Album · Compilation
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 is a compilation covering the stretch of David Bowie's career that runs from Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps in 1980 to Never Let Me Down in 1987. That takes in the Let's Dance and Tonight years, when the English singer-songwriter was working in a very different musical landscape from his 1970s records. It was released on 19 March 2007 by Virgin.
The CD first appeared through EMI as part of The Platinum Collection in 2005/2006, and this edition belongs to EMI's Sight & Sound series, which pairs a CD with a DVD from the same artist. The DVD is the reason to look twice: it includes the videos for "When the Wind Blows" and "The Drowned Girl", neither of which had been out on DVD before.
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987: tracklist and credits
19 tracks · 1:17:12Tracklist
- 1Let’s Dance (single version)David Bowie4:08
- 2Ashes to Ashes (single version)David Bowie3:37
- 3Under PressureBowie, Deacon, May, Mercury, Taylor4:06
- 4Fashion (single version)David Bowie3:26
- 5Modern Love (single version)David Bowie3:59
- 6China Girl (single version)David Bowie and Iggy Pop4:17
- 7Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (single version)David Bowie3:32
- 8Up the Hill BackwardsDavid Bowie3:16
- 9Alabama SongKurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht3:52
- 10Drowned GirlKurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht2:27
- 11Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (film version single edit)Giorgio Moroder and David Bowie4:12
- 12This Is Not AmericaMays, Metheny, Bowie3:51
- 13Loving the AlienDavid Bowie7:09
- 14Absolute Beginners (single version)David Bowie5:38
- 15When the Wind BlowsDavid Bowie and Erdal Kızılçay3:35
- 16Blue JeanDavid Bowie3:12
- 17Day‐In Day‐Out (single version)David Bowie4:11
- 18Time Will CrawlDavid Bowie4:19
- 19Underground (single version)David Bowie4:27
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Nile Rodgers, Tony Visconti, Queen, Giorgio Moroder, Pat Metheny, Derek Bramble, Hugh Padgham, Clive Langer, Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley, Alan Winstanley, David Richards, Arif Mardin, Producer varies from track to track
- Recorded at
- Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Good Earth Studios, Hansa Studios, Mountain Studios, Le Studio
- Recorded
- 1979–1987
- Mixed by
- Bob Clearmountain, Tony Visconti, David Bowie, Hugh Padgham
- Engineered by
- Bob Clearmountain, David Bowie, Tony Visconti, Eduard Meyer, Marcellus Frank, David Richards, Hugh Padgham, Malcolm Pollack
- Labels
- Virgin, EMI/Virgin
- Length
- 1:17:12
Line-up
- Stevie Ray Vaughan · guitar · guest
- David Bowie · lead vocals, vocals, background vocals, keyboard
- Robert Aaron · flute, tenor saxophone · guest
- Steve Elson · baritone saxophone, flute · guest
- Sammy Figueroa · percussion, congas, wood block · guest
- Mac Gollehon · trumpet · guest
- Omar Hakim · drums (drum set) · guest
- Stan Harrison · flute, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone · guest
- Nile Rodgers · guitar · guest
- Carmine Rojas · bass, electric bass guitar · guest
- Rob Sabino · keyboard · guest
- Frank Simms · background vocals · guest
- George Simms · background vocals · guest
- David Spinner · background vocals · guest
- Carlos Alomar · guitar, background vocals
- Roy Bittan · piano · guest
- Dennis Davis · drums (drum set) · guest
- Robert Fripp · guitar · guest
- George Murray · electric bass guitar, background vocals · guest
- Tony Visconti · acoustic guitar, vocals, background vocals · guest
- Lynn Maitland · vocals · guest
- Chris Porter · vocals · guest
- Adrian Belew · guitar, background vocals · guest
- Simon House · electric violin · guest
- Sean Mayes · piano, background vocals · guest
- Roger Powell · analog synthesizer · guest
- Ralf Armbruster · trombone · guest
- Rolf Becker · cello · guest
- Ulrich Berggold · double bass · guest
- Michael Bucher · tuba · guest
- Ingo Cramer · acoustic guitar · guest
- Thomas Hoffman · drums (drum set) · guest
- Bernd Machus · bandoneón · guest
- Erwin Milzkott · flute · guest
- Axel-Glenn Müller · clarinet · guest
- Eckehard Scholl · piano · guest
- René Waintz · trumpet · guest
- Uwe Weniger · viola · guest
- Lyle Mays · analog synthesizer, marimba, keyboard · guest
- Pat Metheny · electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, synclavier · guest
- Steve Rodby · electric bass guitar · guest
- Paul Wertico · drums (drum set) · guest
- Pat Metheny Group · guest
- Derek Bramble · analog synthesizer, bass, guitar, keyboard, synthesizer, electric bass guitar · guest
- Mark Pender · trumpet · guest
- Lenny Pickett · tenor saxophone · guest
- Guy St. Onge · marimba · guest
- Rob Yale · synthesizer · guest
- Robin Clark · background vocals · guest
- Curtis King · background vocals · guest
- Erdal Kızılçay · bass, congas, drums (drum set), guitar, horn, keyboard, sampler, strings, synthesizer · guest
- Crusher Bennett · percussion · guest
- Peter Frampton · guitar · guest
- Sid McGinnis · guitar · guest
- Philippe Saisse · keyboard · guest
- Diva Gray · background vocals · guest
- Gordon Grody · background vocals · guest
- Lani Groves · background vocals · guest
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
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Released the same week
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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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1972
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1973
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1973
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1973
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1973
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1974
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1974
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1975
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1976
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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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1979
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1980
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1980
The Best of Bowie
1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1981
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1981
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1982
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1982
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1983
Serious Moonlight
1983
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1983
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1983
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1983
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1984
Love You Till Tuesday
1984
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1984
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1986
Never Let Me Down
1987
Glass Spider
1988
Sound + Vision
1989
Changesbowie
1990
Early On (1964–1966)
1991
Black Tie White Noise
1993
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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
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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
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)
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How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 19 March 2007 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 19 March 2007 | |
| Wikidata | 2007 | |
| US release | 2007 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 19 March 2007 | earliest UK or European date |
3 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | US | Virgin | 094638658726 | other |
| 19 March 2007 | GB | EMI | 094638647829 | original |
| 19 March 2007 | CA | Parlophone | 5099969553653 | original |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1000×1000 | upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |