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"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
Single by David Bowie
from the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
B-side(s)	"Quicksand"
Released	April 1974
Format	7" single
Recorded	Trident Studios, London; November 1971
Genre	Glam rock
Length	2:57
Label	RCA LMBO 5201
Producer(s)	Ken Scott
Chart positions
#22 (UK)
David Bowie singles chronology
Rebel Rebel (1974)	Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (1974)	Diamond Dogs (1974)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars track listing
Side one "Five Years" "Soul Love" "Moonage Daydream" "Starman" "It Ain't Easy" Side two "Lady Stardust" "Star" "Hang on to Yourself" "Ziggy Stardust" "Suffragette City" "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"

Rock 'n' Roll Suicide was a single by David Bowie. The track was originally the closing song on the The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, detailing Ziggy’s final collapse as an old, washed-up rock star. As such, it was also the closing number of the Ziggy Stardust live show.

The lyrics of "Time takes a cigarette..." have their roots in the poem "Chants Andalous" by Spanish poet Manuel Machado where he writes: "Life is a cigarette/Cinder, ash and fire/Some smoke it in a hurry/Others savour it". Bowie has also referred to its source as being Baudelaire.

The "Oh no, love, you're not alone" lyrics appear to be a reference to a Jacques Brel song by the same name. Bowie covered Brel's "My Death" during some Ziggy Stardust live shows, and performed "Amsterdam" live on the BBC.

RCA, impatient for new material (having already rush-released "Rebel Rebel" from the Diamond Dogs sessions), apparently arbitrarily picked the song for single release. Considering its age, and the song being poorly suited to being a single, the release did well to reach twenty-two in the UK charts — Bowie's first RCA single to miss the British top-twenty since "Changes" in 1971.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Production credits 3 Live versions 4 Other releases 5 Cover versions 6 References

1. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" (Bowie) –2:57
2. "Quicksand" (Bowie) –5:03

• Producers:
  • Ken Scott

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie — vocals, guitar
  • Mick Ronson — guitar
  • Trevor Bolder — bass
  • Mick Woodmansey — drums

• Bowie played the song at the BBC show "Sounds of the 70s: Bob Harris" May 23, 1972. This was broadcasted on June 19, 1972 and in 2000 released on the album Bowie at the Beeb.
• A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72.
• The version played at the famous concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, July 3, 1973 was released on Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture. In this version Bowie said these famous words before starting the song: "Everybody...this has been one of the greatest tours of our lives. I would like to thank the band. I would like to thank our road crew. I would like to thank our lighting people. Of all of the shows on this tour, this particular show will remain with us the longest because not only is it--not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do. Thank you.” This version also appeared in the Sound + Vision boxed set.
• A recording from the 1974 tour was released on David Live. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal A Portrait in Flesh.

• It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.
• It also appeared on the following compilations:
  • The Best of David Bowie (Japan 1974)
  • Best of Bowie (1980)
  • Bowie - The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
  • The Singles Collection (1993)
  • The Best of 1969/1974 (1997)

• Neal Morse - Cover to Cover
• The Bollock Sisters - Maxi-Single
• Tally Brown
• El Vez - G.I. Ay Ay! Blues and the A Lad from Spain? EP (1996)
• Tony Hadley - David Bowie Songbook
• Seu Jorge - Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
• Info Riot - Ashes to Ashes: a Tribute to David Bowie (1998)
• Aslan
• Black Box Recorder - The Worst of Black Box Recorder (2001)
• Rilo Kiley
• John Frusciante - Live Amsterdam 2001

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5