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"Valentine's Day"
"Valentine's Day"
Single by David Bowie
from the album The Next Day
B-side	"Plan"
Released	19 August 2013
Recorded	24 July & 18 September 2012
Studio	Magic Shop, New York City; Human Worldwide, New York City;
Genre	Glam rock; folk rock;
Length	2:59
Label	ISO; Columbia;
Songwriter(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	David Bowie; Tony Visconti;
David Bowie singles chronology
Music video
	"Valentine's Day" on YouTube

"Valentine's Day" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie, the fourth single from his 25th studio album The Next Day. The single was released on 19 August 2013. This was to be Bowie's final 7-inch single issued from a new album released in his lifetime. The lyrics are based on the psychology of a school shooter.^[3]

Recording

"Valentine's Day" was one of the final songs recorded for The Next Day. The backing track was recorded on 24 July 2012 at the Magic Shop in New York City, while Bowie's vocals were recorded on 18 September 2012 at Human Worldwide Studios in New York City.^[4]^[5]

Release details

The single was released on 19 August 2013 in the UK and on the 20th in the US and other countries.^[6] In early August 2013, the single was added to the BBC Radio 2's A-list.^[7] The single entered UK's Airplay Chart Top 40 on 9 August 2013, making it the second most successful single from The Next Day (after "Where Are We Now?") in terms of airplay.^{[citation needed]} It reached the 179th spot on the UK chart.^[8]

Video

The video for "Valentine's Day" was directed by Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri and Markus Klinko, who previously collaborated with Bowie on his 2002 album Heathen. It features Bowie in the abandoned Red Hook Grain Terminal in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. In the video, Bowie plays a G2T Hohner guitar^[9] while performing the song. Many commentators contrasted the video with the controversial preceding video for "The Next Day" and described it as more "subdued" in comparison.^[10]^[11] However, visual hints towards gun violence and the National Rifle Association of America were also noted,^[12] suggesting the video was conveying a subtle anti-gun message.^[13]

Personnel

According to biographer Chris O'Leary:^[4]

David Bowie – lead and backing vocals
Earl Slick – lead and acoustic guitar
Tony Visconti – bass guitar
Sterling Campbell – drums

Production

David Bowie – producer
Tony Visconti – producer

Charts

Chart performance for "Valentine's Day"
Chart (2013)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[14]	59
UK Singles Chart^[15]	179

References

^ Anderson, Kyle (1 March 2013). "David Bowie's first new album in 10 years now streaming in iTunes. Worth the wait? The EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
^ Toland, Michael (3 May 2013). "David Bowie The Next Day". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
^ Schmidt, Claudia (14 February 2020). "The unlikely story behind 'Valentine's Day' by David Bowie". happymag.tv. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b O'Leary 2019, pp. 610–614.
^ Pegg 2016, pp. 296–298.
^ "Valentine's Day picture disc 45 due for August". David Bowie Official Website. 14 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
^ "Valentine's Day single added to BBC Radio 2 A-list". David Bowie Official Website. 4 August 2013. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
^ "Chart Log UK – Weekly Updates Sales 2013". zobbel.de. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
^ "David Bowie playing HOHNER Headless Guitar". playhohner.com. 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 29 August 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
^ "David Bowie: Valentine's Day". top40-charts.com. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
^ Miller, Adam (16 July 2013). "David Bowie Turns Sinister In Stylish New Video For 'Valentine's Day' (VIDEO)". entertainmentwise.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
^ "NME picks up on Valentine's Day subtleties". David Bowie Official Website. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
^ Jones, Lucy (30 July 2013). "David Bowie Takes On The NRA & Charlton Heston?". NME. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
^ "David Bowie – Valentine's Day" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
^ "Chart Log UK – Weekly Updates Sales 2013". zobbel.de. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.

Sources

O'Leary, Chris (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie 1976–2016. London: Repeater Books. ISBN 978-1-91224-836-0.
Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.