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Cover of Station to Station by David Bowie — Cover: Station to Station

Song · David Bowie

“TVC 15” by David Bowie

From the album Station to Station (1976)

“TVC 15” by David Bowie appears on 19 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1999 and 2023. It was first released in 1976 on the album Station to Station. Its best result is #53 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2022). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #847 alternative song of all time.

19countdowns

5stations

#53best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1999–2023years charted

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(1978) TVC 15 / David Bowie

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"TVC 15" is the loopiest thing on David Bowie's 1976 album Station to Station, a rollicking art rock romp about a man whose girlfriend gets swallowed by a television set. The idea came from a dream Iggy Pop had and from Bowie's own role in The Man Who Fell to Earth, with nods to the Yardbirds and Kraftwerk thrown in, and it all bounces along in a bouncy, retro style with a honky-tonk piano from Roy Bittan.

Bowie cut it with Harry Maslin at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles in late 1975, with Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick on guitars, George Murray on bass, Dennis Davis on drums and Warren Peace on backing vocals. RCA put it out as the album's second single on 30 April 1976. Critics called it a highlight then, even when they couldn't untangle the words, and some now rank it among his best.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#847 of all time

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

#1,988 of all time

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	102	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	102	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	107	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	107	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2002	186	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	107	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	107	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	108	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	1043	CD101	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)	2008
2008	986	CD101	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)	2009
2009	1005	CD101	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)	2010
2010	1042	CD101	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)	2011
2011	1078	CD101	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)	2011
2013	1132	CD101	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)	2012
2014	1106	CD101	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)	2013
2020	1273	WXPN	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time	2020
2022	502	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s	908
2022	53	WMGK	WMGK Philly 500 (2022)	500
2023	316	WMGK	WMGK Philly 500 (2023)	500

Also listed as: Tvc15; TVC15.

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