Album
Lodger
Lodger is David Bowie's thirteenth studio album, released on 25 May 1979 through RCA. It closes the Berlin Trilogy that began with Low and "Heroes", and it was made with Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti, plus newcomer Adrian Belew on guitar. Sessions ran in Switzerland in September 1978, during a break in the Isolar II tour, and in New York City in March 1979. Eno-style tactics were in play, including musicians swapping instruments and old songs being played backwards.
Unlike its two predecessors, it drops the electronic and ambient leanings and the split between songs and instrumentals, settling instead on more conventional structures with avant-pop, world and new wave touches. Side one deals with travel, side two with critiques of Western civilisation. "Boys Keep Swinging" gave Bowie a UK top 10 hit, and the album reached number 4 in the UK. Early reviews were mixed, but it has since earned a reputation as one of his most underrated records, with its world-music leanings especially influential.
Lodger: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 35:14Tracklist
- 1Fantastic VoyageDavid Bowie and Brian Eno2:59
- 2Move OnDavid Bowie3:21
- 3Yassassin (Turkish for Long Live)David Bowie4:14
- 4African Night FlightDavid Bowie and Brian Eno2:59
- 5D.J.Alomar, Bowie, Eno4:02
- 6Boys Keep SwingingDavid Bowie and Brian Eno3:20
- 7Look Back in AngerDavid Bowie and Brian Eno3:10
- 8Red MoneyCarlos Alomar and David Bowie4:20
- 9RepetitionDavid Bowie3:01
- 10Red SailsDavid Bowie and Brian Eno3:48
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Tony Visconti
- Recorded at
- Mountain Studios, The Record Plant (New York City), Château d'Hérouville, Mountain (Montreux, Switzerland)
- Recorded
- September 1978, March 1979
- Mixed by
- Rod O’Brien, Tony Visconti
- Mixed at
- The Record Plant
- Engineered by
- Rod O’Brien, David Richards, Tony Visconti, Laurent Thibault
- Labels
- RCA, RCA Victor
- Length
- 35:14
Line-up
- Carlos Alomar · guitar, background vocals, drums (drum set)
- Adrian Belew · mandolin, guitar
- David Bowie · piano, background vocals, synthesizer, chamberlin, guitar
- Dennis Davis · drums (drum set), tambourine, background vocals, percussion
- Brian Eno · electronic instruments, analog synthesizer, prepared piano, background vocals, piano, French horn, trumpet
- Simon House · mandolin, violin, background vocals
- Sean Mayes · piano
- George Murray · bass, background vocals
- Tony Visconti · mandolin, background vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, bass
- Roger Powell · analog synthesizer · guest
- Stan Harrison · saxophone · guest
Singles
- “Boys Keep Swinging" / "Fantastic Voyage” · 27 April 1979
- “D.J." / "Repetition” · 29 June 1979
- “Yassassin" / "Repetition” · July 1979 (Netherlands only)
- “Look Back in Anger" / "Repetition” · 20 August 1979 (US and Canada only)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1979 | 4 |
| New Zealand Albums (RIANZ) · 1979 | 3 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts) · 1979 | 5 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 1979 | 9 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1979 | 11 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1979 | 11 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) · 1979 | 11 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) · 1979 | 13 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1979 | 15 |
| US Billboard Top LPs & Tape · 1979 | 20 |
All 11 charts
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1979 | 32 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1979 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
82.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.7k
ListenBrainz listeners
142k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
9.2k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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1967
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1969
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1970
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1970
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1971
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1972
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1973
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1977
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1977
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1978
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1978
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1980
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1980
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1980
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1981
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1981
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1982
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1983
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1983
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1983
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1984
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1989
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1990
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1993
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1993
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1993
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1979-05-25; musicbrainz + wikidata 1979-05-18 (7 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 18 May 1979 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 25 May 1979 | |
| Wikidata | 18 May 1979 | |
| US release | 1979 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 18 May 1979 | earliest UK or European date |
27 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | EMI | 0077779772421 | other |
| — | XW | Parlophone | 190295842666 | remaster |
| 1979 | US | RCA | other | |
| 1979 | US | RCA | other | |
| 18 May 1979 | GB | RCA Victor | original | |
| June 1979 | NZ | RCA | other | |
| 1984 | XE | RCA International | 0035628423412 | other |
| 1984 | XE | RCA | 0035628423429 | other |
| 1984 | US | RCA | 078635325423 | other |
| 1991 | XE | EMI | 0077779772421 | other |
| 1991 | US | Rykodisc | 014431014628 | remaster |
| 1991 | GB | EMI | 0077779772414 | other |
| 1999 | XE | EMI | 724352190904 | other |
| 1999 | CA | EMI | 724352190904 | other |
| 20 September 1999 | GB | EMI | 724352190904 | other |
| 28 September 1999 | US | Virgin | other | |
| 28 September 1999 | US | Virgin | 724352190904 | other |
| 14 October 1999 | JP | EMI | 4988006775176 | remaster |
| 7 February 2007 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006850613 | other |
| 25 November 2009 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006876378 | other |
| 2013 | US | Parlophone | 724352190904 | remaster |
| 2013 | CA | Parlophone | 724352190904 | other |
| 29 September 2017 | XW | Parlophone | remaster | |
| 23 February 2018 | XE | Parlophone | 190295842673 | other |
| 23 February 2018 | JP | Warner Music Japan | 4943674278015 | other |
| 23 February 2018 | XE | Parlophone | 0190295842680 | remaster |
| 19 September 2025 | XW | Parlophone | 5021732852199 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 1500×1491 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |