David Bowie version Scott Walker recorded several of these translated Brel songs in the late 1960s. This inspired
David Bowie to record his own versions of "Amsterdam" in the early 1970s. Bowie's studio version was released as the B-side to his single "
Sorrow", released in September 1973. (This recording may have been made in the summer of 1973 or in late 1971.) Brel refused to meet Bowie when he visited Paris, saying he did not wish to meet a "pédé" ("faggot"), but the latter nevertheless still admired him. Bowie's version is also found on several other releases: • The original mix, as heard on the 1973 single B-side, was included on the
RCA Records compilation album Rare, in December 1982, and on
Re:Call 1, part of the
Five Years (1969–1973) compilation, in September 2015. • Bowie's recording was released as picture discs in both the
RCA Life Time picture disc set and the
Fashion Picture Disc Set. • A remix was included as a bonus track on the 1990
Rykodisc CD release of Bowie's 1973 album
Pin Ups under the title "Port of Amsterdam", and on the bonus disc of the 2002
Ziggy Stardust - 30th Anniversary Reissue. • The July 1982 German rerelease of the single "
Alabama Song" had "Amsterdam" as the B-side. • On the 1989 Living Legend Records Publishing CD
Chameleon Chronicles Vol.3 (LLRCD 050) "Amsterdam" was recorded for
D.L.T. (Dave Lee Travis Show) as "David Bowie and
Junior's Eyes" 20 October 1969; broadcast date 26 October 1969. • "David Bowie and the
Tony Visconti Trio (aka The Hype)" recorded "Amsterdam" for the BBC radio show
The Sunday Show introduced by John Peel on 5 February 1970 (broadcast date 8 February 1970). This performance may be heard on the 2000
Virgin Records CD
Bowie at the Beeb.
Other English covers Scott Walker recorded a version on his 1967, debut solo album,
Scott.
Dave Van Ronk recorded a version on his 1971 album,
Van Ronk.
Fred Holstein recorded a version for his 1977 album "Chicago and Other Ports."
The Dresden Dolls often play a cover of the song live with English lyrics. More recently,
Amanda Palmer has performed the original French version in her live solo show with
Jason Webley playing accordion.
The Bolshoi recorded a version for their debut single
Sob Story in 1984.
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie recorded a version for their debut album
Good Deeds and Dirty Rags. Irish cabaret singer
Camille O'Sullivan performs a cover of the song as part of her show with the
Spiegeltent. Irish singer-songwriter
Jack L has also recorded a version of the song.
John Denver released a version of this song on his album,
Take Me To Tomorrow (1970). He released a live version on Live In London (1976). The song was also included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissued CD set of the 1975 live album,
An Evening With John Denver. The bonus track performance was taken from John's concert on August 14, 1973, at the Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.
Bellowhead have recorded Amsterdam on their 2010 album
Hedonism.
Rod McKuen made his own translation of "Amsterdam" and included it on his album
Rod McKuen Sings Jacques Brel. In 2007
Marc Almond recorded a version for the EP "Brel Extras" released 2008
Dutch covers Both Dutch band
De Dijk and Dutch artists
Acda en De Munnik recorded
Dutch language versions of the song, called "Amsterdam" and "De stad Amsterdam" (The city Amsterdam) respectively. Other Dutch versions can be found by
Liesbeth List (
Liesbeth List zingt Jacques Brel),
Jan Mesdag (
Jan Mesdag zingt Brel) and
Jeroen Willems (
Jeroen Willems zingt Jacques Brel).
Other languages •
Finnish: Finnish singer-songwriter
Hector recorded a cover of the song in Finnish for his album
Yhtenä iltana (1990). Finnish actress and singer Susanna Haavisto sang this song in Finnish translation in a theatrical stage variety based on Brel's songs. A version is included on a compilation album
Laulusi elää, Brel! (1984) of songs from this revue. •
German: The song was translated into German and regularly sung by
Hildegard Knef at the end of her live performance career, usually to conclude her concerts. A different German translation was also recorded by Klaus Hoffmann in 1975. German chanteuse
Ute Lemper included a version of "Amsterdam", in English and French, on her 2002 album
But One Day.... •
Greek: Translated and performed by Giorgos Arapakis. Also performed by Manos Xidous, and by
Vassilis Papakonstantinou. •
Hebrew: Translated by
Dan Almagor and originally performed by Dani Litani in 1970. Later on also performed by Corinne Allal and by Sassi Keshet. •
Polish: The Polish version of "Amsterdam", with lyrics translated by
Wojciech Młynarski, was performed by, among others, Piotr Zadrożny, Katarzyna Groniec and Marcin Czarnik. •
Slovenian: Slovenian actor Branko Završan translated and recorded "Amsterdam" in his album
Senca tvojga psa (Shadow of your dog), realised in 2008. •
Basque: Basque poet and singer
Xabier Lete translated "Amsterdam" and sang it in his last concert in
Errenteria, on 25/09/1999. The concert, given for the basque festival
Kilometroak, was recorded and finally released in 2011. •
Turkish: Adapted from the original French lyrics together with the English lyrics of David Bowie version by Şamil Şirin in 2018 and performed by the band Hanımlar&Beyler in the
IzTech SpringFest'18. •
Spanish: Asturian singer-songwriter
Pablo Und Destruktion recorded a Spanish cover called "Gijón" for his 2020 album "Futuros Valores". •
Italian: Translated and recorded in 1996 by
Duilio Del Prete and released on his posthumous album
Duilio Del Prete canta Brel (2002). Translated and recorded by
Pippo Pollina for his album
Versi per la libertà (2001). Also translated by Sergio Secondiano Sacchi and performed by Peppe Voltarelli for his album
Planetario (2021). ==References==