Written by: David Bowie
Recorded: 1997
Producers: David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, Mark Plati
Released: 7 February 2020
Available on:
Is It Any Wonder?
Personnel
David Bowie: vocals
Reeves Gabrels: guitar
Mark Plati: keyboards, programming
‘Nuts’ is an outtake from David Bowie’s Earthling sessions, which remained unreleased until 2020.
The track was recorded and mixed in 1997 at Philip Glass’s Looking Glass Studios in New York, but left off the Earthling album. Indeed, for many years the existence of ‘Nuts’ was unknown to the majority of Bowie fans.
It was finally released on Is It Any Wonder?, a six-track EP of tracks recorded between 1995 and 1997. The EP was released in 2020, first on streaming services, and later as a limited edition compact disc and vinyl edition.
Is It Any Wonder? contains reworkings of several Bowie songs. It was announced, along with the ChangesNowBowie album, on 8 January 2020, on what would have been Bowie’s 73rd birthday. Tracks were unveiled on streaming services over a six-week period.
The ChangesNowBowie version of ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ was made available on streaming platforms on 8 January, followed by five further tracks: ‘I Can’t Read ’97’ (17 January), ‘Stay ’97’ (24 January), ‘Baby Universal ’97’ (31 January), ‘Nuts’ (6 February), and ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ (Live Eno Mix) (14 February).
‘Nuts’ was first played on Mary Anne Hobbs’s BBC Radio 6 show on 6 February 2020, and was available on streaming services the following day.
Is It Any Wonder? was given a physical release on 20 March 2020. The vinyl version was limited to 6,000 copies, and the CD to 4,000.
Here’s the press release for the song:
DAVID BOWIE IS IT ANY WONDER? STREAMING EP OF UNRELEASED & RARE MATERIAL‘NUTS’ (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED) AVAILABLE NOW
THE FIFTH OF SIX TRACKS TO BE RELEASED OVER SIX WEEKS
‘NUTS’ (previously unreleased) is to be made available by Parlophone Records for streaming today as the penultimate release of DAVID BOWIE’s IS IT ANY WONDER? EP of six unreleased and rare tracks being released once a week.
The unreleased semi instrumental ‘NUTS’ was jointly written by David, Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati. It was recorded during the final Earthling sessions in November 1996, the same session during which ‘The Last Thing You Should Do’ was written and recorded.
Both songs were being recorded as bonus tracks but then, at the last minute David swapped out ‘I Can’t Read’ (released as track two from this streaming E.P. on 17th January) with ‘The Last Thing You Should Do’. However, ‘NUTS’ has remained unreleased until today.
‘NUTS’ Features Bowie on vocals, Reeves Gabrels on guitars & Mark Plati playing keyboards and programming. It was produced by David Bowie, co-produced by Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati and was recorded and Mixed by Mark Plati at Looking Glass Studios, NYC.