“Dancing in the Street” Music Video

The 1980s were truly the decade of the charity concert. Live Aid approached, Mick Jagger and David Bowie were planning on singing a song together via satellite from across the Atlantic. Even though they were being broadcast simultaneously, technological limitations meant that there would still be a half second delay, making a successful performance impossible. Instead, Jagger met with Bowie in London to record a cover of Martha and the Vandellas classic “Dancing in the Street” as a charity single. Afterwards, they shot a music video at the docks, and after 13 hours, they had both the song and video ready. The sentiment behind it is commendable, but the video is otherwise pretty embarrassing. I highly recommend the “musicless music video” version of this song. It’s a good watch. Bowie himself had seen it in the final year of his life, and found it so hilarious that he made sure his band watched it.