LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

David Bowie’s first singles! Cut for Pye in 1966, with producer Tony Hatch, “I Dig Everything”, “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” and “Do Anything You Say”. Released in April 1966, “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” left the R&B formula of Bowie’s earlier singles behind, serving up instead a delicious slice of classic mod-pop (reminiscent of the Kinks of that same era) and getting Bowie an invitation to appear on the influential Ready Steady Go! Nonetheless the single bombed and remained an obscure item until after Bowie became a star. “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” also tells the tale of a young boy who is forced to leave town - perhaps the first hint of homosexuality in Bowie’s lyrics. Also the first single by David Bowie instead of Jones. “I Dig Everything” is another enjoyable sliver of mid-sixties Brit pop but Bowie’s trademark moodiness is already firmly in place, despite the song’s rather upbeat lyrics.