Absolute Beginners

Single A-side, 1986

Probably the best thing about Julien Temple’s well-intentioned 1986 adaptation of Colin MacInnes’s era-defining 1959 book of the same name was its extraordinary title track. Its composition took Bowie – mourning the recent death by suicide of his half-brother Terry Burns

– back to the very peak of his form. An epic BowieLanger-Winstanley production, complete with ABBA-alike Rick Wakeman piano flourishes, it’s rendered perfect by a wild-card personnel decision. Bowie wanted someone who sounded ‘like a shop girl’. Guitarist Kevin Armstrong said: “My sister works in a shop,” and so the entirely untested

Janet Armstrong supplied a co-vocal that charms beyond the capabilities of any seasoned pro.