of the Spiders from Mars, Bowie handled lead guitar duties. He recalled in 1997 that he practiced every day knowing "the guitar playing had to be more than okay". This surprised NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray, producing what they described as a "scratchy, raucous, semi-amateurish sound that gave the album much of its characteristic flavour". Pianist Mike Garson and drummer Aynsley Dunbar returned from the Pin Ups sessions, Tony Newman also played drums while Herbie Flowers, who had played previously on Space Oddity (1969), was recruited to play bass. Alan Parker of Blue Mink played guest guitar on "1984" and "augmented" Bowie's riff on "Rebel Rebel", although he was only credited for "1984". Bowie's longtime friend Geoff MacCormack, now known as Warren Peace, sang backing vocals. Diamond Dogs was a milestone in Bowie's career as it reunited him with Tony Visconti, who provided string arrangements and helped mix the album at his studio in London. Visconti would go on to co-produce much of Bowie's work for the rest of the decade. Before the Nineteen Eighty-Four project was denied, Bowie worked on "1984" recording it on 19 January 1973 during the sessions for Aladdin Sane. Initial work on Diamond Dogs began in late October 1973 at Trident Studios in London, where Bowie and Scott recorded "1984" in a medley with "Dodo", titled "1984/Dodo"; once they had mixed the track, this session marked the final time the two worked together. According to O'Leary, this session was also the last time Bowie worked with Ronson and Bolder. The medley had already made its public debut on the American television show The 1980 Floor Show recorded in London on 18–20 October 1973. A cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Growin' Up", with Ronnie Wood on lead guitar, was also recorded during this time. Recording for the album at Olympic officially began at the start of 1974. Bowie had started to work on "Rebel Rebel" during a solo session at Trident following Christmas 1973. This was Bowie's last known visit to Trident, his principal recording studio since 1968. On New Year's Day, the group recorded "Candidate" and "Take It In Right", an early version of "Can You Hear Me" from Young Americans (1975). Following the final sessions with the Astronettes, recording continued from 14 to 15 January, with the group recording "Rock 'n' Roll with Me", "Candidate", "Big Brother", "Take It In Right" and