Shelving his usual maverick tendencies, Bowie had his eyes on the mainstream with Let’s Dance
Though originally envisioning a Tony Visconti-produced continuation of Scary Monsters’ art-rock sound, Bowie’s signing to EMI for a reported $17.5 million surely contributed to his decision to utilise the production skills of pop-funk Mdidas, Nile Rodgers. Rodgers’ presence infused the resulting 1983 album, Let’s Dance, with a typically Chic-esque buoyancy and a bright summery sheen that made the mainstream pop-buying public, and the EMU executives, weak at the knees.
Bowie himself, unusually, played nothing instrumental on the record (despite conceiving many tracks acoustically, including the title track) and would later describe Let’s Dance as a “real singer’s album”. His voice, now comfortably locked into a lower-register baritone, was perfectly suited to the new funk-pop aesthetic.