"The Width of a Circle" is a song written 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 ...

in 1969 for the album '' The Man Who Sold the World'', recorded in spring 1970 and released later that year in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. The opening track on the album, it is a hard rock song with heavy metal overtones. Bowie had performed a shorter version of the song in concerts for several months before recording it. Featuring

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

's lead guitar work and occasional choral effects from the band, this 8-minute song is divided into two parts. The music takes on a heavy R&B quality in the second half, where the narrator enjoys a sexual encounter – with

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

, the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

or some other supernatural being, according to different interpretations – in the depths of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

.Martin Aston (2007). "Scary Monster", ''

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 * ' ...

60 Years of Bowie'': pp.24-25 Some sources claim that the song was released as a single by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, with "

Cygnet Committee "Cygnet Committee" is a song written by David Bowie and recorded in 1969 for his second eponymous album (released in the U.S. as ''Man of Words, Man of Music'' and re-released in 1972 as ''Space Oddity''). At over 9 minutes this ambitious progre ...

" from Bowie's 1969 album ''

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 ...

'' on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. However, this 'Russian' single was pressed by a fan and therefore is unofficial.

Live versions

Several live versions of the song have been released: *A 10-minute, 43-second version recorded at

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating cap ...

on 20 October 1972 has been 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), KMET FM's radio broadcast,Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: ...

'' and ''

Live Santa Monica '72 ''Live Santa Monica '72'' is a live album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released on in the United Kingdom and in the United States. It is the official release of KMET FM's radio broadcast, then bootleg album and – later � ...

''. *A 9-minute edited version 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 ''Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture'' is a live album by English musician David Bowie, released in October 1983 in conjunction with the film of the same name. The music was recorded during the Ziggy Stardust Tour at the Hammersmith Odeon in ...

'' in 1983, the complete 16-minute performance being issued on the ''30th Anniversary 2CD Special Edition'' in 2003. The additional length, featuring an extended instrumental break by

and the band, allowed for Bowie's costume change, a common occurrence during the Ziggy Stardust tours.

Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, writer and director. Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Acti ...

(2000). ''The Complete David Bowie'': pp.238-239 *A version from Bowie's 1974 North American tour was released on ''

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 ...

'' in 1974. *A version recorded with the Tony Visconti Trio (also known as The Hype) on ''The Sunday Show'' on 5 February 1970, introduced by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, was released on ''

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 e ...

'' in 2000.

Other releases

The song appeared on the Japanese compilation ''The Best of David Bowie'' in 1974. The box set ''The Width of a Circle'', released posthumously in 2021, features an early recording of the song from ''The Sounds of the 70s: Andy Ferris''.

Cover versions

*Spurge – ''Crash Course for the Ravers – A Tribute to the Songs of David Bowie'' (1996) *

The Spiders from Mars The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...

– ''The Mick Ronson Memorial Concert'' (2001); the Spiders here consisting of

Joe Elliott Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...

(vocals, acoustic guitar),

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, a ...

(bass),

Woody Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the relea ...

, (drums), Billy Rankin (guitar), and

Nicky Graham Nicholas Lynedoch Graham is a musician, songwriter and music producer from the UK. He was born in Durban, South Africa, in January 1945, before his family returned to the UK in 1960. His musical career began when joining UK band The End in 1965 ...

(piano)

Personnel

: lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

: electric guitar, backing vocals *

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 ...

: bass, backing vocals *

: drums

Notes

References

* Pegg, Nicholas, ''The Complete David Bowie'', Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, {{DEFAULTSORT:Width of a Circle, The David Bowie songs 1970 songs 1973 singles Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Mercury Records singles LGBT-related songs