Who is Silly Boy Blue?
"Silly Boy Blue" is a song written and recorded by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. Originally demoed in 1965 as a mod-influenced track about a teenage runaway, it was revised in 1966 with new lyrics and released on Bowie's self-titled debut album in June 1967. This version reflects Bowie's fascination with Tibetan Buddhism, featuring various spiritual and geographic references in the lyrics and varied instrumentation such as a trumpet, cello and Chinese gong. Bowie remade the song twice during his stint with the Riot Squad in April 1967: as an instrumental for live performances and acoustically, which has appeared on compilations. Bowie performed "Silly Boy Blue" during his mime productions in 1968 and during his respective BBC radio sessions in December 1967 and May 1968. The first version was similar to the album version and appeared on David Bowie: Deluxe Edition (2010), while the second boasted a new string arrangement from Tony Visconti and was included on his compilati...