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This was written and produced by David Bowie. Mott The Hoople had a cult following in England and Bowie was a big fan. The problem was, they weren't selling many albums and were about to break up. When Bowie heard, he offered to produce their next album and provide them with a hit song. He offered them "Suffragette City," but they didn't like it, so he gave them this song instead. It became a big hit and kept the band going until they split up a few years later with guitarist Mick Ralphs eventually forming Bad Company.
Besides producing this, Bowie played guitar, sang backup, and clapped.
According to an interview Bowie gave to Rolling Stone magazine in 1973, the boys are carrying the same news that the news guy was carrying in the song "Five Years" from Ziggy Stardust, a message that the Earth only had five years left to live: Bowie said, "It's no hymn to the youth, as people thought. It is completely the opposite."
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