Album · Soundtrack
The Buddha of Suburbia
The Buddha of Suburbia is David Bowie's nineteenth studio album, released on 8 November 1993 through Arista in the UK and Europe. It grew out of a conversation with the novelist Hanif Kureishi while Bowie was promoting Black Tie White Noise, when he agreed to write music for a television adaptation of Kureishi's novel. After laying down basic tracks, Bowie chose to expand the project into a full record, made with Erdal Kızılçay at Mountain Studios in Montreux in just six days, with Mike Garson adding piano overdubs.
Only the title track made it into the serial, and the album itself drifts through rock, pop, ambient, jazz and experimental ideas, with nods to his late-1970s work. Apart from three instrumentals, the lyrics avoid a straight narrative. It sold poorly and got little promotion, though British critics were kind, and many have since called it a forgotten gem. Bowie named it his favourite of his albums in 2003.
The Buddha of Suburbia: tracklist and credits
10 tracks · 55:31Tracklist
- 1Buddha of SuburbiaDavid Bowie4:29
- 2Sex and the ChurchDavid Bowie6:24
- 3South HorizonDavid Bowie5:25
- 4The MysteriesDavid Bowie7:12
- 5Bleed Like a Craze, DadDavid Bowie5:23
- 6Strangers When We MeetDavid Bowie4:59
- 7Dead Against ItDavid Bowie5:48
- 8Untitled No. 1David Bowie5:03
- 9Ian Fish, U.K. HeirDavid Bowie6:29
- 10Buddha of SuburbiaDavid Bowie4:21
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Erdal Kızılçay, David Richards
- Recorded at
- Mountain Studios, O’Henry Sound Studios, Mountain (Montreux, Switzerland), O'Henry (Burbank, California)
- Recorded
- August 1993
- Mixed by
- David Bowie, David Richards
- Engineered by
- David Richards, Erdal Kızılçay, Mike Ruggieri
- Label
- Arista
- Length
- 55:31
Line-up
- David Bowie · synthesizer, alto saxophone, background vocals, lead vocals, saxophone, keyboard, guitar
- Erdal Kızılçay · drums (drum set), synthesizer, guitar, keyboard, bass, organ, trumpet, piano, percussion
- Mike Garson · piano · guest
- 3D Echo · drums (drum set) · guest
- Rob Clydesdale · guitar · guest
- Paul Davidson · bass · guest
- Isaac Prevost · drums (drum set) · guest
- Lenny Kravitz · guitar · guest
Singles
- “The Buddha of Suburbia” · 22 November 1993
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
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Released the same week
Also released on 8 November
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More on Arista
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | December 1993 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 8 November 1993 | |
| Wikidata | 8 November 1993 | |
| UK / Europe release | 1993 | earliest UK or European date |
7 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | XE | Arista | 743211700429 | other |
| December 1993 | GB | Arista | original | |
| 1994 | US | Virgin Records America, Inc. | 724384098827 | other |
| 14 September 2007 | FR | EMI | 5099950046324 | other |
| 27 September 2007 | US | — | 5099950046454 | other |
| 7 October 2007 | US | EMI | 5099950046324 | other |
| 2021 | XW | Rhino | 190295253394 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×597 | upscaled |