“Modern Love” by David Bowie

"Modern Love" throws open the doors of Let's Dance, David Bowie's 1983 album, and later that year it became the record's third single. Bowie co-produced it with Nile Rodgers at the Power Station in Manhattan, and it was one of the first things they cut for the album. It's a rock song with new wave blood: Rodgers' guitar chopping out a nervy rhythm, Omar Hakim driving the drums, Carmine Rojas on bass and Rob Sabino on piano, while a horn section of Robert Aaron and Stan Harrison on tenor sax, Steve Elson on baritone and Mac Gollehon on trumpet blares like a gospel revue that wandered into a dance club.

Bowie leads the charge and Frank Simms, George Simms and David Spinner shout back at him, a call-and-response that makes the whole thing feel like a sermon at full sprint. Bob Clearmountain engineered and mixed it, and the sound is bright, punchy and built for the airwaves.

It was a hit in both markets, reaching number two in the UK and number 14 on the US Hot 100. On the Serious Moonlight Tour it often closed the show, and the Jim Yukich video, shot from a tour performance, was a fixture on MTV. Critics count it among Bowie's greatest songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.