David Bowie 'Let's Dance' demo released to commemorate 71st Birthday

Nile Rodgers has spoken about the recording

David Bowie performs on stage at the Forum in Copenhagen October 7. 2003. (Nils Meilvang/AFP/Getty )

Today (8 January 2018) would have been David Bowie’s 71st birthday.

To celebrate, a previously unreleased demo of the Nile Rodger’s produced track ‘Let’s Dance’ has been released, featuring some slightly different guitar parts but retaining the track’s disco funk.

At the end of the demo, Bowie can be heard celebrating, saying “That’s it, that’s it! Got it! We got it!” Listen via Spotify below.

The song was originally featured on the 1983 album of the same name which Bowie recorded at his Switzerland home alongside the Chic guitarist.

Speaking about those early recording sessions, Rodger’s said: “I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career but my creative partnership with David Bowie ranks very, very, very high on the list of my most important and rewarding collaborations.

“This demo gives you, the fans, a bird’s eye view of the very start of it! I woke up on my first morning in Montreux with David peering over me. He had an acoustic guitar in his hands and exclaimed, ‘Nile, darling, I think this is a HIT!’

“This recording was the first indication of what we could do together as I took his ‘folk song’ and arranged it into something that the entire world would soon be dancing to and seemingly has not stopped dancing to for the last 35 years! It became the blue print not only for ‘Let’s Dance’ the song but for the entire album as well.”

‘Let’s Dance’ went on to top the UK and US singles chart in 1983, quickly becoming one of Bowie’s best known songs. Following the singer’s death in early 2016, the song re-entered the UK charts, reaching number 23.

Bowie died on the 10 January 2016, just two days after his 69th birthday, following a battle with cancer.