David Bowie - Space Oddity (1969)

"From Wikipédia"
"Space Oddity" is a song written and performed by David Bowie and released as a single in 1969. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut. The song appears on the album Space Oddity. The BBC featured the song in its television coverage of the lunar landing.

Bowie would later revisit his Major Tom character in the songs "Ashes to Ashes" and "Hallo Spaceboy".

Following Bowie's split from record label Deram, his manager Kenneth Pitt managed to negotiate a one-album deal (with options for a further one or two albums) with Mercury Records, and their UK subsidiary Philips in 1969. Next he tried to find a producer. George Martin turned the project down[citation needed], while Tony Visconti liked the album demo-tracks, but considered the planned lead-off single, "Space Oddity", a gimmick track[citation needed], and delegated its production to Gus Dudgeon. An early version of the song had appeared in Bowie's promotional film Love You Till Tuesday.

Following recording of a fresh version, the single was rush-released on 11 July 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing[citation needed]. In the UK, it was used in conjunction with the BBC's coverage of the landing, and also promoted via advertisements for the Stylophone, played by Bowie on the record. This exposure finally gave Bowie a hit, reaching #5 in the chart. In the US, it stalled at 124.

Mogol wrote Italian lyrics, and Bowie recorded a new vocal, releasing the single "Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola" ("Lonely Boy, Lonely Girl") in Italy, reportedly to take attention away from covers by the Italian bands Equipe 84 and The Computers.

The song was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award, together with Peter Sarstedt's "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)".

The song became so well-known that Bowie's second album, originally released as David Bowie in the UK (like his first album), was renamed after the track for its 1972 reissue by RCA, and has since become known by this name.

In December 1972, Mick Rock shot a film clip of Bowie performing the song during the sessions for Aladdin Sane, which was used to promote the January 1973 U.S. reissue on RCA. Upon its re-release, the song reached #15 on the Billboard Chart and became Bowie's first hit single in America. This was then used to support RCA's 1975 UK reissue, which gave Bowie his first #1 single in November.

A stripped down version, originally performed on Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show was issued in February 1980 as the B-side of "Alabama Song".

The B-side version of "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" first appeared on CD on 1989's Sound + Vision.

The song is partially sung during the movie Mr. Deeds

On 20 July 2009, the single was reissued as a digital EP that features four previously-released versions of the song as well as stems allowing fans a chance to remix the song. It coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonlanding.

The rock band U2 used this song during shows on its international 360 concert tour: It is the last song played over the PA system before the house lights go down and as the huge stage, lighting, and sound system, semi-officially known as the "space ship," begins warming up and emitting smoke. It is also used again during a short animated interlude played during the concert on the stage's large wrap around screen, with brief snippets sung by an animated alien space traveler looking out through portholes on the stage/space ship.

The song is featured on the end credits of 2010 psychological thriller Alan Wake and is in the music video game Rock Band 3.

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[toots54663]

Saw them selling this track out of a box at The Beckenham Free Festival 16th August 1969. For more infop do a search for Beckenham Free Festival and find The Beckenham History site.