
Suffragette City
Lead vocals: Man
Taal: Engels
Suffragette City is een nummer van de Britse muzikant David Bowie, uitgebracht als de voorlaatste track van het album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars uit 1972. In 1976 werd het nummer uitgebracht op single ter promotie van het nieuwe compilatiealbum Changesonebowie, met de voorgaande single Stay van het album Station to Station op de B-kant. Het nummer kwam niet in de hitlijsten terecht, maar piekte in de nasleep van Bowie's overlijden op 10 januari 2016 op de 194e plaats in het Verenigd Koninkrijk.
"Suffragette City" werd opgenomen op 4 februari 1972, richting het einde van de Ziggy Stardust-sessies. Het bevat een pianoriff die hevig is beïnvloed door Little Richard. Verder bevat het een verwijzing naar de film A Clockwork Orange (het woord "droogie" betekent "vriend") en de makkelijk mee te zingen hook "Wham, bam, thank you ma'am!".
Voordat hij het zelf opnam, had Bowie het nummer aangeboden aan de band Mott the Hoople op de voorwaarde dat zij niet uit elkaar zouden gaan. De groep sloeg het nummer af, maar nam in plaats daarvan wel "All the Young Dudes" op.
"Suffragette City" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released in April 1972 as the B-side of the single "Starman" and subsequently appeared on his fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). The song was later reissued as a single in 1976, with the US single edit of "Stay" as the B-side, to promote the compilation album Changesonebowie in the UK. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it was recorded by Bowie at Trident Studios in London with his backing band the Spiders from Mars, consisting of Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey, at a late stage of the album's sessions. The song was originally offered to English band Mott the Hoople, who declined it and recorded Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" instead. It is a glam rock song that is influenced by the music of Little Richard and the Velvet Underground. The lyrics include a reference to Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and the lyric "Oooohh wham bam, thank you, ma'am".
"Suffragette City" received acclaim from music critics, with many praising the guitar work, the band's performance, the false ending, the lyric and the song's power. It has subsequently been called one of Bowie's greatest songs by multiple publications, including NME. Bowie performed the song frequently during his concert tours and it has appeared on multiple compilation albums. It has been remastered several times, including 2012 for the 40th anniversary of the album; this version was included as part of the 2015 box set Five Years (1969–1973).