Life on Mars?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Life on Mars?” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Single by David Bowie from the album Hunky Dory |
|||||
| B-side | "The Man Who Sold the World" | ||||
| Released | 22 June 1973 | ||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||
| Recorded | Trident Studios, London April 1971 |
||||
| Genre | Glam rock, piano rock | ||||
| Length | 3:48 | ||||
| Label | RCA Records 2316 |
||||
| Writer(s) | David Bowie | ||||
| Producer | Ken Scott | ||||
| David Bowie singles chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Hunky Dory track listing | |||||
|
|||||
"Life on Mars?" is a song by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. The track featured guest piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973, it reached #3 in the UK and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. The song re-entered the UK charts at #55 over 30 years later, largely because of a TV show by the same name that used the song.
The song has its origins from an occurrence when Bowie was asked to write English lyrics to a French song ("Comme d'habitude"), the song he came up with was titled "Even a Fool Learns to Love". The Canadian songwriter Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into an English song called "My Way," later made famous by Frank Sinatra. Bowie's version was never released. "Life on Mars?" was Bowie's riposte to losing out on a fortune; it has a similar chord progression to "My Way," and as Bowie explained in an interview with the BBC, it is a "modernistic take" on the Anka/Sinatra song.
In February 1999, Q magazine listed the single as one of the 100 greatest of all time, as voted by the readers. It has continued to chart in the Q 'best of' polls, featuring most recently in 2006 at #45. A BBC Radio 2 poll in 1986 crowned it as the best David Bowie song of all time.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
The song’s second verse is made up entirely of social observations, with Bowie discussing the faults with American cultural imperialism and the state of Britain.
[edit] Life on Mars
Was made into the title of the hit British TV show "Life on Mars", followed by a spin off taking its title from another Bowie song " Ashes to Ashes".
[edit] Music video
To promote the single release, Mick Rock made a simple but striking promotional video, featuring Bowie in a turquoise suit performing the song solo against a white backdrop.
[edit] Track listing
- "Life on Mars?" (Bowie) – 3:48
- "The Man Who Sold the World" (Bowie) – 3:55
The Portuguese release of the single had "Black Country Rock" as the B-Side.
[edit] Production credits
- Producers
- Ken Scott on "Life on Mars?"
- Tony Visconti on "The Man Who Sold the World"
- Musicians
- David Bowie: vocals, guitar
- Mick Ronson: guitar
- Trevor Bolder: bass on "Life On Mars?"
- Tony Visconti: bass on "The Man Who Sold the World/Black Country Rock", piano on "Black Country Rock"
- Mick Woodmansey: drums
- Rick Wakeman: piano on "Life on Mars?"
- Ralph Mace: Moog synthesizer on "The Man Who Sold The World"
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
- BBC Radio 2 webpage on the song
