David Bowie

Rebel Rebel

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Official music video for the track Rebel Rebel by David Bowie.

David Bowie performs his 1974 smash-hit 'Rebel Rebel' from his eighth studio album 'Diamond Dogs,' as part of his 2003/04 'A Reality Tour'. With 118 dates in 24 countries, this was the second largest tour of his illustrious career, and 'Rebel Rebel' was played as the opener for the majority of the shows.

Written and produced by Bowie himself, the track was released as a single in February 1974, with a longer edit on 'Diamond Dogs'. It reached #5 in the UK charts and #64 in the US, has remained one of the most memorable songs of that era. 'Rebel Rebel' was Bowie's final song in the glam-rock style that had become his trademark and given him so much success with past records 'Changes' and 'Life on Mars?'.

Having revealed his bisexuality three years earlier, the theme of 'Rebel Rebel' is a teenage boy defying his parents by dressing as a transvestite. This went down a storm with the Glam-crazy audiences in 1970s Britain. With iconic lines like "Rebel, rebel, you've torn your dress," and "your mother(s)... in a whirl, not sure if you're a boy or a girl," the song expressed Bowie's on views on life and sexuality, with his shows at the time often seeing him wearing ladies' clothes. It was also his first hit in five years that didn't feature Mick Ronson on the guitar, with Bowie himself lead guitarist.

This video was recorded for the 'A Reality Tour DVD' in Dublin's Point Theatre in November 2003, and shows a lot of crowd interaction, particularly when singing the chorus of "Rebel rebel, how could they know, Hot tramp, I love you so!", as Bowie performs on a platform extruding into the audience.

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