Is it my imagination or was there another song that sounded almost just like the chorus on Bowie's "All The Young Dudes"?

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Because I don't remember hearing "All The Young Dudes" until a while after it came out (like some point in the mid-80s), and yet I remember a song I used to hear on the radio that sounded a lot like that chorus. So maybe it actually was that song? Or maybe it's such a common melody that it's not a sensible question.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 00:43 (twenty-two years ago)

(My older brother didn't have any Bowie albums, so I only knew his songs from radio play.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 00:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I know what you're talking about. I don't know WHERE I could have heard the chorus, but I had that melody in my head LONG before I knew what "All The Young Dudes" was. I might have heard it in an ad or something.

On a side note, I totally thought the lyrics included the line "fruit of the loom"

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 21 March 2004 00:48 (twenty-two years ago)

an oasis song perhaps?

― cozen (Cozen), Sunday, 21 March 2004 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

And "Panic In Detroit" has a very strong clave feel.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 01:13 (twenty-two years ago)

The guitars are basically playing a clave pattern most of the time and there are congas, I think.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"conscious" by anything box! but obviously wasn't released before "all the young dudes"

― fernando, Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:25 (twenty-two years ago)

The chorus to 'Stand by Me' by Oasis is pretty much identical to the chorus in 'All the Young Dudes'.

― pete s, Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I believe there is an Oasis song that totally rips this off but who can be bothered remembering what Oasis songs are called?

(My older brother didn't have any Bowie albums, so I only knew his songs from radio play.)

But it's not on any Bowie albums... is it?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Oops, pete s can be bothered more than me!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm pretty sure I am thinking of something that came out before "All The Young Dudes." My exposure to Oasis has been extremely limited. (OR "All The Young Dudes" is actually the song I'm thinking of.)

Dadaismus, you are confusing me. Was it just a Bowie single?

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Fuckin' Mott the fuckin' Hoople! "All the Young Dudes" was written expressly by Bowie for Mott the Hoople, who had just split up. Bowie was a fan of Mott, Overend Watts (bassist thereof) phoned Bowie up just after Mott had split (see "The Ballad of Mott" on the album "Mott") looking for some work, Bowie expressed considerable disappointment at the news of their dissolution and said that he had a song that would be perfect for them. Result: Mott re-form, record "All the Young Dudes", Top 5 hit in the UK and put out two good albums ("All the Young Dudes" and 'The Hoople") and one classic album ("Mott"). Bowie never officially released "Dudes" at the time, or did he?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe I'm just thinking of the Mott the Hoople version. I hadn't realized there was one.

x-post

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:40 (twenty-two years ago)

The chorus to 'Stand by Me' by Oasis is pretty much identical to the chorus in 'All the Young Dudes'.

ATYD is in the key of D, and the chorus is a simple major scale descending motif until the V chord, A, which Bowie makes a minor instead of the expected major.

'Stand By Me' by Oasis is in G, and the chorus is the familiar progression I-V-ii, in this case G-D-Am. While there are many songs which share this progression ('Knockin' on Heaven's Door,' 'Fade Into You,' 'Like a Bird') it is distinct from 'All the Young Dudes.'

Care to retort?

― 57 7th (calstars), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know. I just know it's here on my Best of David Bowie compilation. (I'm definitely not a Bowie scholar.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:42 (twenty-two years ago)

It's less about the chords than the transcendent Mick Ralphs' guitar melody.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:43 (twenty-two years ago)

... and you're surely not about to deny that Noel Gallagher knew exactly what he was doing with the arrangement of this song?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Sunday, 21 March 2004 02:46 (twenty-two years ago)

'identical' in this case = pretty obviously filched and rejigged a little

― pete s, Sunday, 21 March 2004 03:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I've always thought the chorus of Tearz for Fearz " Sowing the seeds of love" sounded similiar...did i just say that!?

― darth nader, Sunday, 21 March 2004 06:47 (twenty-two years ago)

OMG, I was just about to say "Sowing the Seeds of Love," too! Honest!

― jaymc (jaymc), Sunday, 21 March 2004 09:32 (twenty-two years ago)

"Don't Look Back In Anger" is the first song that popped into my head when I read this thread title.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 21 March 2004 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

"Move On" on 'Lodger' was based on 'Dudes' played backwards apparently

― dave q, Sunday, 21 March 2004 12:15 (twenty-two years ago)

OMD's 'Walking On The Milky Way' is similar but only with the verses rather than the chorus really

― stevem (blueski), Sunday, 21 March 2004 12:32 (twenty-two years ago)

It implements what Julian Cope refers to as "The Glam Descend", whereby the bassline starts at the root, then the major 7th, 6th, 5th etc over the root chord. Done a million times (always to fabulous effect), see also Bowie's All You Pretty Things. But "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" is the one that immediately sprang to my mind when I saw the thread title, it's such an obvious ripoff.

― harveyw (harveyw), Sunday, 21 March 2004 13:39 (twenty-two years ago)

That's "*Oh* You Pretty Things", of course...

― harveyw (harveyw), Sunday, 21 March 2004 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

You mean like in the intro to 'Merry Xmas Everybody', Harvey ?

Or for that quite non-glam matter, the very opening of 'Blue Boy' by Orange Juice, if I remember rightly ?

― darren (darren), Sunday, 21 March 2004 18:29 (twenty-two years ago)

The thing about "Sowing the Seeds of Love" is that the melody doesn't sound exactly like "All the Young Dudes" -- but it is very easy to hear, in your head:

"All the young dudes
Carry the news
Sowing the seeds of love"
(from the end of the chorus of STSOL)

― jaymc (jaymc), Sunday, 21 March 2004 18:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Bowie's version was never a hit, at least in the United States. Mott the Hoople's was, and used to be on the radio quite often. I can't imagine that that's not what Rockist is talking about.

― chuck, Sunday, 21 March 2004 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Bowie's version was never released in any shape or form until it started appearing on compilation albums in the 80s and 90s (far as I know anyway)

From what I recall, the song was originally going to be on Ziggy Stardust but when he gave it to Mott he replaced it with "It Ain't Easy" which is bit of a shame as that doesn't fit the album at all but "All The Young Dudes" does perfectly.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), Sunday, 21 March 2004 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, "any shape or form" might be an exagerration; didn't he do it on that late '70s live album, *Stage*? (Nope, wrong -- I just checked, Bowie did it on his '74 live album, *Live.* Which was the live album I was thinking of, since it's the one he also did Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood" on, a couple years before Amii Stewart turned it into a huge disco hit. I've never heard *Stage,* I guess.)

― chuck, Sunday, 21 March 2004 23:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, it's definitely the Mott the Hoople version I was thinking of. It just somehow hadn't occurred to me that someone else might have recorded the song. I was making an assumption that it was on a Bowie album it isn't actually on. Checking allmusic.com would have sorted it out earlier. But if other people want to go off on tangents, that's fine as well.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Monday, 22 March 2004 02:06 (twenty-two years ago)

It kind of sounds like it should be a Plastic Ono Band song (not for most of the lyrics, but for everything else).

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Monday, 22 March 2004 02:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Also I don't think I actually heard the Bowie version in the 80's. Once again, I was thinking it was from an album I heard then (because of where it falls chronologically on this compilation).

(I have heard the Italian version of "Space Oddity" though and it is good.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Monday, 22 March 2004 02:12 (twenty-two years ago)

a bowie version of the track appears on the Ziggy live soundtrack .. this was released in the 80's. a great song.

― mark e (mark e), Monday, 22 March 2004 10:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Baby Don't Cry - INXS is another one that is not the answer...

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 22 March 2004 10:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought it was originally penned in for Aladdin Sane. Bowie's version is on the 30th anniversary edition from last year.

― David Gunnip (David Gunnip), Monday, 22 March 2004 13:20 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

"God gave rock and roll to ya" by Kiss is even nearer than the Oasis thing. Being along the same sort of lines lyrically too, and nicking the recovery turnaround at the end of the sequence.

― rockin robin, Wednesday, 12 April 2006 08:47 (nineteen years ago)

I was going to say "Baby don't cry" but someone already has, so instead I'll say "Telephone Line" ELO.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 09:00 (nineteen years ago)

Oh! It was me!

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 09:00 (nineteen years ago)

"God gave rock and roll to ya" by Kiss

is this the same song as "God Gave Rock&Roll to You" by Argent? Now that I think abt it, the latter has a chorus similar to ATYD.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 09:14 (nineteen years ago)

It is, yes. The original version, no less.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 09:21 (nineteen years ago)

eighteen years pass...

Is there a mercury rev song that sounds like all the young dudes

― plax (ico), Wednesday, 12 June 2024 20:26 (one year ago)

"Telephone Line" ELO

this is totally it! great work

― budo jeru, Wednesday, 12 June 2024 22:21 (one year ago)

green day's 21 guns is another thinly veiled descendant since

― you can see me from westbury white horse, Thursday, 13 June 2024 08:25 (one year ago)

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