"Hang On to Yourself" | |||||||||||
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Single by Arnold Corns | |||||||||||
B-side | "Man in the Middle" | ||||||||||
Released | August 1972 | ||||||||||
Format | 7" single | ||||||||||
Recorded | 25 February 1971, Radio Luxembourg studios, London | ||||||||||
Genre | |||||||||||
Length | 2:51 | ||||||||||
Label | B&C Records | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | David Bowie | ||||||||||
Arnold Corns singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Hang On to Yourself" | |||||||
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Song by David Bowie from the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | |||||||
Released | 16 June 1972 | ||||||
Recorded | November 1971 | ||||||
Genre | |||||||
Length | 2:38 | ||||||
Label | RCA | ||||||
Writer(s) | David Bowie | ||||||
Producer(s) | David Bowie and Ken Scott | ||||||
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"Hang On to Yourself" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 and released as a single under the name Arnold Corns. A re-recorded version was released on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The main riff is representative of glam rock's influence as a bridge between 1950s rock and roll, specifically rockabilly, and the punk to come; it draws on rockabilly influences such as Eddie Cochran, yet is faster and grungier (thanks to guitarist Mick Ronson's raunchy, distorted Les Paul), in a way that would influence punk records such as "Teenage Lobotomy" by Ramones.
The Arnold Corns version of "Hang On to Yourself"—recorded at the Radio Luxembourg studios in London on 25 February 1971—was first released by B&C as the B-side to the single "Moonage Daydream" in the UK on 7 May 1971. On 11 August 1972, it was released again, this time as an A-side, by B&C.
The Arnold Corns version was a bonus track on the 1990 Rykodisc/EMI remastering of Bowie's album The Man Who Sold the World. In 2002, this version appeared on the bonus disc of the Ziggy Stardust album's 30th Anniversary 2-CD reissue.
The official band line-up, fronted by dress designer Freddi Buretti, was a total fabrication; Buretti was at the session but his contributions were simply lost alongside Bowie's.
The album version of the song was recorded in November 1971 at Trident Studios, London.