Single release: Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide

David Bowie’s single ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide’ was released in the UK and USA on 11 April 1974.

The single was, by Bowie’s rapid speeds in the mid-70s, something of a throwback. Bowie had, since the release of 1972’s Ziggy Stardust album, put out Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups, and completed work on the forthcoming Diamond Dogs.

What’s more, the single’s b-side, ‘Quicksand’, was even older, dating from 1971’s Hunky Dory. RCA’s keenness to capitalise on Bowie’s success was, however, less favoured by record buyers, and the single was Bowie’s first for the label since ‘Changes’ to not reach the UK top 20.