Spooky Single Stories: David Bowie, “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)”

Can you feel the chill in the air? Don’t consider the temperature, just think of the date. Yes, that’s right, it’s Halloween, which means that we’ve arrived at the final entry in this week’s running feature, “Spooky Single Stories.” Being as it’s the last in the series (at least for this year, anyway), we’ve gone with that rare song which is both scary and super-creepy while also pointedly discussing monsters.

Come on: that doesn’t sound like a Halloween song, we don’t know what does.

Written by David Bowie and co-produced by Bowie with longtime studio collaborator Tony Visconti, “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” was the title track of Bowie’s 1980 album, and it’s definitely a memorable song, thanks to… Well, actually, it’s thanks to a number of different things, so take your pick: it could be Robert Fripp’s guitar work, it could be the synthesized percussion, or it could be the way Bowie gets busy Cockney-ing up his vocals. No matter what the reason, it’s not a song you easily forget.

While “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” wasn’t a massive hit, topping out at only #20 on the UK Singles chart and failing to chart altogether in the States, the song has always been a fan favorite. This, of course, includes Bowie’s more famous fans as well, including Frank Black, Joe Jackson, and Superchunk, all of whom have covered it over the years.