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"Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter
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 ...
. 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 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 ...
''. After the commercial failure of his self-titled debut album in 1967, Bowie's manager
Kenneth Pitt Kenneth Cooper Pitt (10 November 1922 – 25 February 2019) was a British publicist and talent manager, who managed the career of musicians including David Bowie in the late 1960s. Biography Pitt was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex. In the 1950 ...
commissioned '' Love You till Tuesday'', a promotional film intended to introduce Bowie to a larger audience. For the film, Bowie wrote "Space Oddity", a tale about a fictional astronaut named
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 ...
; its title and subject matter were partly inspired by Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) and Bowie's feelings of alienation at that point in his career. One of the most musically complex songs Bowie had written up to that point, it represented a change from the music hall-influenced sound of his debut to a sound akin to
psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music, psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical el ...
and inspired by the Bee Gees. "Space Oddity" was demoed in early 1969 before the ''Love You till Tuesday'' version was recorded in February; the film includes a promotional clip of the song. After signing with
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
, a new version was recorded in June 1969 at London's Trident Studios. Produced by
Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
, the recording features use of Mellotron and Stylophone. The song was mixed in both mono and stereo formats, and the single's sleeve included an image, a rarity for radio singles at the time. Rush-released as a single to capitalise on the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
Moon landing, it received critical praise and was used by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as background music during its coverage of the event. However, it initially sold poorly in the United Kingdom and was banned by radio stations in the United States. After reaching the UK top 50 by September, Bowie performed the song on the BBC's ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
'' in early October, after which the single climbed to number five, becoming Bowie's first and only chart hit for another three years. A 1972 reissue by
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
was Bowie's first US hit and was promoted with a new
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
filmed by
Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop ...
. Another 1975 reissue as part of a maxi-single became Bowie's first UK number-one single. In 1979, Bowie re-recorded "Space Oddity" for ITV's ''Will Kenny Everett Ever Make It to 1980? Show''. A mainstay during Bowie's concerts, Bowie revisited the Major Tom character in his later singles " Ashes to Ashes" (1980), " Hallo Spaceboy" ( Pet Shop Boys remix) (1995), and " Blackstar" (2015). A range of artists have covered "Space Oddity" and others have released songs that reference Major Tom. A 2013 cover by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield gained widespread attention; its music video was the first filmed in space. The song has appeared in numerous films and television series, and has a pivotal role in the 2013 film ''
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in ''The New Yorker'' on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book '' My World and Welcome to It'' ( Ha ...
''. In 2019, Visconti remixed Bowie's original recording to mark the 50th anniversary of its first release, with a new music video directed by Tim Pope. Initially viewed as a novelty track, "Space Oddity" is now considered one of Bowie's finest recordings and remains one of his most popular songs. It has appeared in numerous "best-of" lists, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".


Background and writing

After a string of unsuccessful singles,
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 his music hall-influenced self-titled debut studio album through Deram Records in 1967. The album was a commercial failure and did little to gain Bowie notice, becoming his last release for two years. Around this time, Bowie acquired a new manager,
Kenneth Pitt Kenneth Cooper Pitt (10 November 1922 – 25 February 2019) was a British publicist and talent manager, who managed the career of musicians including David Bowie in the late 1960s. Biography Pitt was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex. In the 1950 ...
. In 1968, Bowie began a romantic relationship with dancer Hermione Farthingale, which lasted until February 1969. With Farthingale and guitarist John Hutchinson, Bowie formed a group called Feathers. With Bowie on acoustic guitar, the trio performed a small number of concerts between September 1968 and early 1969, combining folk, Merseybeat, poetry and mime. After the commercial failure of ''David Bowie'', Pitt authorised the production of a promotional film in an attempt to introduce Bowie to a larger audience. The film, '' Love You till Tuesday'', which marked the end of Pitt's mentorship of Bowie, went unreleased until 1984. By the end of 1968, Bowie had begun to feel alienation from his career. Knowing ''Love You till Tuesday'' did not have a guaranteed audience and would not feature any new material, Pitt asked Bowie to write something new; "a very special piece of material that would dramatically demonstrate David's remarkable inventiveness and would probably be the high spot of the production". With this in mind, Bowie wrote "Space Oddity", a tale about a fictional astronaut named
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 ...
, the first of Bowie's famous characters. Its title and subject matter were influenced by Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', which premiered in May 1968. Bowie said, "I went stoned out of my mind to see the movie and it really freaked me out, especially the trip passage". Biographer
Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''The New York Times' ...
stated the song was likely inspired by the scene in which an astronaut communicates with his daughter on her birthday, saying "Tell mama that I telephoned" before ingesting a "stress pill", rather than the film's opening or ending. Malcolm Thompson, who directed ''Love You till Tuesday'', later said he and his girlfriend Susie Mercer contributed to the songwriting process. Bowie's break-up with Farthingale deeply affected Bowie. He later said, "It was Hermione who got me writing for and on a specific person". Spitz stated Bowie's feelings of loneliness and heartache following the break-up inspired "Space Oddity". One of the first people to hear "Space Oddity" was Calvin Mark Lee, the head of A&R at
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
in London, who considered the song "otherworldly" and knew it was Bowie's ticket to be signed by the label. According to Mercury associate Simon Hayes, "Lee was really on the case with 'Space Oddity', a total convert. He wanted to sign David – and I said 'Fantastic idea'." At the time, Bowie's future wife Angela Barnett, whom he met in late 1968, was dating
Lou Reizner Lou Reizner (born Chicago 1934, died London 26 June 1977) was a record producer, A&R executive and head of Mercury Records European operations. He produced Rod Stewart's first two solo albums, the orchestral version of The Who's rock opera Tomm ...
, the head of Mercury, who was unimpressed with Bowie's output. Eager to sign Bowie, Lee, without Reizner's knowledge, financed a demo session for "Space Oddity". Lee later told Spitz: "We had to do it all behind Lou's back. But it was such a good record."


Composition


Lyrics

"Space Oddity" tells the story of an astronaut named Major Tom, who is informed by Ground Control that a malfunction has occurred in his spacecraft but Major Tom does not get the message because he either misses it or is in such awe of outer space he does not hear it. He remains in space "sitting in a tin can, far above the world", preparing for his lonely death. In 1969, Bowie compared Major Tom's fate to the ending of ''2001: A Space Odyssey'', saying: "At the end of the song Major Tom is completely emotionless and expresses no view at all about where he's at. He's fragmenting ... at the end of the song his mind is completely blown – he's everything then." Authors David Buckley and
Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor ...
comment on the unusual vocabulary in the lyrics, such as "Ground Control" rather than "Mission Control", "space ship" rather than "rocket", "engines on" rather than "ignition", and the "unmilitary combination" of rank and first name for the character. Bowie's biographers have provided different interpretations of the lyrics. According to Doggett, the lyrics authentically reflect Bowie's mind and thoughts at the time. He writes that Bowie shone a light on the way advertisers and the media seek to own a stake in a lonely man in space while he himself is exiled from Earth. Chris O'Leary said the song is a "moonshot-year prophecy" that humans are not fit for space evolution and the sky is the limit. Similarly, James Perone views Major Tom acting as a "literal character" and a "metaphor" for individuals who are unaware of, or do not make an effort to learn, what the world is. In 2004, American feminist critic Camille Paglia identified the lyrics as representing the counterculture of the 1960s, stating, "As his psychedelic astronaut, Major Tom, floats helplessly into outer space, we sense that the '60s counterculture has transmuted into a hopelessness about political reform ('Planet earth is blue / And there's nothing I can do')".


Music

"Space Oddity" has been characterised as a
psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music, psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical el ...
ballad. It represented Bowie's new interest in acoustic music since joining Feathers. Pegg and Doggett compare the song's style, structure, lyrics and arrangement to those of the Bee Gees' 1967 single "
New York Mining Disaster 1941 "New York Mining Disaster 1941" is the debut American single by the British-Australian pop group the Bee Gees, released on 14 April 1967. It was written by Barry Gibb, Barry and Robin Gibb. Aside from a moderately successful reissue of their Austr ...
", which has similar minor chords and chorus. Hutchinson later stated: "'Space Oddity' was a Bee Gees type song. David knew it, and he said so at the time ... the way he sang it, it's a Bee Gees thing." "Space Oddity" is one of the most complex songs Bowie had written up to that point. He storyboarded each section, all leading into the next until completion. According to O'Leary, in a little over five minutes, the song includes "a faded-in intro, a 12-bar solo verse, a 'liftoff' sequence, a duet verse, a bridge, a two-bar acoustic guitar break, a six-bar guitar solo, a third verse, another bridge, break and solo, and a ' Day in the Life'-style outro to the fade". Bowie stated in 2002 he was "keen on ... writing in such a way that it would lead me into leading some kind of rock musical". Although primarily in the key of C major, the song has a variety of chord changes and resonances that aid in telling the story. The intro has a pairing of
F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor. The F major scale is: : F major is the ...
7/ E and
E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...
, while the first verse alternates between C major and E minor. Wayne's guitar harmonises E and B while on Stylophone, Bowie "drones" C and B. A
D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...
chord plays on the line "God's love be with you" during the pre-liftoff countdown sequence. In the second verse, an E7 chord on the line "really made the grade" counteracts the overall key of C major. O'Leary said this change "brightens" the song. The bridge's "planet earth is blue" has a standard folk-style descending progression; ( B major 9th/ A minor add9/
G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...
add9/ F). According to O'Leary, the B major9 chord "ratifies Major Tom's choice (or doom) to stay out in space". The acoustic-guitar break has a C–F–G–A–A note sequence with the two A notes emphasised.


Recording


Early demos and first studio version

One of the early demos of "Space Oddity", recorded in January 1969, differs greatly from the album version, including unused vocal harmonies and different lyrics. Rather than the softly spoken "lift-off", an American-accented "blast-off!" is present. "I'm floating in a most peculiar way" is replaced with "Can I please get back inside now, if I may?". The demo also includes the later-revised lines: :''And I think my spaceship knows what I must do'' :''And I think my life on Earth is nearly through'' :''Ground Control to Major Tom,'' :''you're off your course, direction's wrong.'' The demo's instrumentation uses only acoustic guitar and Stylophone, which were played by Hutchinson and Bowie, respectively. Bowie had used the Stylophone, a recently released electronic instrument that was mainly marketed to children, to compose the song's melody. Both Bowie and Hutchinson sang vocals on the recording; they recorded another demo version in approximately mid-April 1969. The first full studio version of "Space Oddity", which was for ''Love You till Tuesday'', was recorded on 2 February 1969 at Morgan Studios, London. At this point, the lyrics were finalised. The session was produced by Jonathan Weston; Bowie and Hutchinson were joined by
Colin Wood Colin Arthur Wood (born 15 June 1943) is a British musician engaged in the field of jazz and rock music. Wood was born in Camberwell, South East London, & was moved to Somerset in 1950. He played jazz piano while still at school. In 1962 he went ...
on Hammond organ, Mellotron and flute; Dave Clague on bass and Tat Meager on drums. As in the early demos, Bowie and Hutchinson shared lead vocals, with Bowie voicing Major Tom's dialogue and Hutchinson singing Ground Control's lines. Bowie also played an ocarina solo for this recording, which Hutchinson later called "just silly". According to Pegg, this version is significantly inferior to the ''David Bowie'' recording.


Album version

In June 1969, after Bowie left Deram, Pitt negotiated a one-album deal, with options for a further one or two albums, with
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
and its UK subsidiary Philips. Mercury executives had heard an audition tape that included the demo of "Space Oddity" Bowie and Hutchinson recorded in early 1969. The search for a producer began. After Beatles' producer
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...
turned down the project, Pitt hired
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 ...
, who produced Bowie's later Deram sessions, to produce the album. Before recording for the album began, "Space Oddity" had been selected as the
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
. Visconti, however, saw it as a "novelty record"; in 2016, he told Yahoo! Music he found it derivative of works by the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, calling it "a cheap shot – a gimmick to cash in on the moonshot". Visconti produced the rest of the album but passed production responsibility for "Space Oddity" to Bowie's former engineer
Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
. Dudgeon had worked as an engineer with Bowie on his Deram recordings. On hearing Bowie's demo, Dudgeon said it was "unbelievable"; he and Bowie then planned "every detail" of the recording. Work on the album version of "Space Oddity" and its B-side "
Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" is a song written by David Bowie, first recorded in June 1969 and released as a B-side to his single "Space Oddity". Bowie then rerecorded the song for his second eponymous album (released in the U.S. as ''Man of Wor ...
" began at Trident Studios in London on 20 June 1969. Bowie fell ill with
conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is inflammation of the outermost layer of the white part of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness, or itchiness may occur. The ...
and
overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
s were completed a few days later. Mercury insisted the single was released the following month, ahead of the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
Moon landing. Guitarist Mick Wayne of the British band
Junior's Eyes Junior's Eyes was a British group led by guitarist Mick Wayne (born Michael Wayne, 1945, Kingston upon Hull - died 26 June 1994), which recorded one album and is notable for acting as David Bowie's backing band during 1969. Beginnings Mick W ...
and keyboardist Rick Wakeman were brought on at Visconti's suggestion while composer Paul Buckmaster was hired to arrange the orchestra, which consisted of eight violins, two violas, two cellos, two
arco bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar a ...
es, two flutes and an organ. Buckmaster became an integral part in Bowie's songwriting; he advised Bowie to focus on creating the overall sound rather than the narrative. Dudgeon hired bassist
Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...
and drummer
Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox (born 13 March 1937, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums. He also drummed with several other artists, most notably D ...
of the folk band Pentangle, and Bowie on acoustic guitar and Stylophone completed the lineup. Bowie later said he added the Stylophone at
Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...
's suggestion; " olansaid, you like this kind of stuff, do something with it. And I put it on 'Space Oddity', so it served me well." Dudgeon outlined a plan for the Stylophone and Mellotron parts by scribbling notes on paper; he later told biographer
Paul Trynka Paul Trynka is a British rock journalist and author. He was the editor of the music magazine ''Mojo'' from 1999 to 2003, and has also worked as editorial director of '' Q'' and editor of ''International Musician''. In 2004, he edited publisher D ...
; "When we hit that studio we knew exactly what we wanted – no other sound would do." At one point in the session, Wayne thought he had finished his guitar take early so began retuning one of the strings. Dudgeon like the warped effect of the retuning and asked Wayne to repeat it on the next take. According to Trynka, towards the end of the session, the musicians knew they were a part of something special. Wakeman recorded his part in two takes after hearing the demo once; he later said; "it was one of half a dozen occasions where it made the hair stand up on your neck and you know you're involved in something special. 'Space Oddity' was the first time it ever happened to me". Cox also felt a sense of excitement after the session finished. The session cost £500. Dudgeon was paid £100 for his work on the two songs; in June 2002, he instigated a lawsuit against Bowie claiming he did not receive the agreed two percent of royalties for "Space Oddity". Dudgeon intended to sue for a settlement of £1 million; the suit, however, was halted after Dudgeon's death in a car accident the following month. Dudgeon had told biographer David Buckley he felt "Space Oddity" was among the finest work of Bowie's career.


Mixing

"Space Oddity" was mixed in both mono and stereo formats, a rarity for radio singles at the time. Wakeman later said it was Bowie's idea to mix it in both formats, according to him: "To the best of my knowledge nobody released stereo singles at that time, and they pointed that out to David ... and I can remember David saying, 'That's why this one will be stereo!' And he just stood his ground ... he wasn't being awkward, but he had a vision of how things should be." Biographer Kevin Cann stated stereo copies were given to the media and radio stations while mono copies were given to retailers. According to Nicholas Pegg, the stereo single was sold only in specific territories, including Italy and the Netherlands; the mono single appeared in both Britain and America.


Release and promotion

Philips Records released "Space Oddity" as a single on 11 July 1969 with the catalogue number Philips BF 1801 and "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" as the B-side. Mercury handled its US release. Despite being a rarity for singles at the time, in some territories, the single's sleeve included a photograph of Bowie playing an acoustic guitar. The label rush-released the single to capitalise on the Apollo 11 Moon mission, which was launched five days later. According to Bowie: "It was picked up by British television and used as the background music for the landing itself in Britain ... Though I'm sure they really weren't listening to the lyric at all; it wasn't a pleasant thing to juxtapose against a moon landing. Of course, I was overjoyed that they did." Upon realising the dark lyrics, the BBC ceased playing it until the Apollo 11 crew safely returned home. Shortly after its release, "Space Oddity" received some glowing reviews.
Penny Valentine Penelope Ann Valentine (13 February 1943 – 9 January 2003) was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality. Biography Penny Valentine was born in London, of Jewish and Italian ancestry. In 1959 she became ...
of '' Disc and Music Echo'' predicted the record was "going to knock back everyone senseless", and later named "Space Oddity" as the magazine's record of the year. In '' Melody Maker'',
Chris Welch Chris Welch (born 12 November 1941) is an English music journalist, critic, and author who is best known for his work from the late 1960s as a reporter for ''Melody Maker'', ''Musicians Only'', and ''Kerrang!''. He is the author of over 40 mu ...
wrote: "This Bee Geeian piece of music and poetry is beautifully written, sung and performed. Strangely, it could be a hit and escalate Bowie to the top." Despite the positive reviews and Pitt's attempts at chart rigging, the single initially failed to sell. In September 1969, the single debuted on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number 48. Mercury's publicist Ron Oberman wrote a letter to American journalists describing "Space Oddity" as "one of the greatest recordings I've ever heard. If this already controversial single gets the airplay, it's going to be a huge hit." Despite this, the single failed to sell in the US, peaking at 124, which Pitt attributed to Oberman's use of the word "controversial" in his statement, causing it to be banned by multiple US radio stations. The single's success in the UK earned Bowie a number of television appearances in the latter half of 1969, starting with a performance on Dutch television show ''Doebidoe'' on 25 August 1969 that was broadcast five days later. This was followed by his first appearance on the BBC's ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
'' on 2 October, for which Bowie was filmed in a separate studio so his image could be interspersed with
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
space footage. He played Stylophone and guitar over backing tracks prepared by Dudgeon, who was in charge of synchronising the BBC Orchestra to the backing track. According to Dudgeon in 1991, it was a "nightmare": they were given enough time for only two takes, the second of which had a tighter orchestra but sloppy cohesion between the space footage and Bowie. Dudgeon stated, "If we had had the chance of a third take it would have been brilliant". The performance was broadcast on 9 October and repeated on 16 October; it helped "Space Oddity" peak at number five by early November. The ''Top of the Pops'' performance was followed by performances on Germany's ''4-3-2-1 Musik Für Junge Leute'' on 22 October (broadcast on 22 November) and on Switzerland's ''Hits A-Go-Go'' on 3 November. On 10 May 1970, Bowie performed "Space Oddity" at the
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
, where he was awarded with Most Original Song. Philips released ''David Bowie'' in the UK, with "Space Oddity" as the opening track on 14 November 1969. According to biographer
Christopher Sandford Christopher Sandford (1902–1983) of Eye Manor, Herefordshire, was a book designer, proprietor of the Golden Cockerel Press, a founding director of the Folio Society, and husband of the wood engraver and pioneer Corn dolly revivalist, Lettice Sa ...
, despite the commercial success of "Space Oddity", the remainder of the album bears little resemblance to it, resulting in its commercial failure on its initial release. Although Bowie was named 1969's Best Newcomer in a readers' poll for ''Music Now!'', ''David Bowie'' sold just over 5,000 copies by March 1970. In mid-December 1969, Philips requested a new version of "Space Oddity" with Italian lyrics after learning that one had already been recorded in Italy. Pitt thought the idea was "ridiculous" and said, "it was explained to us that 'Space Oddity' could not be translated into Italian in a way that the Italians could understand". The Italian version was recorded on 20 December at Morgan Studios with accent coach and producer
Claudio Fabi Claudio Fabi (born 29 July 1940) is an Italian record producer, composer, conductor, pianist and arranger. Life and career Born in Rome, Fabi studied at the Pesaro Conservatory and later at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, where he graduated i ...
producing and lyrics being translated by Italian lyricist Mogol. This version, titled "Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola" (), was released as a single in Italy in 1970 and failed to chart. When asked about the single's success, Visconti said: " was surprisedand years later owieand I joked about it so much. But the one thing I predicted was that he would not have a hit after that." Bowie did not have another hit after "Space Oddity" for three years until the release of " Starman". According to Pegg, in a year of novelty hits that began with the Scaffold's " Lily the Pink" and ended with
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...
's "
Two Little Boys "Two Little Boys" is a song written by American composer Theodore F. Morse and lyricist Edward Madden. It was written in 1902 and became a popular music hall song of the time, especially by Scottish singer Harry Lauder. It describes the story of ...
", "Space Oddity" was destined for the same fate; nothing more than a novelty hit. He also noted by 1969, numerous space-themed songs, including
Zager and Evans Zager may refer to: * Bruce B. Zager (born 1952), American justice of the Iowa Supreme Court * Michael Zager (born 1943), American record producer *Zager, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran See also * Bert Zagers Bert Aldon Zagers (Janua ...
's "
In the Year 2525 "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)" is a 1969 hit song by the American pop-rock duo of Zager and Evans. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. It peaked at number one in the UK Singles Cha ...
", which was number one in the UK for the three weeks immediately before "Space Oddity"'s entry into the top 40, had already charted. Only later did it "transcend" the novelty hit to be regarded as a "genuine classic".


Re-releases

After the commercial breakthrough of Bowie's fifth studio album ''
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...
'',
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
undertook a reissue campaign for his Mercury albums that included repackaging ''David Bowie'' with the title ''Space Oddity''. To promote this release, in the US on 13 December 1972, RCA re-released "Space Oddity" as a single backed by " The Man Who Sold the World" with the catalogue number 74-0876. The single reached number 15 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, becoming Bowie's first hit single in the country. In Canada, it reached number 16. RCA again reissued the song in the UK on 26 September 1975 as a
maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...
, in which it was backed by "
Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
" and the then-unreleased 1972 outtake "
Velvet Goldmine ''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...
"; its catalogue number is RCA 2593. The UK reissue was Bowie's first number-one single in the country, replacing "
I Only Have Eyes for You "I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...
" by
Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...
at number one in November. In December 1979, Bowie re-recorded "Space Oddity" for the ITV New Year special '' ''Will Kenny Everett Ever Make It to 1980? Show''. The idea came from the show's director, David Mallet. Bowie recalled:
I agreed as long as I could do it again without all its trappings and do it strictly with three instruments. Having played it with just an acoustic guitar on stage early on, I was always surprised at how powerful it was just as a song, without all the strings and synthesisers. I really wanted to do it as a three-piece song.
Visconti produced this new version; he stripped the original recording to acoustic guitar, bass, drums and piano. Doggett said this instrumentation mirrors
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's 1970 album ''
Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name. Lennon and Ono began a personal and artistic relati ...
'', which had influenced Bowie's vocal performance on his 1977 album '' "Heroes"''. The new recording has a number of differences from the original; replacing the liftoff sequence is 12 seconds of silence and a snare drum fade-out ends the song. O'Leary said while the original "Space Oddity" ends "unresolved", the 1979 version leaves empty space. This version was issued in February 1980 as the B-side of Bowie's single " Alabama Song", which Visconti later said was "never meant" to occur. In July 2009,
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
issued the digital-only
extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
(EP) "Space Oddity 40th Anniversary EP" to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original single. The EP includes the original UK and US mono single edits, the 1979 re-recording and eight stem tracks that isolate the lead vocal, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, string, bass and drums, flute and cellos, Mellotron and Stylophone. These stem tracks are accompanied with a
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
that allows users to create their own remixes. Pegg said the EP "provid sa fascinating insight into the component sounds of a classic recording". The song's 50th anniversary was marked on 12 July 2019 by the release of digital and
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
singles of a new remix of the song by Tony Visconti. The vinyl version was issued in a box set that also includes the original UK mono single edit.


Subsequent releases

Several demo versions of "Space Oddity" have been commercially released. Two early demos, including a fragment that may be the first-recorded demo of the song, were released for the first time in April 2019 on the box set '' Spying Through a Keyhole''. The January 1969 demo remained officially unreleased for more than 40 years until it appeared on the 2009 two-CD special edition of ''David Bowie'', and was debuted on vinyl in May 2019 in the box set '' Clareville Grove Demos''. An edited version of the April 1969 demo originally appeared as the opening track on the 1989 box set '' Sound + Vision''. The unedited recording was released in June 2019 on the album '' The 'Mercury' Demos''. All the abovementioned demos and another previously unreleased one were compiled for the 5-CD box set ''
Conversation Piece A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other. The February 1969 studio recording became commercially available in 1984 on a VHS release of the film ''Love You till Tuesday'' and its accompanying soundtrack album. A shorter edit later appeared on the compilation album '' The Deram Anthology 1966–1968''. The original UK mono single edit was included on ''Re:Call 1'', as part of the box set ''
Five Years (1969–1973) ''Five Years (1969–1973)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in September 2015. The period of Bowie's career from 1969 to 1973 is summarised over twelve discs and thirteen LPs. Exclusive to the box sets is ''R ...
'' (2015). In 1992, the 1979 recording was released in a remixed form on the
Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...
reissue of ''Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'', and, in 2017, it was re-released on ''Re:Call 3'', part of the compilation ''
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) ''A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 29 September 2017. A follow-up to the compilations '' Five Years (1969–1973)'' and '' Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', the set ...
''.


Live versions

"Space Oddity" remained a concert staple and a live favourite throughout Bowie's career. On 22 May 1972, Bowie played the song for
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
's '' Johnny Walker Lunchtime Show'' but the recording was not broadcast. It was eventually released on the 1996 compilation ''
BBC Sessions 1969–1972 (Sampler) ''BBC Sessions 1969–1972 (Sampler)'' is a compilation album by David Bowie, released in 1996. This release is notable for the inclusion of "I'm Waiting for the Man" in a different BBC session take to the version released on ''Bowie at the Bee ...
'' and ''
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 ...
'' (2000). For the BBC session, Bowie inserted "I'm just a rocket man!" between verses; Elton John had recently released " Rocket Man", which is also about an astronaut and was also produced by Gus Dudgeon. A version of the song that was recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the
Ziggy Stardust Tour The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by David Bowie during 1972–73, to promote the studio albums ''Hunky Dory'', ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' and ''Aladdin Sane''. Bowie was accompanied by his backin ...
was first released on ''
Santa Monica '72 ''Santa Monica '72'' is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust Tour. Taken from KMET FM's radio broadcast,Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: An Illust ...
'' before becoming officially available in 2008 on '' Live Santa Monica '72''. A live performance that was recorded at the
Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...
, London, on 3 July 1973 was released on '' Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture'' (1983). During the 1974
Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album '' Diamond Dogs'' (1974). The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-style stage show format with mult ...
, Bowie sang "Space Oddity" while being raised and lowered above the stage by a cherry picker crane and used a radio microphone that was disguised as a telephone. A July 1974 performance of the song was released on the 2005 reissue of ''
David Live ''David Live'' is the first official live album by English musician David Bowie, originally released through RCA Records in 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the Tower Theater ...
'' while a September performance from the same tour was released in 2017 on ''
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74) ''Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'' is a live album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released posthumously as a Record Store Day release on 22 April 2017 through Parlophone record label. Produced by Bowie and mixed by Tony V ...
''. A concert performance that was recorded on 12 September 1983 was included on the live album '' Serious Moonlight (Live '83)'', which was included in the 2018 box set ''
Loving the Alien (1983–1988) ''Loving the Alien (1983–1988)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 12 October 2018. A follow-up to the compilations ''Five Years (1969–1973)'', ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', and ''A New Career in a ...
'' and released separately the following year. The same performance appears on the concert video '' Serious Moonlight'' (1984). Bowie effectively retired the song from live performances during his 1990
Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
, after which he sang it on a few occasions, most notably closing his 50th birthday party concert in January 1997 with a solo performance on acoustic guitar; this version was released on a limited edition CD-ROM that was issued with ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine in March 1999. He then performed it at the
Tibet House US Tibet House US (THUS) is a Tibetan cultural preservation and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1987 in New York City by a group of Westerners after the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, expressed his wish to establish a cultural insti ...
benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in February 2002; this new version includes an orchestra conducted by Visconti, with string arrangements played by Scorchio and
Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...
. Bowie's final performance of "Space Oddity" was at Denmark's Horsens Festival during the 2002 Heathen Tour.


Music videos

On 6 February 1969, a clip of the first version of "Space Oddity" for ''Love You till Tuesday'' was filmed at Clarence Studios. Bowie plays both the tee-shirt-wearing Ground Control character and Major Tom; he wears a silver suit, a blue visor and breast plate. Final touches were made the following day. RCA used this clip to promote the September 1975 UK single reissue. To promote RCA's December 1972 US reissue of "Space Oddity", a new promotional video was created at RCA's New York studios by photographer
Mick Rock Michael David Rock (born Michael Edward Chester Smith; 21 November 1948 – 18 November 2021) was a British photographer. He photographed rock music acts such as Queen, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings, T. Rex, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop ...
; Bowie, who was tired and wore little makeup, mimes to the song with a guitar. Bowie later said:
I really hadn't much clue why we were doing this, as I had moved on in my mind from the song, but I suppose the record company were re-releasing it again or something like that. Anyway, I know I was disinterested in the proceedings and it shows in my performance. Mick's video is good, though."
A promotional video for the 1979 version was debuted in the UK on 31 December 1979 on the ''Will Kenny Everett Ever Make It to 1980? Show'', and in the US on ''Dick Clark's Salute to the Seventies''. A fourth video, which was directed by Tim Pope and combines footage from Bowie's 50th birthday concert in Madison Square Garden with backdrop footage choreographer Édouard Lock filmed for the
Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
(1990), was created for the 2019 remix of the song to promote the box set ''
Conversation Piece A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other. The video was premiered at the
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
and in
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
on 20 July, and uploaded to
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
hours later.


Legacy


Major Tom

Bowie revisited the character Major Tom in the 1980 single " Ashes to Ashes", from '' Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)'' (1980). In the song, Major Tom is described as a "junkie" who is "strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all time low" but Ground Control still believes Major Tom is doing as well as he was ten years prior. The song has been interpreted as Bowie's confrontation of his past; after years of drug addiction in the 1970s, he used those struggles as a metaphor for Major Tom becoming a drug addict. The song's music video reuses visual elements from the December 1979 television performance of "Space Oddity". The 1996 Pet Shop Boys remix of the single " Hallo Spaceboy", from '' Outside'' (1995), also revisits Major Tom. The idea for the song came from Pet Shop Boys member
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 ...
, who informed Bowie he would be adding "Space Oddity"-related lines to the remix. Although Bowie was hesitant at first, he accepted. Tennant sang the "Space Oddity"-related lines in the remix: "Ground to Major, bye-bye Tom / Dead the circuit, countdown's wrong". Major Tom may have influenced the music video for Bowie's 2015 single " Blackstar", the title track from his final album ''
Blackstar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...
'' (2016). The video, a surreal, ten-minute short film that was directed by
Johan Renck Bo Johan Renck (born 5 December 1966) is a Swedish director of music videos, TV and film. He was originally a singer-songwriter from 1991 to 2001, using the moniker Stakka Bo, and had an international hit with his single " Here We Go" in 1993. Re ...
, depicts a woman with a tail (
Elisa Lasowski Elisa Wald-Lasowski (born 15 November 1984) is a French actress, most notable for her film and television work. She grew up in the Netherlands, Algeria and France. She is fluent in French, English, Spanish, Dutch and German. Acting Lasowski has ...
), who discovers a dead astronaut and takes his jewel-encrusted skull to an ancient, otherworldly town. The astronaut's bones float towards a solar eclipse while in the town's centre, a circle of women perform a ritual with the skull. Renck initially refused to confirm or deny that the astronaut in the video is Major Tom but he later said on a BBC documentary: "to me, it was 100% Major Tom".


Retrospective appraisal

"Space Oddity" remains one of Bowie's most-popular songs and has frequently been listed by publications as one of his greatest songs. In 2015, ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
'' magazine rated it Bowie's 23rd-best track in a list of his 100 greatest songs. Following Bowie's death in 2016, ''Rolling Stone'' named "Space Oddity" one of the 30 most-essential songs of Bowie's catalogue. A year later, the staff of ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' voted it Bowie's tenth-best track. In 2017, the readers of ''
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 ...
'' voted "Space Oddity" Bowie's seventh-best track while the publication's staff placed it at number 18 in a list of Bowie's 40 best songs. ''The Guardian'' Alexis Petridis voted "Space Oddity" number 25 in his list of Bowie's 50 greatest songs, writing: "Bowie perfectly inhabits its mood of blank-eyed, space-age alienation". In 2020, Tom Eames of Smooth Radio listed "Space Oddity" as Bowie's fifth-greatest song. Both ''
Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
'' and ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' listed it as Bowie's greatest song in 2016 and 2021, respectively. Spencer Kaufman wrote: "The song was revolutionary for its time, musically and lyrically, and helped introduce the masses to one of the most dynamic and creative music acts we will ever know." In a list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best, ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' placed "Space Oddity" at number four. "Space Oddity" has appeared on numerous best-of lists. In a 2000 list compiling the 100 greatest rock songs, VH1 placed "Space Oddity" at number 60. In 2012, ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' included it in their list of the 100 greatest top songs of all time, ranking it number 43. In lists ranking the greatest songs of the 1960s, ''NME'' ranked "Space Oddity" at number 20, ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' placed it at number 48, '' Paste'' magazine ranked it number three and ''Treble'' magazine placed it at number two. In 2021, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' ranked "Space Oddity" at number 189 in their list of the "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...
". The magazine stated as Bowie's first hit, it "offer djust a glimpse of the ever-evolving star he would become". Several publications, including ''Mojo'' (39), ''NME'' (67), and ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'' (41), have also listed "Space Oddity" as one of the greatest singles of all time. ''
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' similarly ranked it the 27th-greatest British number-one single in 1997 while ''NME'' ranked it number 26 in their 2012 list of the greatest number-one singles in history. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Space Oddity" in their list of " The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". The song was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
in 2018. Based on "Space Oddity"'s appearances in professional rankings and listings, the review-aggregation website Acclaimed Music lists the song as the third-most-acclaimed song of 1969, the 23rd-most-acclaimed song of the 1960s and the 56th-most-acclaimed song in history.


Track listing

All songs written by David Bowie. ; 1969 UK original # "Space Oddity" – 4:33 (mono) # "
Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" is a song written by David Bowie, first recorded in June 1969 and released as a B-side to his single "Space Oddity". Bowie then rerecorded the song for his second eponymous album (released in the U.S. as ''Man of Wor ...
" – 3:52 ; 1969 US original # "Space Oddity" – 3:26 # "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" – 3:20 ; 1969 "Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola" # "Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola" (Bowie, Mogol) – 5:15 # "
Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" is a song written by David Bowie, first recorded in June 1969 and released as a B-side to his single "Space Oddity". Bowie then rerecorded the song for his second eponymous album (released in the U.S. as ''Man of Wor ...
" (Bowie) – 4:59 ; 1973 US Reissue # "Space Oddity" – 5:05 # " The Man Who Sold the World" – 3:53 ; 1975 UK reissue # "Space Oddity" – 5:15 # "
Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
" – 3:33 # "
Velvet Goldmine ''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star ...
" – 3:14 ; 2009
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
reissue (Digital EP) # "Space Oddity" (Original UK mono single edit) # "Space Oddity" (US mono single edit) # "Space Oddity" (US stereo single edit) # "Space Oddity" (1979 rerecording) # "Space Oddity" (Bass and drums) # "Space Oddity" (Strings) # "Space Oddity" (Acoustic guitar) # "Space Oddity" (Mellotron) # "Space Oddity" (Backing vocal, flute and cellos) # "Space Oddity" (Stylophone and guitar) # "Space Oddity" (Lead vocal) # "Space Oddity" (Main backing vocal including countdown) ; 2019 reissue (2×7") Disc 1 # "Space Oddity" (Original Mono Single Edit) # "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" (Original Mono Single Version) Disc 2 # "Space Oddity" (2019 Mix – Single Edit) # "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" (2019 Mix – Single Version)


Personnel

Credits apply to the 1969 original release: *
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 ...
vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, Stylophone, handclaps *
Mick Wayne Junior's Eyes was a British group led by guitarist Mick Wayne (born Michael Wayne, 1945, Kingston upon Hull - died 26 June 1994), which recorded one album and is notable for acting as David Bowie's backing band during 1969. Beginnings Mick ...
lead guitar *
Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...
bass guitar *
Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox (born 13 March 1937, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums. He also drummed with several other artists, most notably D ...
drums * Paul Buckmaster string arrangement *
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 ...
flutes, woodwinds * Rick Wakeman Mellotron Production *
Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
producer Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola (1969) * Producers:
Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...
* Musicians: ** David Bowie – vocals, guitar, Stylophone **
Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...
– bass **
Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox (born 13 March 1937, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums. He also drummed with several other artists, most notably D ...
– drums ** Rick Wakeman – Mellotron ** String Section (unnamed)


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Cover versions and appearances in media

"Space Oddity" has been covered by numerous artists. Performers on the original recording Rick Wakeman and Terry Cox, specifically the latter's band Pentangle, have covered the song. One of Bowie's favourite versions was a recording by the Langley Schools Music Project, a 60-voice choir of Canadian children who were recorded in the late 1970s and reissued on CD in 2002. Bowie said: "The backing arrangement is astounding. Coupled with the earnest if lugubrious vocal performance, you have a piece of art that I couldn't have conceived of, even with half of Colombia's finest export products in me." Many artists have written songs that reference or develop the story of "Space Oddity"; these include German singer Peter Schilling's 1983 song " Major Tom (Coming Home)", Panic on the Titanic's "Major Tom", and
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
's 1987 single "
Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
". English singer-songwriter
Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...
released a mashup of "Space Oddity" together with Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)" titled "Space Oddity / Major Tom (Coming Home)". This release reached No. 77 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in May 1984. "Space Oddity" has been heard and referenced in numerous films and television series, including the American sitcom '' Friends'', the British series '' EastEnders'' and '' Shooting Stars'', and the films '' Mr. Deeds'' (2002), '' The Mother'' (2003) and '' C.R.A.Z.Y.'' (2005). The original single version is heard on the soundtrack of the 2004 film ''
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' is a 2004 television film about the life of English comedian Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis's book of the same name. 1108 pagesPublished in the U.S. via Applause BooksA very comprehensive biography, w ...
'' and a 2015 episode of the American drama series ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
''. It was also featured in a 2011
Renault Clio The Renault Clio () is a supermini car ( B-segment), produced by French automobile manufacturer Renault. It was launched in 1990, and entered its fifth generation in 2019. The Clio has had substantial critical and commercial success, being con ...
commercial and played on the radio of
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car that served as the dummy payload for the February 2018 Falcon Heavy test flight and became an artificial satellite of the Sun. A mannequin in a Space suit#SpaceX spacesuit, spacesuit, dubbed ...
during its launch aboard the Falcon Heavy's maiden flight in February 2018. The song plays a pivotal role in the 2013 film ''
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in ''The New Yorker'' on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book '' My World and Welcome to It'' ( Ha ...
'', in which Walter Mitty (
Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...
) is frequently referred to as "Major Tom" for daydreaming while at work. "Space Oddity" is featured in a scene in which Mitty decides to leap onto a helicopter after imagining his coworker Cheryl (
Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
) singing the song. For the scene, Wiig's vocal was mixed into Bowie's original track. Stiller said about the importance of "Space Oddity" in the scene:
I felt like the way it fits into the story, we got to this point and this scene which was sort of how the fantasy and reality come together for Walter, and that was what that came out of. That song, and what he mentioned in his head, and what he imagines and what he does, it all just seemed to come together over that song.
"Space Oddity" was played throughout the entire opening montage for the 2017 film ''
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'' (french: Valérian et la Cité des mille planètes) is a 2017 space opera film written and directed by Luc Besson, and produced by his wife, Virginie Besson-Silla. It is based on the French scie ...
'', which showed humans making contact with extraterrestrial life. Director
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...
timed the sequences of the scene to the guitar chords of "Space Oddity", and it took many hours for the shots from the film to be synched with the song, and the bass riff was used to signify humanity's first contact with aliens. The opening sequence had originally been storyboarded with the intention of 'Space Oddity' being played in the background, with Besson saying "It's almost a music video; I matched the song to the image." Besson previously worked with Bowie on ''
Arthur and the Invisibles ''Arthur and the Invisibles'' or ''Arthur and the Minimoys'' (French: ''Arthur et les Minimoys'') is a 2006 English-language French fantasy adventure comedy animated/live-action film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is ...
'' (2006), and the singer agreed to allow Besson to use "Space Oddity" in ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'', although Bowie died before the film was released.


Chris Hadfield version

In May 2013, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander of
Expedition 35 Expedition 35 was the 35th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition started 13 March 2013, and marked the first time a Canadian astronaut – Colonel Chris Hadfield – was in command of the station. Expedi ...
to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
(ISS), recorded a video of "Space Oddity" on the ISS that went viral and generated a great deal of media exposure. It was the first music video to be recorded in space. In the video, which was filmed at the end of Hadfield's time at the ISS, Hadfield sang and played guitar while floating around the space station. On Earth, Joe Corcoran produced and mixed the backing track with a piano arrangement by multi-instrumentalist
Emm Gryner Emm Gryner (born 8 June 1975 in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian-Filipino singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfie ...
, who worked with Bowie during his 1999–2000 concert tours. Gryner said she was "so proud to be a part of it". The lyrics were somewhat altered; rather than losing communication with Ground Control and being lost in space as a result, Major Tom receives his orders to land and does so safely, reflecting Hadfield's imminent return from his final mission to the ISS. Hadfield announced the video on his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account, writing: "With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World." Bowie is also thanked in the closing credits. Bowie's social media team responded to the video, tweeting back to Hadfield, "Hallo Spaceboy ...", and later called the cover "possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created". Hadfield's performance was the subject of a piece by Glenn Fleishman in ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' on 22 May 2013 analyzing the legal implications of publicly performing a copyrighted work of music while in Earth orbit. The song is the only one of Bowie's for which he did not own the copyright. Bowie's publisher granted Hadfield a one-year licence to the song. On 13 May 2014, when the one-year licence expired, the official video was taken offline despite Bowie's explicit wishes for the publisher to grant Hadfield a licence at no charge to record the song and produce the video. Following negotiations, the video was restored to YouTube on 2 November 2014 with a two-year licence agreement in place. According to Pegg, Hadfield's video is "Breathtakingly beautiful and extraordinarily moving, ndoffers a rare opportunity to deploy that overused adjective 'awesome' with complete justification".


See also

* "Ashes to Ashes" (David Bowie song) * " Hallo Spaceboy" * "Blackstar" (song)


References


Sources

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External links


''Love you till Tuesday'' version
on YouTube
Chris Hadfield's version
on YouTube {{Authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles 1973 singles 1975 singles David Bowie songs Number-one singles in France UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs about spaceflight Songs about fictional male characters Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon Philips Records singles Mercury Records singles RCA Records singles Major Tom Psychedelic folk songs Folk ballads 1960s ballads