Album
Tonight
Tonight is David Bowie's sixteenth studio album, released on 24 September 1984 through EMI America. It followed Let's Dance, his biggest commercial success, and was written and recorded in mid-1984 at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Canada, once the Serious Moonlight Tour had finished. Bowie co-produced with Derek Bramble and Hugh Padgham, and many of the musicians from the previous record and tour returned. Artwork by Mick Haggerty shows Bowie painted blue against an oil painting backdrop.
With no fresh ideas gathered on the road, Bowie wrote just two new songs. Three others were covers of numbers he had co-written with Iggy Pop, including the title track, a duet with Tina Turner. The sound stays close to Let's Dance, with touches of R&B and reggae. It reached number one in the UK, with "Blue Jean", "Tonight" and "Loving the Alien" as singles. Reviews were poor and Bowie later admitted it was not among his stronger efforts, but it is an interesting record to hear for the Pop connection and the Turner duet.
Tonight: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 35:53Tracklist
- 1Loving the AlienDavid Bowie7:11
- 2Don’t Look DownIggy Pop and James Williamson4:12
- 3God Only KnowsBrian Wilson and Tony Asher3:09
- 4TonightDavid Bowie and Iggy Pop3:47
- 5Neighborhood ThreatBowie, Gardiner, Pop3:13
- 6Blue JeanDavid Bowie3:12
- 7Tumble and TwirlDavid Bowie and Iggy Pop4:59
- 8I Keep ForgettingMike Stoller and Jerry Leiber2:35
- 9Dancing With the Big BoysAlomar, Bowie, Pop3:35
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Derek Bramble, Hugh Padgham
- Recorded at
- Le Studio, Le Studio (Morin-Heights, Canada)
- Recorded
- May–June 1984
- Mixed by
- David Bowie, Hugh Padgham
- Engineered by
- Hugh Padgham
- Mastered by
- Bob Ludwig
- Artwork
- Mick Haggerty
- Label
- EMI America
- Length
- 35:53
Line-up
- Carlos Alomar · guitar family, guitar, cuatro
- Derek Bramble · bass guitar, guitar, synthesizer, analog synthesizer, bass, keyboard, piano, electric bass guitar
- Steve Elson · baritone saxophone, background vocals
- Sammy Figueroa · percussion, congas, wood block, tambourine
- Omar Hakim · membranophone, drums (drum set)
- Stan Harrison · alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Mark Pender · flugelhorn, trumpet
- Lenny Pickett · clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Carmine Rojas · bass guitar, electric bass guitar
- Guy St. Onge · marimba
- Robin Clark · vocals, background vocals
- Curtis King · vocals, background vocals
- George Simms · vocals, background vocals
- Rob Yale · synthesizer · guest
- David Bowie · lead vocals, percussion
- Tina Turner · lead vocals · guest
- Arif Mardin · synthesizer · guest
- Iggy Pop · lead vocals · guest
Singles
- “Blue Jean” · 10 September 1984
- “Tonight” · November 1984
- “Loving the Alien” · May 1985
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1984 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1984 | 1 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1984 | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1984 | 3 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 1984 | 3 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1984 | 4 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1984 | 4 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1984 | 4 |
| Swedish Albums · 1984 | 4 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) · 1984 | 7 |
All 16 charts
| Austrian Albums · 1984 | 8 |
| Swiss Albums · 1984 | 8 |
| West German Albums (GfK Entertainment) · 1984 | 8 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1984 | 9 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2019 | 10 |
| US Billboard Top 200 Albums · 1984 | 11 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1984 | 2× Platinum |
| France · 1985 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Gold |
| Spain · 1984 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1984 | Gold |
| United States · 1984 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
82.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
7.2k
ListenBrainz listeners
94k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
8.8k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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More on EMI America
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1984-09-24; musicbrainz + wikidata 1984-09-01 (23 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 September 1984 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 24 September 1984 | |
| Wikidata | 1 September 1984 | |
| US release | 21 September 1984 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1 September 1984 | earliest UK or European date |
18 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | XE | EMI America | 5099924022712 | other |
| 1984 | XE | EMI America | other | |
| 1 September 1984 | GB | — | original | |
| 21 September 1984 | US | EMI America | 077771713811 | other |
| 24 September 1984 | GB | EMI America | 5099924022712 | other |
| 1985 | US | EMI America | 077774604727 | other |
| 1995 | US | Virgin Records America, Inc. | 724384098322 | other |
| 1995 | XE | Virgin | 724384098322 | other |
| 1998 | GB | EMI | 724349310223 | other |
| 17 September 1999 | DE | EMI | 0724352189700 | other |
| 20 September 1999 | GB | EMI | 0724352189700 | other |
| 21 September 1999 | US | Virgin | 724352189700 | other |
| 2003 | NL | Disky | 8711539054045 | other |
| 7 March 2007 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006851153 | other |
| 23 December 2009 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006877252 | other |
| 2019 | XW | Parlophone | 190295671457 | remaster |
| 15 February 2019 | XE | Parlophone | 190295511173 | other |
| 15 February 2019 | XE | Parlophone | 190295692094 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1837x1837
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1837×1837 | native: native 1837x1837 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |