Rebel Rebel

"Rebel Rebel" is a song by David Bowie, released in 1974 as a single and on the album Diamond Dogs. Cited as his most-covered track,Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: pp.90-92 it was effectively Bowie's farewell to the glam movement that had made him a star.Mat Snow (2007). "Hang on to Yourself", MOJO 60 Years of Bowie: p.51David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: pp.210-217

Music and lyrics

Originally written for a mooted Ziggy Stardust musical in late 1973, "Rebel Rebel" was Bowie's last single in the glam rock style that had been his trademark. It was also his first hit since 1969 not to feature lead guitarist Mick Ronson; Bowie himself played guitar on this and almost all other tracks from Diamond Dogs, producing what NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray called "a rocking dirty noise that owed as much to Keith Richards as it did to the departed Ronno".Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.60

The song is notable for its gender-bending lyrics ("You got your mother in a whirl / She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl") as well as its distinctive riff, which rock journalist Kris Needs has described as...
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