# The 1982 song Elvis Costello really wanted David Bowie to sing: “That’s the dream in my head”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-1982-song-elvis-costello-really-wanted-david-bowie-to-sing-thats-the-dream-in-my-head/
- Published: 2026-08-05T16:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-25T05:32:51+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1982-song-elvis-costello-really-wanted-david-bowie-to-sing/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Bowie reportedly considered covering Costello's "Shipbuilding" but never did.
- Robert Wyatt recorded the original 1982 version; Costello's followed in 1983.
- Costello called a Bowie recording his enduring, unfulfilled musical dream.

## Summary

Elvis Costello has revealed that David Bowie once considered recording a version of "Shipbuilding", the poignant 1982 anti-war song written during the Falklands conflict, though the collaboration never happened. Costello, who counted Bowie among his musical heroes, said he learned of Bowie's interest through a mutual friend after Bowie's death in 2016, calling it one of the great missed opportunities of his career.

"Shipbuilding" was originally written by Clive Langer with Robert Wyatt in mind, and Wyatt recorded the definitive version in 1982, a year before Costello released his own take on Punch the Clock, featuring trumpeter Chet Baker. Reflecting on Bowie's unrealised interest, Costello said he still regards Wyatt's recording as the "real" version and his own as "the cover", adding that a Bowie rendition "would have been magnificent" and remains "the dream in my head".

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.