DAVID BOWIE & JOHN FRUSCIANTE – Bring Me The Disco King

“Bring Me the Disco King” has a long and unusual history in David Bowie’s career. He first wrote and recorded it in the early 1990s during the sessions for Black Tie White Noise, but he wasn’t happy with how it turned out. He tried again during the Earthling era in 1997, still without success. Only in 2003, on the album Reality, did Bowie finally release a version that satisfied him. This definitive take is slow, stripped-down, and dominated by Mike Garson’s piano, with a dark, reflective mood that mixes touches of jazz, samba, and tango rather than anything resembling disco.

The lyrics carry a heavy, introspective tone. Bowie reflects on time, memory, aging, and regret, using the figure of the “disco king” more as a symbol than as a literal call back to the 1970s. What began as a tongue-in-cheek parody of disco culture in earlier attempts matured into a meditative, melancholic closing statement on Reality. The sparseness of the arrangement underlines the weight of his voice and the theme of looking back on lost moments and vanished glory.

There is also a famous remix of the track, created by Danny Lohner for the Underworld soundtrack. This version is completely different in atmosphere: layered, processed, and collaborative. It features contributions from John Frusciante on guitar, Maynard James Keenan on vocals, Milla Jovovich, and Josh Freese on drums. Frusciante’s guitar adds texture and mood to Bowie’s vocals, weaving them into a more cinematic and experimental piece.

Together, the Reality album version and the Lohner remix show two very different sides of Bowie’s artistry. The first is stark, intimate, and almost funereal, while the remix is expansive and cross-genre, merging Bowie’s world with those of alternative rock and film soundtracks. John Frusciante’s participation in the remix adds another layer of interest, especially for fans who see it as an unexpected meeting point between Bowie’s legacy and the guitarist’s own distinctive style.

You promised me the ending would be clear You’d let me know when the time was now Don’t let me know when you’re opening the door Stab me in the dark, let me disappear

Memories that flutter like bats out of Hell Stab you from the city spire Life wasn’t worth the balance Or the crumpled paper it was written on

Don’t let me know we’re invisible Don’t let me know we’re invisible

Hot cash days that you trailed around Cold, cold nights under chrome and glass Led me down a river of perfumed limbs Sent me to the street with the good time girl

Don’t let me know we’re invisible Don’t let me know we’re invisible

We could dance, dance, dance through the fire Dance, dance, dance through the fire

Feed me no lies I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you Breathe through the years I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you Bring me the Disco King I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you Dead or alive

Bring me the Disco King, bring me the Disco King Bring me the Disco King, bring me the Disco King

Spin-offs with those who slept like corpses Damp morning rays in the stiff bad clubs Killing time in the 70’s Smelling of love through the moist wind

Don’t let me know when you’re opening the door Close me in the dark, let me disappear Soon there’ll be nothing left of me Nothing left to release

Dance, dance, dance through the fire Dance, dance, dance through the fire

Feed me no lies I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you Breathe through the years I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you Bring me the Disco King I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you Dead or alive

Bring me the Disco King, bring me the Disco King Bring me the Disco King, bring me the Disco King Bring me the Disco King, bring me the Disco King Bring me the Disco King, bring me the Disco King