UK album release: Diamond Dogs

David Bowie’s eighth studio album, Diamond Dogs, was released in the United Kingdom on 24 May 1974.

The precise release date was unclear for some years. Some sources claimed it as 24 April 1974, with others had it as 31 May. However, in 2014 Bowie’s own website put the UK release date at 24 May, citing a contemporary release sheet containing that date.

The album was given a $400,000 promotional campaign in America, which included huge billboards in Times Square and Sunset Boulevard, subway posters, adverts in the press, and a made-for-television promo clip.

Diamond Dogs topped the album charts in the United Kingdom and Canada, and peaked at number five in America – Bowie’s highest placing there to date.