The song dealt with Bowie’s feelings for his schizophrenic half-brother Terry, who had committed suicide on 16 January 1985. The lyrics tell of a man pushed to utter desperation by the pressure put on him. Bowie has also cited his own feelings about jumping into the unknown metaphysically. Musically, the influence of Nile Rodgers led to a funk-based sound, though the track was also influenced by contemporary jazz, with a solo from avant-jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie.
As the lead-off single, “Jump They Say” received a considerable promotional push from Bowie’s new label, Savage Records (though Arista Records distributed the package in Europe). A striking video was shot by Mark Romanek, depicting Bowie as a businessman paranoid of his colleagues, who seemingly conduct experiments on him and find him a disturbing influence, forcing him to jump from the roof of the corporate building to his death. The video is heavily influenced by Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film Alphaville, as well as Chris Marker’s film La jetée and Orson Welles’ The Trial – both from 1962. The uniformed women shown monitoring Bowie through high powered telescopes are an homage to the stewardesses in the Pan-Am space plane in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. The song, while not Bowie’s first release since Tin Machine, was pushed as a comeback single, and reached No. 9 in the UK charts – Bowie’s only top 10 single between 1986’s “Absolute Beginners” and 2013’s “Where Are We Now?”
While Bowie opted not to tour for the Black Tie White Noise album, the song would feature on his 1995 Outside Tour.
Track listing
7″ version
“Jump They Say (Radio edit)” – 3:53
“Pallas Athena (Don’t Stop Praying Mix)” – 5:36
12″: Arista / 74321 139421 (EU)
“Jump They Say (Hardhands Mix)” – 5:40
“Jump They Say (Full album version)” – 4:22
“Jump They Say (Leftfield 12″ vocal)” – 7:42
“Jump They Say (Dub Oddity Mix)” 4:44
12″: Arista / 74 321 13 69 61 (EU)
“Jump They Say (Club Hart remix)” – 5:05
“Jump They Say (JAE-E Mix)” – 5:32
“Jump They Say (JAE-E Dub)” – 4:48
“Jump They Say (Leftfield remix)” – 7:41
“Jump They Say (Dub Oddity, another Leftfield remix)” – 5:36
“Pallas Athena (Don’t Stop Praying Mix)” – 5:36
CD: Arista / 74321 13696 2 (EU)
“Jump They Say (Radio edit)” – 3:53
“Jump They Say (JAE-E edit)” – 3:58
“Jump They Say (Club Hart remix)” – 5:05
“Jump They Say (Leftfield 12″ vocal)” – 7:42
“Pallas Athena (Album version)” – 4:40
“Pallas Athena (Don’t Stop Praying Mix)” – 5:36
CD: Arista/ 74321 139422 (UK)
“Jump They Say (7″ version)” – 3:53
“Jump They Say (Hard Hands Mix)” – 5:40
“Jump They Say (JAE-E Mix)” – 5:32
“Pallas Athena (Don’t Stop Praying Mix)” – 5:36
includes “exclusive 8-page discography”
released in 2CD case to house CD2 as well
CD: Arista / 74321 139432 (UK)
“Jump They Say (Brothers in Rhythm Mix)” – 8:28
“Jump They Say (Brothers in Rhythm Instrumental)” – 6:25
“Jump They Say (Leftfield 12″ vocal)” – 7:42
“Jump They Say (Full album version)” – 4:22
CD: Savage Records / 74785-50034-2 (USA)
“Jump They Say (Album Version)” – 4:23
“Jump They Say (Radio Edit 1)” – 4.02
“Jump They Say (Club Hart remix)” – 5:05
“Jump They Say (Leftfield Remix)” – 7:41
“Pallas Athena (Album version)” – 4:40
“Pallas Athena (Don’t Stop Praying Mix)” – 5:36
Jump They Say (Radio Edit 1) is remixed by JAE-E and is the same as Jump They Say (JAE-E edit)
12″: Arista / BIR 1 (US) (Promotional)
“Jump They Say (Brothers in Rhythm Mix)” – 8:28
“Jump They Say (Brothers in Rhythm Instrumental)” – 6:25
12″: Savage Records/BMG / 74785-50042-1(US)
A1. “Jump They Say (Brothers in Rhythm mix)” – 8:24
A2. “Jump They Say (Leftfield remix)” – 7:41
A3. “Jump They Say (JAE-E remix)” – 5:32
B1. “Jump They Say (Brothers in Rhythm edit)” – 3:54
B2. “Jump They Say (Dub Oddity remix)” – 6:13
B3. “Pallas Athena (Don’t Stop Praying remix)” – 5:36
Producers:
Nile Rodgers
Musicians:
David Bowie: Lead Vocals, Saxophone
Nile Rodgers: Guitar, Drum Loops
Barry Campbell: Bass Guitar
Richard Hilton: Keyboards
Lester Bowie: Trumpet
Charts
Chart Peak / position
Australian Singles Chart 53
Canadian Singles Chart 26
Dutch Singles Chart 17
Norwegian Singles Chart 7
UK Singles Chart 9
US Dance/Club Play 6
Other releases
The radio edit version appeared on some editions of the compilations Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993, Best of Bowie and Nothing Has Changed.
The Leftfield 12″ vocal mix was released on a UK limited release of the single “Little Wonder” in January 1997.
The “JAE-E edit” (called “alternate mix”) was released as a bonus track on the CD-version of Black Tie White Noise.
On the bonus disc following the 10th anniversary edition of Black Tie White Noise, three remixes of “Jump They Say” appeared: “Rock Mix”, “Brothers in Rhythm 12″ Remix” and “Dub Oddity”.
