Day 64 | The Bewlay Brothers.

I was thinking about this song because one of the reflections I read about Bowie recalled what a thrill it was that he performed it live at a concert I attended. It is sort of a random song that nobody was expecting but (seemingly) everyone knew. And much as is the case in this video, Bowie seemed pleasantly surprised by the strong audience reaction. I’ve read the song is vaguely about his relationship with his half-brother Terry who went insane and committed suicide. Bowie named a musical publishing company after the song and decided to perform it live for the first time as part of his touring set in the early 2000s. Like the oblique lyrics, his reasoning is probably impenetrable, but it’s a really good song and the live performance was special. Album: Hunky Dory.

Note from 2018: Sadly, the video I posted in 2018 — and as far as I can tell any video of Bowie singing this song—- has vanished. Here, however is an audio recording of him singing it live.