📰 Up The Hill Backwards — Single Advert – 1 Page: Mar. 1981

David Bowie
Mar 21, 1981
3 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

Writer: RCA Records / New Musical Express

Date: March 21, 1981

Length: ~6 min read

A stark, rhythmic grid of masked profiles announced Bowie’s final Scary Monsters single to NME readers — a bold, minimalist advert pairing “Up The Hill Backwards” with the previously‑unreleased‑in‑the‑UK “Crystal Japan.”

Bowie’s fractured pop anthem meets a Japanese instrumental jewel.

Published in the March 21, 1981 issue of New Musical Express, this one‑page advert presents Bowie in a repeated grid of masked silhouettes — a visual echo of the song’s themes of crisis, identity, and forward motion. The advert highlights the rarity of “Crystal Japan,” newly issued in the UK as the single’s B‑side.

📰 Key Highlights

• One‑page advert in New Musical Express, March 21, 1981

• Promotes “Up The Hill Backwards” b/w “Crystal Japan”

• “Crystal Japan” advertised as previously unreleased in the UK

• Issued on 7" vinyl and cassette single

• Features striking grid artwork of masked Bowie profiles

📰 Overview

In early 1981, RCA launched the final single from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) with a visually arresting advert in NME. “Up The Hill Backwards,” a song built on shifting time signatures and emotional turbulence, was paired with “Crystal Japan,” a serene instrumental originally released only in Japan.

The advert’s design — a grid of repeated masked profiles — reflects the era’s fascination with identity, fragmentation, and the tension between public persona and private crisis. The bold typography and minimalist layout align with the stark aesthetic of Bowie’s early‑’80s visual language.

For UK fans, the inclusion of “Crystal Japan” was a major draw. The track had achieved cult status abroad, and its first UK appearance added a layer of rarity and desirability to the single.

📰 Source Details

Publication / Venue: New Musical Express

Date: March 21, 1981

Format: One‑page advert / Single promotion

Provenance Notes:

• Artwork and text verified from the uploaded advert

• Matches RCA’s UK promotional campaign for BOW 8

• Confirms “Crystal Japan” as previously unreleased in the UK

📰 The Story

The advert presents Bowie’s name in bold uppercase lettering above a grid of twelve repeated profile images — each a stylised, masked silhouette. The repetition creates a rhythmic visual pulse, mirroring the song’s shifting, syncopated structure.

Beneath the grid, the advert announces:

“Up the hill Backwards b/w Crystal Japan”

“New Single and Single Cassette”

“A previously unreleased track in the United Kingdom”

This messaging positioned the release as both a continuation of the Scary Monsters campaign and a collector’s opportunity. “Crystal Japan,” originally tied to a Japanese commercial and issued only as a local single, had become a sought‑after rarity. Its UK debut added prestige to what was otherwise a modest chart performer.

The advert’s stark design, minimal text, and repeated imagery reflect Bowie’s early‑’80s visual identity — cool, controlled, and conceptually sharp. It stands as one of the most distinctive single adverts of the period.

📰 Visual Archive

A one‑page advert featuring a 3×4 grid of stylised black‑and‑white masked profile portraits. “DAVID BOWIE” appears in bold uppercase at the top. Beneath the grid, the text promotes the single “Up The Hill Backwards” b/w “Crystal Japan,” noting the latter as previously unreleased in the UK.

📰 Caption

Bowie’s masked grid — the official NME advert for “Up The Hill Backwards,” March 1981.

📰 Related Material

• Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) — Album (1980)

• “Fashion” — Single Advert (1980)

• “Crystal Japan” — Japanese Single (1980)

📰 Closing Notes

This advert captures Bowie at a moment of sharp artistic clarity — visually experimental, musically daring, and still capable of transforming a single release into a conceptual statement. The pairing of “Up The Hill Backwards” with “Crystal Japan” adds emotional depth and archival intrigue to one of the final chapters of the Scary Monsters era.

#DavidBowie #UpTheHillBackwards #CrystalJapan #NME1981 #ScaryMonsters #GlamSlamEscape