''Spying Through a Keyhole'' is a box set by English musician

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 ...

, released in April 2019. The set includes four 7"

vinyl records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

containing nine songs written and performed by Bowie during 1968, the era in which he was writing for his album ''

'' (1969). All songs in the collection are presented in

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

form.

Background

Announced in January 2019, the box set was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Bowie's 1969 album ''David Bowie''. The title is taken from one of the included, previously unknown songs called "Love Is All Around". Some of the songs in the collection ("London Bye, Ta-Ta", "In The Heat of the Morning", and "Space Oddity") have been released before, but not in this form. A brief excerpt from "Space Oddity" is believed to be the first demo of the song that Bowie ever recorded. The set includes early photos of Bowie, including one taken in his friend (and frequent album producer and musician)

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

's apartment in 1968. The box set was made available on streaming services such as

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on 21 June 2019.

Recording dates

The box set's liner notes suggest that all tracks, beside "

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 ...

", had been recorded between January and February 1968, just prior to the studio session for "In The Heat of the Morning" and "London Bye, Ta-Ta" in March 1968. The two "Space Oddity" demos are speculated to have been recorded in November, when the song was claimed to have been written.Bowie – Mercury Demos Liner Notes, 2019, Parlophone

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control David Bowie compilation albums 2019 compilation albums Parlophone compilation albums