Single release: Fame

David Bowie’s single ‘Fame’ was issued as a single on 25 July 1975, four months after the Young Americans album’s release, with ‘Right’ on the b-side.

The single became Bowie’s first US number one, topping the Billboard Hot 100 before Bowie had achieved a similar feat in the United Kingdom.

That was my least favourite track on the album,, even though John had contributed to it and everything, and I had no idea, as with ‘Let’s Dance’, that that was what a commercial single is. I haven’t got a clue when it comes to singles. I just don’t know about them, I don’t get it, and ‘Fame’ was really out of left-field for me.

It also topped the Canadian singles chart, but fared less well in the UK, where it peaked at number 17.

John Lennon, Bowie’s collaborator on ‘Fame’, later drew a connection with ‘Whatever Gets You Thru The Night’, his own chart-topping collaboration with Elton John.

So he got his first number one. I felt like, that was like a karmic thing, you know. Elton gave… with me and Elton I got my first number one, so I passed it on to Bowie and he got his first and I like that track.

‘Fame’ was edited for single release from 4:21 to 3:30. This version was also included on the 1980 compilation The Best Of Bowie, and on Re:Call 2 in the 2016 box set Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976).