🔘 Fashion – Single: Oct. 1980

Label: RCA Records

Format: 7" Vinyl Single

Released: October 31, 1980 (UK)

A razor‑sharp, post‑punk Bowie groove — backed with the tense, angular Scream Like a Baby.

Issued on RCA, the single captured the cutting, modernist sound of the Scary Monsters era.

🔘 Overview

Fashion was released on October 31, 1980 as a UK 7" single on RCA Records. Taken from Bowie’s acclaimed 1980 album Scary Monsters, the track fused clipped funk rhythms, icy guitar stabs, and Bowie’s sardonic commentary on style and conformity.

The B‑side, Scream Like a Baby, also from the album, offered a darker, more experimental counterpoint with its fractured narrative and processed vocal effects. BOW 7 arrived in an RCA company sleeve and stands as one of Bowie’s most iconic early‑’80s singles.

🔘 Track List (Common Configurations)

7" Vinyl — BOW 7

A. Fashion

B. Scream Like a Baby

Written by: David Bowie

Produced by: David Bowie, Tony Visconti

🔘 Release Details

Label: RCA Records

Formats: 7" Vinyl

Country: UK

Year: 1980

Notes:

- From the album Scary Monsters

- B‑side also album‑derived

- Issued in RCA company sleeve

- One of Bowie’s defining early‑’80s singles

🔘 Variants (Discogs‑Verified)

Variant 1

UK – RCA – BOW 7 (1980)

Format: 7" Vinyl (Paper Label)

Variant 2

UK – RCA – BOW 7 (1980)

Format: 7" Vinyl (Injection‑moulded label, select pressings)

🔘 Chart Data (BBC / Official Charts Company)

Peak Position: UK — No. 5

Weeks on Chart: 10

Chart Run (Official Charts):

08 Nov 1980 — No. 23

15 Nov 1980 — No. 11

22 Nov 1980 — No. 5

29 Nov 1980 — No. 7

06 Dec 1980 — No. 10

13 Dec 1980 — No. 14

20 Dec 1980 — No. 20

27 Dec 1980 — No. 28

03 Jan 1981 — No. 41

10 Jan 1981 — No. 58

🔘 Context & Notes

Recording Notes

A taut, minimalist funk track — Robert Fripp’s jagged guitar lines slicing through Bowie’s cool, ironic vocal.

Collector Notes

Paper‑label BOW 7 copies are the most desirable. Early RCA sleeves add value.

Legacy

A cornerstone of Bowie’s post‑punk period — stylish, biting, and rhythmically immaculate.

🔘 Related Material

Previous Single

Ashes to Ashes (1980)

Next Single

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1981)

🔘 Discography (Selected, Chronological)

Fashion — 1980

Scream Like a Baby — 1980

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

Oct. 31, 1980 — UK single released

Nov. 1980 — Peaks at UK No. 5

🔘 Glam Flashback

Bowie turns the mirror on modern style — sharp, ironic, and irresistibly cool.

🔘 Sources

RCA Records

Discogs

Official Charts Company

Bowie archival documentation