Last week, Charli XCX released her first post-Brat single, House. The dark and discordant track, from her soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s upcoming film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, marked a significant departure from the club beats of her last album. But most surprising of all was the unlikely appearance of the Velvet Underground’s John Cale, now 83. Here are five other great, unexpected collaborations between artists.
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Where the Wild Roses Grow – Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue
Today it feels almost canonical: two Australians, both revered in their own genres, coming together for a classic beauty and the beast duet. But back in 1995, the pairing of Minogue – just then gaining credibility as a pop artist – with the post-punk dark lord Cave genuinely took people aback. The resulting gory murder ballad is a gothic treat.
Old Town Road – Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus
It’s the 21st century version of Walk This Way by Run-DMC and Aerosmith, a pairing that gleefully challenged the racist rules of US music. Initially disqualified from the Billboard country chart, the rapper Lil Nas X’s tune secured the country star Billy Ray Cyrus on the remix, and the defining crossover hit of the last decade secured its place in history.
David Bowie and Bing Crosby perform Little Drummer Boy on a TV Christmas special in 1977, which Crosby never saw air
Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy – Bing Crosby and David Bowie
In 1977, the Berlin-dwelling Bowie released Low and Heroes, and collaborated with Iggy Pop on Lust for Life and The Idiot. Little did anyone expect to find him recording a toe-curlingly cheesy TV Christmas special with the mid-20th century titan of US light entertainment, Bing Crosby. Bowie is said to have done it because his mum liked Crosby. Crosby didn’t live to see it air.
Tom’s Diner – Britney Spears and Giorgio Moroder
In 2015 Giorgio Moroder, the veteran producer of Donna Summer’s peerless 1977 hit I Feel Love, released his first album in 30 years. This was thanks, perhaps, to his rediscovery of Daft Punk’s 2013 masterpiece, Random Access Memories. Britney Spears, meanwhile, was trapped in her conservatorship. The two collaborated for this oddly great, little-known take on Suzanne Vega’s a cappella original, from Moroder’s duets LP.
Justified & Ancient (Stand by the JAMS) – The KLF and Tammy Wynette
The parentheses in this rave-era art prank reference country star Tammy Wynette’s most famous song, Stand By Your Man. How did the British electronic mavericks Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, best known for burning £1m, persuade the US icon to join in on a song about (checks notes) a made-up cult and somewhere called “Muu-Muu Land”? Apparently, they just rang her up.
Photographs by Getty Images