As any of you who listen to the radio may know, David Bowie released a surprise single yesterday, to mark his 66th birthday. It’s been a full decade since his last musical outing and he has largely stayed out of the public eye for the last ten years, even turning down a request to perform at the Olympics’ opening ceremony.

It’s amazing how quiet the upcoming single was kept, but I find it kind of a relief to find that it is actually possible to keep a release a secret these days, and adds more credence to my theory that a lot of “leaks” are actually planned publicity stunts.

I love this film! No seriously, I do.

Anyway, about the single. The title is “Where Are We Now?”. Is it a fantastically catchy tune at the level of “Heroes” or “Changes”? No, not really, but I don’t think that’s what David was aiming for with this.

Is it a solid Bowie release? Absolutely, as soon as the song starts you know who you’re dealing with, and it’s melancholic tunefulness is a welcome change from some other artists recent releases. It’s just a shame it’s been disqualified from the charts because you have to pre-order the album to get it.

The album, “The Next Day” is due out on the 11th of March and I for one will be very interested to hear the rest of the tracks. See the video for the single below.

As usual, I didn’t post the video to YouTube and bear no responsibility for any copyright infringement.