“Can you hear me Major Tom?”
The second album by David Bowie (titled David Bowie and latterly known as Space Oddity) was released fifty-five years ago today in the UK through Mercury affiliate Philips Records.
Financed by Mercury on the strength of the Space Oddity single, the album was recorded in 1969 at Trident Studios in London with Tony Visconti producing, aside from Space Oddity itself which was produced by Gus Dudgeon.
Mercury added the legend Man of Words/Man of Music for the US version of the album and used different artwork. Neither the Philips or Mercury versions had any commercial success, despite a positive reaction from critics.
The album finally reached the audience it deserved with the reissue in 1972 by RCA Records under the title of Space Oddity, following Bowie’s commercial breakthrough with Ziggy Stardust. Using a contemporary Mick Rock photo of Bowie as the artwork, the reissue charted in both the UK and the US.
Tony Visconti revisited the album five years ago for the superb Space Oddity (2019 Mix) release which included Conversation Piece, not included on the original.
The cover images here were taken by Vernon Dewhurst.
#SpaceOddity55