"Hallo Spaceboy" is a song by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

from his 1995 album '' Outside'', and the third and final single from the album. The track was re-recorded in 1996 and issued as a remix featuring Pet Shop Boys as guest artists. Bowie and Brian Eno co-wrote the original album version of the song.

Song development

Written in early 1995, Bowie biographers Nicholas Pegg and Chris O'Leary point to the influence of the work of Brion Gysin on the song, who purportedly spoke the words "Moon dust will cover me" just before his death in 1986. Recording partner Reeves Gabrels recalled writing a song fragment called "Moondust" in mid-1994, which he thinks may have also influenced the song. Bowie wrote and recorded the song in mostly-improvised sessions with his band in 1995, and intentionally wrote it with a Nine Inch Nails-like vibe. Early work on the song was done with Brian Eno,

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garson. He has als ...

, and drummer

Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...

. After finishing the track, Bowie said "I adore that track. In my mind, it was like

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

meets industrial. When I heard it back, I thought, 'Fuck me. It's like

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

Doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...

.' It's an extraordinary sound."

Single release and promotion

In late December 1995, Bowie was intending "Hallo Spaceboy" to be his next single after " Strangers When We Meet", and as such the song was performed twice in Birmingham, England: once as part of the regular set, and once as the final song of the show, with that last performance intended to be the official music video for the song. Concurrently, however, the Pet Shop Boys were approached to remix the song, and their remix was used as the official single version instead. The final official music video for "Hallo Spaceboy" was directed by David Mallet, mixing shots of both Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys into a rapid-fire montage of Cold War era retro-footage of science fiction film clips, atomic bomb testing footage, and television advertising clips.

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and ...

explained that since the original song had only a single verse, band mate

Chris Lowe Christopher Sean Lowe (born 4 October 1959) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981. Biography Lowe attended Arnold School, an independen ...

suggested using lyrical fragments from Bowie's 1969 song "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...

" to create a second verse. Bowie initially expressed reservation about the additions when Tennant initially told him during a telephone conversation, but later agreed that they worked well. For the single's release, alongside the Pet Shop Boys remix, two live tracks from the Birmingham show, " Moonage Daydream" and "

Under Pressure "Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, ...

", were included, but the live version of "Hallo Spaceboy" was never released until the entire show was made available as the live album '' No Trendy Réchauffé (Live Birmingham 95)'' in 2020. Tennant told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' in a 1997 interview that he and Lowe, working alongside Bowie, had completed what Tennant called the "

Major Tom Major Tom is a persona of David Bowie's, referenced in songs "Space Oddity", " Ashes to Ashes", "Hallo Spaceboy", "Blackstar" and " Angel With A Shotgun" Bowie's own interpretation of the character evolved throughout his career. "Space Oddity ...

trilogy", in reference to a fictional character who first appeared in Space Oddity and who had later recurred in Bowie's 1980 song " Ashes to Ashes". Tennant explained, "I said to David Bowie, 'It's like Major Tom is in one of those Russian spaceships they can’t afford to bring down,' and he owiesaid, 'Oh wow, is that where he is?'"

Critical reception

British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song four out of five, adding, "Overhauled with a Pet Shop Boys production/remix with extra vocals by

, this ''Outsider'' track has been transformed into a

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

anthem with chart appeal to the max."

Live performances

In late 1995, Bowie performed this song together with Nine Inch Nails during Bowie's

Outside Tour The Outside Tour was a tour by English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the '' 1. Outside'' album which it supported. The tour visited stops in North Americ ...

. In December 1995, Bowie performed the song twice at a concert in Birmingham, both of which appear on the live album ''No Trendy Réchauffé (Live Birmingham 95)'' (2020); he and the band also performed the song live on Jools Holland's 'Later' (Series 6) that same month. In February 1996, Bowie performed the song with Pet Shop Boys at the 1996

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. A version recorded in July 1996 at the Phoenix Festival in England was released on the various artist compilation ''Phoenix: The Album'' in 1997. Played regularly during the Earthling Tour in 1997, a July 1997 recording was released on the live album '' Look at the Moon!'' in 2021, and a November 1997 recording from the same tour appeared on the live album '' LiveAndWell.com'' in 2000 (re-released in 2021). The Pet Shop Boys performed their version of the song live with Sylvia Mason-James singing Bowie's parts, released on the DVD ''Somewhere – Live at the Savoy'' (1997). At Bowie's 50th Birthday Bash in New York January 1997, the song was performed together with Foo Fighters. This performance featured

Zachary Alford Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album. Alford contrib ...

William Goldsmith William Goldsmith (born July 4, 1972) is an American drummer best known as a member of Sunny Day Real Estate and former member of Foo Fighters. Currently drumming for Assertion, he has toured with Mike Watt and IQU, performed on many recordings ...

and Dave Grohl on three different drum sets and

Nate Mendel Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, as well as a former member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He has also worked with musical acts The Jealous So ...

and

Gail Ann Dorsey Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she is perhaps best known for her lengthy residency in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016. Asid ...

on two bass guitars simultaneously. Bowie's 25 June 2000 performance of the song at the Glastonbury Festival was released in 2018 on '' Glastonbury 2000''. Bowie performed the song live at BBC Radio Theatre, London, on 27 June 2000, and a recording of this performance was included on the bonus disc accompanying the first releases of ''

Bowie at the Beeb ''Bowie at the Beeb'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three-CD set, the third, bonus CD being a live recording made on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre. Later ...

'' in 2000. A November 2003 live performance from the

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the ''Reality'' album. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealan ...

is included on the ''

'' DVD, released in 2004, as well as the ''

'' album, released in 2010.

Other releases

The Pet Shop Boys remix was released as an additional track on '' Outside – version 2'' and is included on some editions of the compilation albums '' Best of Bowie'' (2002), ''

Nothing Has Changed ''Nothing Has Changed'' (stylised as ''Nothing has changed.'') is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie. It was released on 18 November 2014 through Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings in ...

'' (2014), and ''

Bowie Legacy ''Legacy (The Very Best of David Bowie)'' (also known as ''Legacy'') is a greatest hits album by English musician David Bowie, released on 11 November 2016 through Sony Music Entertainment in the US and Warner Music Group in the UK and several t ...

'' (2016). Several of the remixes, mostly from the 12" promo singles, were released on the 2004 limited 2CD edition of ''Outside''. The extended Pet Shop Boys remix of "Hallo Spaceboy" is included on the Pet Shop Boys album ''Disco 4'', released on 8 October 2007.

Remixes

Ball and Vauk

The three remixes by Dave Ball (known as the instrumentalist of

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their pla ...

) and Ingo Vauk are based on the Pet Shop Boys Remix, but only ''Double Click Mix'' uses Neil Tennant's vocals. ''Instrumental'' is an instrumental version of ''Double Click Mix''. Except the single mix, all remixes were initially released only on promo 12" singles. In 2004 they were included on the bonus disc of the re-released ''Outside'' album.

Track listing

* All tracks by Bowie/ Eno unless noted. All live tracks were recorded 13 December 1995 in Birmingham, England during the

CD: BMG-Arista / 74321 35383 2 Europe

# "Hallo Spaceboy ( Pet Shop Boys remix)" – 4:25 # "

(live)" ( Mercury,

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

, Bowie) – 4:07 * released in a card sleeve

CD: RCA-BMG 74321 35384 2 United Kingdom

# "Hallo Spaceboy" ( Pet Shop Boys remix) – 4:25 # "

" (live) (Mercury, Deacon, Taylor, May, Bowie) – 4:07 # " Moonage Daydream" (live) (Bowie) – 5:25 # " The Hearts Filthy Lesson" (Radio Edit) (Bowie, Eno, Gabrels, Kızılçay, Campbell) – 4:56

CD: BMG-Arista / 74321 35382 2 Europe

# "Hallo Spaceboy" ( Pet Shop Boys remix) – 4:25 # "

" (live) (Mercury, Deacon, Taylor, May, Bowie) – 4:07 # " Moonage Daydream" (live) (Bowie) – 5:25 # " The Hearts Filthy Lesson" (Bowie Mix) (Bowie, Eno, Gabrels, Kızılçay, Campbell) – 4:56

CD: BMG-Arista / BVCA-8820 Japan

# "Hallo Spaceboy" ( Pet Shop Boys remix) – 4:25 # "

" (live) (Mercury, Deacon, Taylor, May, Bowie) – 4:07 # " Moonage Daydream" (live) (Bowie) – 5:25 # " The Hearts Filthy Lesson" (Rubber Mix) (Bowie, Eno, Gabrels, Kızılçay, Campbell) – 4:56

UK 7" version

# "Hallo Spaceboy ( Pet Shop Boys remix)" – 4:25 # " The Hearts Filthy Lesson (Radio edit)" (Bowie, Eno, Gabrels, Kızılçay, Campbell) – 3:33

12": BMG-Arista / SPACE 2 Europe

# "Hallo Spaceboy" (12" remix) – 6:34

12": BMG / SPACE 3 United Kingdom

# "Hallo Spaceboy" (Double Click mix) – 7:47 # "Hallo Spaceboy" (Instrumental) – 7:41 # "Hallo Spaceboy" (Lost in Space mix) – 6:29

12": Virgin / SPRO-11513 United States

# "Hallo Spaceboy" (12" remix) – 6:45 # "Hallo Spaceboy" ( Pet Shop Boys remix) – 4:25 # "Hallo Spaceboy" (Double Click mix) – 7:47 # "Hallo Spaceboy" (Lost in Space mix) – 6:29 * US promo

Personnel

Producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

: **

** Brian Eno ** David Richards * Musicians (original album version): **

: lead and backing vocals,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

** Brian Eno: synthesizers, drum machine **

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

: lead guitar **

: rhythm guitar **

Erdal Kızılçay Erdal Kızılçay (born c. 1950) is a multi-instrumentalist musician of Turkish birth. He has worked with, among others, David Bowie. He plays bass guitar, oud, drums, keyboards, trumpet and violin. He lives in Aegerten, Switzerland. Work with ...

: bass **

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Brookly ...

: piano ** Sterling Campbell: drums * Musicians ( Pet Shop Boys remix): **

: lead and backing vocals **

: synthesizers, programming

Charts

References

{{authority control 1996 singles 1995 songs David Bowie songs Pet Shop Boys songs Songs written by David Bowie Songs written by Brian Eno Song recordings produced by Brian Eno Song recordings produced by David Bowie Arista Records singles LGBT-related songs Major Tom Music videos directed by David Mallet (director) Number-one singles in Israel