Plan

Written by: David Bowie
Recorded: 14 September 2011; 19, 20 January 2012
Producers: David Bowie, Tony Visconti
Engineers: Mario McNulty, Tony Visconti

Released: 8 March 2013

Available on:
The Next Day (Deluxe Edition)
The Next Day Extra

Personnel

David Bowie: guitar, keyboards, percussion
Zachary Alford: drums

‘Plan’ is a bonus track on the deluxe edition of The Next Day, David Bowie’s penultimate album.

The track was first heard during the opening scenes of the video for ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ in February 2013. It was Bowie’s first instrumental since ‘Brilliant Adventure’ on 1999’s ‘hours…’.

In the studio

Bowie recorded most of his lead and backing vocals for The Next Day, along with additional overdubs, at Human World Wide, the New York studio owned by Tony Visconti’s son Morgan.

The occasional overdub sessions lasted from September 2011 through to the new year. ‘Plan’ was recorded on 19 and 20 January 2012, with Bowie handling all the instruments apart from drums, which were played by Zachary Alford. The drum parts were taken from ‘The Informer’, which had been recorded on 14 September 2011.

Bowie’s guitar parts were played on a sunburst Fender Stratocaster given to him by Marc Bolan in 1977, just weeks before Bolan’s death. Bowie had played the instrument when they duetted on the Marc show in September 1977, and it was also used on the Blackstar song ‘Lazarus’.

The release

Twenty-nine songs were recorded for The Next Day. Fourteen were included on the album, with three others – ‘So She’, ‘Plan’, and ‘I’ll Take You There’ – on the deluxe edition. Both versions of the album were released on the same day.

The vinyl edition was a double-disc set. It was initially announced for release on 25 March 2013, but was delayed to 1 April. The vinyl edition contained the three additional songs.

The Next Day Extra was released on 4 November 2013. This box set contained two CDs and a DVD. The first CD was of the standard album, while the second disc contained the additional tracks ‘Atomica’, ‘Plan’, ‘The Informer’, ‘Like A Rocket Man’, ‘Born In A UFO’, ‘I’ll Take You There’, ‘God Bless The Girl’, and ‘So She’, as well as two remixes: ‘Love Is Lost’ (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy for the DFA) and ‘I’d Rather Be High’ (Venetian Mix).

A digital EP was also released to coincide with the box set. This consisted of seven songs from the second CD, excluding ‘Plan’, ‘I’ll Take You There’, and ‘So She’.

‘Plan’ was also the b-side of the ‘Valentine’s Day’ single, released on 19 August 2013.