"New Killer Star" is a song written and performed by David Bowie in 2003 for his album Reality. This was the first single from the album.
| "New Killer Star" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by David Bowie | ||||
| from the album Reality | ||||
| B-side | "Love Missile F1-11" | |||
| Released | 29 September 2003 | |||
| Recorded | Looking Glass Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 4:40 (Album version) 3:43 (Radio edit) | |||
| Label | Columbia/ISO Records COL 674275 9 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Bowie | |||
| Producer(s) | David Bowie, Tony Visconti | |||
| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "New Killer Star" on YouTube | ||||
While it is uncertain what the song is really about (like other Bowie songs), the lyrics make oblique reference to life in post-9/11 New York City. However the video clip, directed by Brumby Boylston of National Television, tells a surreal story using lenticular-postcard-like images of a spaceship almost crashing into the modern American heartland. Bowie himself said of the song: "I'm not a political commentator, but I think there are times when I'm stretched to at least implicate what's happening politically in the songs that I'm writing. And there was some nod, in a very abstract way, toward the wrongs that are being made at the moment with the Middle Eastern situation. I think that song is a pretty good manifesto for the whole record."[1]
The song title is a play on the words 'nuclear star'.[2]
The B-side is a cover of Sigue Sigue Sputnik's "Love Missile F1-11".
Music video
editThe music video features lenticular images throughout.
Track listing
editCD: ISO-Columbia / COL 674275 1 (Italy)
edit- "New Killer Star" - 4:40
- "Love Missile F1-11"
CD: ISO-Columbia / 38K 3445 (Canada)
edit- "New Killer Star" (Edit) - 3:42
- "Love Missile F1-11"
DVD: ISO/Columbia COL 674275 9 (Austria)
edit- "New Killer Star (Video version)" - 3:40
- "Reality (Electronic Press Kit)"
- "Love Missile F1-11"
Charts
edit| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France | 69[3] |
| Italy (FIMI)[4] | 48 |
| Argentina | 5[5] |
Personnel
editAccording to Chris O'Leary:[6]
- David Bowie – vocals, rhythm guitar, Korg Trinity, keyboards
- Earl Slick – guitar
- David Torn – guitar
- Gail Ann Dorsey – background vocals
- Sterling Campbell – drums
- Catherine Russell – background vocals
- Tony Visconti – bass
- Mark Plati – bass
Production
- David Bowie – producer
- Tony Visconti – producer, engineer
- Mario J. McNulty – engineer
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "David Bowie Biography Archived 18 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine". Consulted on 29 April 2012.
- ^ "[1]".
- ^ Australian-Charts.com David Bowie New Killer Star, retrieved 1 November 2013
- ^ "David Bowie – New Killer Star". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ top40-charts.com David Bowie New Killer Star, retrieved 23 December 2015
- ^ O'Leary, Chris (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie 1976–2016. London: Repeater. p. 535. ISBN 978-1-91224-830-8.