Sorry

Written by: Hunt Sales
Recorded: September-October 1989; 1991
Producers: Tin Machine, Tim Palmer
Engineer: Justin Shirley-Smith

Released: 2 September 1991

Available on:
Tin Machine II
Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby

Personnel

Hunt Sales: vocals, drums
David Bowie: vocals, saxophone
Reeves Gabrels: guitar
Tony Sales: bass guitar, vocals

‘Sorry’ was written and sung by drummer Hunt Sales, and appeared on the second Tin Machine album.

The song is an apology for hurt caused by a drug abuser; the words “my eyes are pinned” suggests heroin.

Outside of David, I was the only one who sang on those records. You can get a little bit of an idea of where I’m coming from with ‘Sorry’ and ‘Stateside’.

Hunt Sales’ addiction problems were reportedly a key factor in the demise of Tin Machine. Bowie never fully explained the reasons, but indicated that drugs were certainly a factor.

I look back on the Tin Machine years with great fondness. They charged me up. I can’t tell you how much. Then personal problems within the band became the reason for its demise. It’s not for me to talk about them, but it became physically impossible for us to carry on. And that was pretty sad really.

Carlos Alomar claimed that Bowie was troubled by Sales’ drug use, citing it as a contributory factor for Tin Machine’s split.

I did find out that David was very unhappy during the Tin Machine stuff. He was very unhappy because of the drug problem they had with one of the band members, Hunt Sales. It’s a terrible blow when you find that one of the band members is lying to you and, more importantly, lying to himself. David was depressed because of his inability to deal with that drug problem. You know, if you get ready to do a show and one of the members is totally out of it, it’s gonna affect you considerably. Particularly when the die is cast and you’ve thrown yourself in with the lot of them. What are you gonna do?

Live performances

Tin Machine had performed ‘Sorry’ during their first tour in 1989, with a hard rock arrangement. It was recast as a ballad for Tin Machine II.

The band performed the newer arrangement during the It’s My Life Tour in 1991-2.