The Horrors cover David Bowie classic 'Suffragette City'

In a week when we've already had Films of Colour covering a Bowie track, here's another! This time, it's those favourite gloom-pop purveyors The Horrors tackling the classic Suffragette City.

Normally I'd be wary of any act going for such an iconic track, but if any contemporary act has the gravitas and 'sound' to record a Bowie number, it's The Horrors.

For starters, the band play their cover wisely, sticking close to the original mold - their take is suitably punky, laced with that brilliant little synth-organ hook that serves as one of my top moments in the original.

It's not quite as 'out there' as the band's recent cover of Beyonce, but then, you wouldn't want it to be.

Films of Colour release David Bowie cover Slow Burn

It's two of my favourite things in the world: A free download, and David Bowie. This enticing combo forms the basis of an enticing cover version of David Bowie's 2001 track Slow Burn by Films of Colour - (how cool is the Aladdin Sane inspired cover art by the way?)


Here at TotallyVivid, we've been firm supporters of Films of Colour and previously reviewed their track Capital. Slow Burn is one of Bowie's best latter-day tracks too, so it's great to hear a fresh new angle on it.

Films of Colour transform the song into something that's pure early-Killers, amping up the guitars and blasting the track with glorious sun-shiny synths. Where Bowie's version was haunting in its funereal vocals and gritty, blistered reverb, Films of Colour's take is possessed of a enervating happiness. In many ways, it's almost a completely different song entirely.


The track already has a fan in legendary Bowie producer Tony Visconti:


'When I was given a batch of demos to consider working with Films Of Colour I was struck with how many catchy songs they had written.  I was also impressed with the quality of their demos; that they were clever, creative lads was very apparent.  But one song stuck out, sounding so familiar yet I didn't really recognise it until the second chorus.  I knew the song because I produced it with David Bowie on his 2001 album Heathen.  But Films of Colour had altered it so much they had clearly made it their own.  I think Bowie is one of the most difficult artists to cover, since his versions of his own compositions seem to be the definitive versions.  After I heard Films of Colour's version I was completely won over.'


Films of Colour represent one of the most exciting new bands around right now, of which this cover (which has already received press coverage in the Sun and Evening Standard) is a fascinating new chapter.


The track is available now on Bowie's official site.

Take That - Kidz

Ever since Take That 'returned', I've been longing for them to return to the sound of their dance-pop roots; the music that made them such a big success in the early 90s. And with Kidz, the second single from their Progress album, they finally do.

Except, now they're even better than before. Gone are the acid-house piano riffs and drum machine, replaced by a hard industrial beat, crunching guitar power chords and buzz-saw synths. It's almost Nine Inch Nails.

It's also a brilliant chance for Mark Owen to shine. I've always been a fan of Mark's vocals and their David Bowie-esque lilt (his solo track Four Minute Warning is a much over-looked pop gem of a song). Kidz, with its minimal, stark verses and crystaline, epic choruses really is a 'progress' for the band - their big, Barlow-penned soft-rock ballads are all very well and good, in many cases even amazing - but this is a new side of Take That. It's fun, risque, daring and above all, very exciting.

Kidz is released 21st February.