“87 and Cry” by David Bowie

"87 and Cry" sits on Never Let Me Down, David Bowie's 17th studio album, released on EMI America in April 1987 and cut in Switzerland and New York the previous autumn. Bowie wrote it alone and produced it with David Richards, and the credits read like a full-dress rock revue: Peter Frampton, Carlos Alomar and Bowie on guitars, Erdal Kızılçay on bass, keyboards, synth and sampler, Philippe Saisse on piano, Lenny Pickett and Steve Elson on tenor and baritone sax, Crusher Bennett on chimes and percussion, and five backing singers. Bob Clearmountain mixed it.

Bowie meant the album as a return to rock and roll after the letdown of Tonight, but critics went after its overblown production, and he spent the rest of his life keeping his distance from how it turned out.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.