Originally released on 29th June 1979, D.J. was the second and final single from Lodger in the UK and the follow up to Boys Keep Swinging. The Netherlands and Turkey would get Yassassin and the U.S. Look Back In Anger.

Echoing the method utilised for Robert Fripps improvisational guitar work on "Heroes", Bowie, Eno and Visconti assembled the guitar solo for D.J. from various deaf takes by Adrian Belew, wherein he played against backing tracks he hadnt heard previously and was further disoriented by being given no clue of chord structure or key before he soloed. The same method was used for Boys Keep Swinging and Red Sails, giving all three solos their improvised feel.

The single release was accompanied by another delightfully mad David Mallet-directed video featuring Bowie as nonchalant DJ in a radio station studio, gradually destroying the equipment and the room around him. These scenes are interspersed with footage of our man rubbing shoulders and getting friendly with some of the wonderful people of Earls Court in London, as he strolls through the evening in a long coat being accosted by various strangers. The whole thing is topped off with Bowie as gas-masked art terrorist, spray-painting the DJ logo.

The A side of this D.J. picture disc features a previously unreleased single edit of the track from the Lodger (2017 Tony Visconti Mix) included in the A New Career In A New Town box set.

Continued below...