The Next Day

Primarily an art rock album, The Next Day references Bowie's earlier glam and funk releases. The generally bleak lyrics draw from his reading of English and Russian history and examine themes of tyranny and violence. The cover art is an adapted version of Bowie's 1977 album "Heroes" by designer Jonathan Barnbrook, who placed a white square with the album's title over Bowie's face and crossed out the "Heroes" title. The album was released through ISO Records in association with Columbia Records.


The lead single "Where Are We Now?" and announcement of the album were posted online on 8 January 2013, Bowie's 66th birthday, surprising fans and media who had assumed he had retired from music. Preceded by a viral marketing campaign, The Next Day topped charts worldwide and debuted at number one and two on the UK Albums Chart and US Billboard 200, respectively. It was Bowie's first UK number-one album since 1993 and his highest-charting US album to that date. Several singles with accompanying music videos were released throughout 2013. Outtakes and remixes appeared on The Next Day Extra, released in November.


The Next Day was praised by critics as Bowie's best work in decades; it was ranked amongst the best albums of 2013 by several publications. Many reviewers highlighted the vocal and musical performances, and made positive comparisons to his earlier works, though some felt the album lacked innovation and was overlong. Among the first surprise albums of the 2010s, The Next Day was included in the 2014 revised edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Announcement[edit]

Even before the recording of The Next Day had begun, journalists were speculating that Bowie had retired from music.^[57] In The Complete David Bowie, Pegg writes how keeping the album secret provided a work environment in which Bowie could work in peace and retain full control of the project's outcome.^[5] The rise of social media and smartphones since the release of Reality made spoilers and leaks increasingly common, making it difficult to keep projects secret. Bowie wanted to maintain a total information blackout until he was ready to announce the album. Radiohead had achieved a similar scenario with their 2007 album In Rainbows, although unlike The Next Day, it was widely known they were recording at the time.^[5]


Bowie decided in late 2012 to release "Where Are We Now?" as the opening single on 8 January 2013, his 66th birthday, with no prior announcement.^[4] To accompany the release, he enlisted Tony Oursler, whom he previously worked with on projects in 1997, to create a music video that reflected the song's introspective mood. In the video, the heads of Bowie and Oursler's wife Jaqueline Humphries are projected on two animal puppets, while the lyrics appear over grainy footage of Berlin.^[4][33] Alan Edwards, Bowie's PR manager in the UK, learned of the single only four days in advance. With little time to plan, Edwards informed some of his most trusted journalist colleagues to run headlines on the morning of release to appear as though there had been no pre-planning.^[33] The video was uploaded to YouTube in the early hours of the morning; Bowie's website announced that listeners could buy the single on iTunes and pre-order the album.^[4][58] Aided by the surprise announcement, "Where Are We Now?" reached number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Bowie's highest-charting single since "Absolute Beginners" in 1985.^[33]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of The Next Day.^[127]


Production