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
6.2k
ListenBrainz listeners
211k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
21k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 24 May
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Full discography →
David Bowie
1967
David Bowie
1969
The World of David Bowie
1970
The Man Who Sold the World
1970
Hunky Dory
1971
Do Anything You Say
1972
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
1972
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
1973
Images 1966–1967
1973
Aladdin Sane
1973
Pin Ups
1973
David Live
1974
Young Americans
1975
Station to Station
1976
ChangesOneBowie
1976
Low
1977
“Heroes”
1977
David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
1978
Stage
1978
Lodger
1979
David Bowie
1980
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
1980
The Best of Bowie
1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1981
ChangesTwoBowie
1981
In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal
1982
Rare
1982
Supergroups
1983
Serious Moonlight
1983
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1983
Let’s Dance
1983
Golden Years
1983
Fame and Fashion (David Bowie’s All Time Greatest Hits)
1984
Love You Till Tuesday
1984
Tonight
1984
Labyrinth: From the Original Soundtrack of the Jim Henson Film
1986
Never Let Me Down
1987
Glass Spider
1988
Sound + Vision
1989
Changesbowie
1990
Early On (1964–1966)
1991
Black Tie White Noise
1993
The Singles Collection
1993
The Buddha of Suburbia
1993
Live Santa Monica ’72
1994
RarestOneBowie
1995
1.Outside: The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle
1995
Earthling
1997
The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979
1998
‘hours…’
1999
Liveandwell.com
2000
Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68–72
2000
All Saints (Collected Instrumentals 1977–1999)
2001
Heathen
2002
Best of Bowie
2002
Reality
2003
Club Bowie: Rare and Unreleased 12″ Mixes
2003
Live EP (live at Fashion Rocks)
2005
The Collection
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Bowie 1965!
2006
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
2007
Outside / Earthling / Hours / Heathen / Reality
2007
iSELECT
2008
VH1 Storytellers
2009
Space Oddity
2009
A Reality Tour
2010
The Next Day
2013
Pin-Ups Radio Show
2013
The Next Day Extra EP
2013
Nothing has changed.
2014
Five Years 1969–1973
2015
★
2016
Who Can I Be Now? 1974–1976
2016
Lazarus
2016
Legacy
2016
No Plan
2017
Live Nassau Coliseum ’76
2017
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74)
2017
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
2017
Welcome to the Blackout (live London ’78)
2018
Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
2018
Glastonbury 2000
2018
Conversation Piece
2019
Is It Any Wonder?
2020
ChangesNowBowie
2020
I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
2020
The Width of a Circle
2021
Toy
2021
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
2021
Brilliant Adventure EP
2022
Toy E.P.
2022
Fun Mix
2022
Moonage Daydream: A Film by Brett Morgen
2022
Divine Symmetry
2022
Rock ’n’ Roll Star!
2024
Ready, Set, Go! (live, Riverside Studios ’03)
2025
I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002–2016)
2025
The Shel Talmy Recordings
2026
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The label →Hunky Dory
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Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
David Bowie · 1980
“Heroes”
David Bowie · 1977
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
David Bowie · 1973
Low
David Bowie · 1977
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Foo Fighters · 1999
Wasting Light
Foo Fighters · 2011
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters · 2007
Young Americans
David Bowie · 1975
One by One
Foo Fighters · 2002
Fear Inoculum
Tool · 2019
Pin Ups
David Bowie · 1973
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1974-04-24 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 24 May 1974 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 24 May 1974 | |
| Wikidata | 24 April 1974 | |
| US release | May 1974 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 24 May 1974 | earliest UK or European date |
31 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | Rykodisc | 77749755645602 | other |
| — | US | Virgin | other | |
| May 1974 | US | RCA | other | |
| 24 May 1974 | GB | RCA Victor | original | |
| 1980 | US | RCA | other | |
| 1980 | US | RCA | other | |
| 1981 | IT | RCA | other | |
| 1984 | US | RCA | 078635057621 | other |
| 1985 | XE | RCA | 0035628388926 | other |
| 1990 | XE | EMI | 0077779521128 | other |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | remaster | |
| 31 October 1990 | JP | EMI | 4988006648845 | other |
| 3 September 1999 | DE | EMI | 724352190409 | other |
| 6 September 1999 | GB | EMI | 0724352190409 | other |
| 28 September 1999 | US | Virgin Records America, Inc. | 724352190409 | other |
| 29 September 1999 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006775121 | other |
| 2004 | XE | EMI | 724357786027 | deluxe |
| 7 June 2004 | GB | EMI | 724357785723 | deluxe |
| 14 July 2004 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006822061 | other |
| 7 February 2007 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006850569 | other |
| 11 June 2008 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006863439 | other |
| 25 November 2009 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006876323 | other |
| 2014 | US | Parlophone | 724352190409 | other |
| 2014 | XE | Parlophone | 724352190409 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Parlophone | 0190295990367 | other |
| 20 May 2016 | XW | Parlophone | 190295990398 | remaster |
| 2017 | US | Parlophone | 190295990411 | remaster |
| 22 February 2017 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295990411 | remaster |
| 2 October 2017 | XW | Parlophone | 0190295990374 | other |
| 24 May 2019 | GB | — | 0190295476168 | deluxe |
| 24 May 2024 | — | — | 5054197816437 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×589 | upscaled |