“Modern Love” was the third single from the album Let’s Dance in 1983.
Bowie claimed the song was inspired by Little Richard, and it maintains the album’s theme of a struggle between God and man.
By the time “Modern Love” was issued and edited as a single, Bowie’s Serious Moonlight Tour was underway. The track had become a popular encore on the tour, and Jim Yukich’s video for the song used footage of Bowie and his band performing the song from concert in Philadelphia on 20 July 1983. A live version, recorded in Montreal on 13 July, was on the B-side.
The single reached No. 2 in the UK, and No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100. As well as being a staple of the tour, it featured in Bowie’s set at Live Aid in 1985, and in his subsequent Glass Spider and Sound+Vision tours of 1987 and 1990. A re-recording with Tina Turner was also featured on a Pepsi commercial in 1987.
Track listing
Side A. Modern Love (Edited Version) (Bowie) 3:56
Engineer, Mixed By – Bob Clearmountain
Side B. Modern Love [Live]” (Bowie) — 3:43
Mixed By – Jason Corsaro, Nile Rodgers
Description
Label: EMI America – 1C 006 1867627
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Germany
Released: 09 Sep 1983
Recorded at:
Recorded date:
Media Condition: Mint (M)
\Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
ring wear: NO
All three seams looking perfect: YES
Picture sleeve looks near mint: YES
creases or folds: NO
stamps or writing: NO
Producers
Nile Rodgers
David Bowie
Musicians
David Bowie: Vocals
Stevie Ray Vaughan: Guitar on “Modern Love”
Nile Rodgers: Guitar on “Modern Love”
Carmine Rojas: Bass
Tony Thompson: Drums
Robert Sabino: Keyboards and Piano on “Modern Love”
Robert Aaron: Saxophone on “Modern Love”
Stan Harrison, Steve Elson: Saxophone
Sam Figueroa: Percussion
Earl Slick: Guitar on “Modern Love (Live)”
Carlos Alomar: Guitar on “Modern Love (Live)”
Andy Clark: Keyboards on “Modern Love (Live)”
Lenny Pickett: Saxophone on “Modern Love (Live)”
Frank Simms, George Simms: Backing vocals on “Modern Love (Live)”
Other album appearances
The song has appeared on several compilations, almost always in its single edit form:
Changesbowie (1990)
Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
The Singles Collection (1993)
Best of Bowie (2002)
Sound + Vision (2003 and later editions) – live B-side version
The Platinum Collection (2006)
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 (2007)
Nothing Has Changed (2014)
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