Recording and Release
Following Bowie's split from record label Deram, his manager Kenneth Pitt negotiated 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, while Tony Visconti liked the album demo-tracks, but considered the planned lead-off single, "Space Oddity", a gimmick track, and delegated its production to Gus Dudgeon. The session players on the song included Rick Wakeman (mellotron), Mick Wayne (guitar), Herbie Flowers (bass) and Terry Cox (drums). 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 June 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing. It was promoted via advertisements for the Stylophone, played by Bowie on the record. Although they initially refused to give the song airplay, the BBC played it during their coverage of the Apollo 11 launch and lunar landing. This exposure finally gave Bowie a hit, reaching #5 in the chart. In the U.S, 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.
Upon its re-release as a single in 1973, the song reached #15 on the Billboard Chart and became Bowie's first hit single in America; in neighbouring Canada, it reached #16. 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, "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud", first appeared on CD on 1989's Sound + Vision.
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 song and the Apollo 11 moon landing.
"Space Oddity" was featured as one of the on-disc songs in the videogame Rock Band 3.
"Space Oddity" was also featured in the psychological thriller videogame, "Alan Wake" as the credits song.
Read more about this topic: Space Oddity (song)
Famous quotes containing the words recording and/or release:
“I didn’t have to think up so much as a comma or a semicolon; it was all given, straight from the celestial recording room. Weary, I would beg for a break, an intermission, time enough, let’s say, to go to the toilet or take a breath of fresh air on the balcony. Nothing doing!”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“The near touch of death may be a release into life; if only it will break the egoistic will, and release that other flow.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)