Passed over for inclusion on Young Americans, the reworking remained unreleased until RCA issued it as a single in 1979 at the height of disco's popularity.

[5] Comparing the recording to Bowie's recently released The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, the biographer Chris O'Leary notes that the backing band, the Spiders from Mars, are "more dynamic" on "John, I'm Only Dancing" than Ziggy Stardust, arguing its sound foreshadowed the hard rock style of "The Jean Genie" (1972).

The drummer Woody Woodmansey used mallets instead of drum sticks to get the "hollow"-sounding beats Bowie desired and also overdubbed a few tom-tom fills.

For his bassline, Trevor Bolder employed a progression up the E minor scale in the refrains followed by, in O'Leary's words, "an aneurysm of octave root notes".

[2] Bowie and the Spiders initially attempted "John, I'm Only Dancing" at London's Trident Studios on 24 June 1972, along with a version of the Who's "I Can't Explain" (1964).

[14] Returning to the song two days later on 26 June at London's Olympic Studios, the session was again produced by Bowie himself, this time with assistance from engineer Keith Harwood.

The biographer David Buckley notes that Bowie's miming is poorly synched, due to the faulty record player used for filming.

[11] The BBC aired a film of tough-looking motorcycle riders in its place, which Pegg states "inadvertently ended up looking ten times more camp".

[4] The pianist Matthew Fisher, a studio visitor at the time, recalled in 1992 that "instead of describing the type of sound he wanted from [the saxophonists] in a musical way, David talked about it in terms of colours.

[2][15][25] "John, I'm Only Dancing" was added to Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Tour live set in July 1972 and dropped by the 1973 Japanese leg.

[25] In 1979, a remix of the original 1972 track, which condensed the echo on Bowie's vocal and pushed it higher in the mix, was placed as the B-side of "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)".

The original version appeared on compilations including Changesbowie (1990) and The Singles 1969–1993 (1993), while its 1979 remix was a bonus track on the 1990 Rykodisc CD release of Ziggy Stardust.

[2] The sax version appeared on compilations including Sound + Vision (1989) and The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 (1997) and on the bonus disc of the 2003 reissue of Aladdin Sane.

[12][2] The author Peter Doggett states that although the sax version sacrifices two "thrilling aspects" of the original, including the "percussive arrival" and "marching brass", he argues it is "more satisfying", writing: "If the guitar crescendo of the first recording hinted at orgasm, the second took it all the way.

[34] Another version by the UK post-punk band the Chameleons appeared as a bonus track on the CD release of their 1986 album Strange Times.

"), and had five verses with Bowie, in O'Leary's words, "as wedding party MC", making occasional jokes and giving hints as to his deteriorating mental state ("got a line on my hand and Charlie on my back") and America's current position ("president has got the blues").

[36][37] Ronson's original guitar riff was also split between Mike Garson on Fender Rhodes and Carlos Alomar's phasing lead, with synthesiser overdubs later.

[38][39] Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the almost seven-minute track evolved from a two-hour Young Americans jam session in August 1974.

[36] With Tony Visconti producing and Carl Paruolo engineering, the lineup consisted of Bowie, Alomar on guitar, Willie Weeks on bass, Garson on piano and clavinet, Andy Newmark on drums, David Sanborn on alto saxophone, Larry Washington on conga and Pablo Rosario on chimes and cowbell.

[42] Initially set for release on Young Americans, "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" was replaced by "Fame" at the last minute, so Bowie shelved it indefinitely.