Telling Lies



"Telling Lies" is a single by David Bowie written in 1996 and in 1997 released for the album Earthling.

Three versions of "Telling Lies" were released on Bowie's official website beginning 11 September 1996 – one version was released for each of three weeks – constituting the first ever downloadable single by a major artist. According to issued press releases, over 300,000 people downloaded the original Internet-only release. Two months later, it was released as a single by BMG.

Bowie launched the single with an online chat session, where he and two other people pretending to be him answered questions from the audience (Bowie told the truth; the other two "told lies"). The chat audience was asked to vote on which chat personality was the "real" Bowie; the "real" Bowie came in third.

No music video was produced.

The single

 * 1) "Telling Lies (Feelgood mix by Mark Plati)" – 5:07
 * 2) "Telling Lies (Paradox mix by A Guy Called Gerald)" – 5:10
 * 3) "Telling Lies (Adam F mix)" – 3:58

A limited edition CD with a different cover was released with the same tracks. There is also a double 12" vinyl promo release which includes the three mixes of which the A Guy Called Gerald mix appears twice.

Production credits

 * Producers:
 * David Bowie
 * Musicians:
 * David Bowie – vocals, guitar, saxophone, samples, keyboards
 * Reeves Gabrels – programming, synthesizers, real and sampled guitars, vocals
 * Mark Plati – programming, loops, samples, keyboards
 * Gail Ann Dorsey – bass, vocals
 * Zachary Alford – drum loops, acoustic drums, electronic percussion
 * Mike Garson – keyboards, piano

Live versions

 * A version recorded at Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland on 10 June 1997, was released on LiveAndWell.com in 2000.

Other releases

 * The "Adam F mix" was released as a bonus track on the Japanese release of Earthling. It was also released on a UK limited release of the single "Little Wonder" in January 1997.
 * The "Paradox mix" was released on the UK 12" release of the single "Dead Man Walking" in April 1997. This mix also appeared on the bonus disc of the LiveAndWell.com album in 2000.
 * The "Feelgood mix" and "Paradox mix" were released on the bonus disc of the Digibook Expanded Edition of Earthling in 2004.