"It's No Game" is a song written by English musician David Bowie for his 1980 album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), featuring lead guitar played by Robert Fripp. The song is split into two parts, opening and closing the album. "(No. 1)" is musically sinister, featuring Bowie screaming lyrics and Japanese narration provided by actress Michi Hirota. "(No. 2)", a stark contrast to "(No. 1)", is much calmer, which Bowie's biographers symbolise as Bowie facing the same situation in "(No. 1)", but after the album's duration. Alongside the album, "(No. 1)" was released as the B-side of the US version of the single "Ashes to Ashes" in August 1980. Bowie never performed "It's No Game" live during his concert tours, although the ending of "(No. 1)" was adapted for the 1987 Glass Spider Tour. The full song was later performed in the 2015 musical Lazarus. Recording Recording sessions for Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) began at the Power Station in New York City in February 1980. The backing tracks for "It's No Game" were completed here, with "(No. 2)" completed in its entirety. King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp contributed lead guitar to "(No. 1)". Recorded around the same time was the instrumental "Crystal Japan"; it was originally intended to be the album's closing track, but was dropped in favour of a reprise of "It's No Game". According to biographer Chris O'Leary, "(No. 2)" was the original version of the track; its development history was similar to that of the Beatles' 1968 song "Revolution", which was first recorded as a slower, acoustic track (the version present on the White Album), and then as a hard rocker. Instead of improvising lyrics and music as he had with prior releases, Bowie informed Visconti he wanted to take time composing and developing the lyrics and melodies. As such, Bowie's vocals were not recorded until April 1980 at Good Earth Studios in London, co-producer Tony Visconti's own studio at the time. Also recorded here was the Japanese narration provided by actress Michi Hirota for "(No. 1)". Music and lyrics Parts of "It's No Game" were adapted from an earlier, unreleased song titled "Tired of My Life", which Bowie demoed at Haddon Hall in mid-1970. Bowie claimed to have written "Tired of My Life" as early as 1963, a claim supported by Visconti who stated that Bowie wrote the song when he was 16. When composing