Space Oddity (album)

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Space Oddity (album)

Space Oddity is a 1969 album by rock musician David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
. Originally released by Philips

Philips Records

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics giant Philips. It was started as Philips Phonographische Industries in 1950 in music....
in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
as David Bowie and by Mercury

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....
in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
as Man of Words/Man of Music, it was reissued by RCA Records

RCA Records

RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1983 and a partner from 1983 to 1986....
in 1972 under its current title.

Regarding its mix of folk, balladry and prog rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." The term "art rock" is often used interchangeably with "progressive rock", but while there are crossovers between the two genres, they are not identical....
, NME
NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition....
editors Roy Carr

Roy Carr

Roy Carr is an England music journalist. He joined the New Musical Express in the 1960s and has edited NME, VOX and Melody Maker magazines....
and Charles Shaar Murray

Charles Shaar Murray

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Encyclopedia

Space Oddity is a 1969 album by rock musician David Bowie

David Bowie

Philips Records

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics giant Philips. It was started as Philips Phonographische Industries in 1950 in music....
in the UK

United Kingdom

Mercury Records

United States

RCA Records

Progressive rock

Roy Carr

Roy Carr is an England music journalist. He joined the New Musical Express in the 1960s and has edited NME, VOX and Melody Maker magazines....
and Charles Shaar Murray

Charles Shaar Murray

Charles Shaar Murray is an England music journalist.His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz ....
have said, "Some of it belonged in '67 and some of it in '72, but in 1969 it all seemed vastly incongruous. Basically, David Bowie can be viewed in retrospect as all that Bowie had been and a little of what he would become, all jumbled up and fighting for control..."

Held to be "the first Bowie album proper", and his first deemed worthy by record companies of regular reissue, Space Oddity featured a notable list of collaborators, including session players Herbie Flowers

Herbie Flowers

Herbie Flowers is an England studio musician specialising in bass guitar, double-bass and tuba, who came to prominence performing with David Bowie and Elton John, and then later Lou Reed....
, Tim Renwick

Tim Renwick

Timothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is anEngland guitarist....
, Terry Cox

Terry Cox

Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played Drum kit in the British folk rock bands Pentangle , Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums.He also drummed with several other artists, most notably David Bowie and Elton John....
, and Rick Wakeman

Rick Wakeman

Richard Christopher Wakeman is an England keyboard player best known as the keyboardist for progressive rock group Yes . Originally a classically trained pianist, he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and in the use of a rock band in combination with orchestra and choir....
, as well as cellist Paul Buckmaster

Paul Buckmaster

Paul Buckmaster is a Grammy Award United Kingdom artist, arranger and composer. He is perhaps best known for his orchestral collaborations with Elton John....
, multi-instrumentalist and producer

Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
Tony Visconti

Tony Visconti

Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of notable performers, including the Moody Blues, as well as T....
, and bassist

Bassist

A bass player is a musician who plays a double bass, bass guitar, or another low-pitched instrument, such as keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as tuba or sousaphone....
John Lodge (not to be confused with The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues are an England band originally from Erdington in the city of Birmingham. Founding members Michael Pinder and Ray Thomas performed an initially rhythm and blues-based sound in Birmingham in 1964 along with Graeme Edge and others, and were later joined by John Lodge and Justin Hayward as they inspired and evolved the progressi...
' bassist of the same name). Before recording for the album commenced, "Space Oddity

Space Oddity

"Space Oddity" is a song written and performed by David Bowie and released as a single in 1969. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who becomes depressed during an outer-space mission....
" had been selected as the lead single based on an earlier demo. Tony Visconti saw it as a "novelty record" and passed the production responsibility on to Gus Dudgeon

Gus Dudgeon

Gus Dudgeon was an English people record producer....
. Visconti thus produced all the songs on the album bar what would become, from its 1972 reissue onwards, the title track.

Composition

Still considered one of Bowie's best-known songs, "Space Oddity" was a largely acoustic number augmented by the eerie tones of the composer's Stylophone

Dubreq Stylophone

The Dubreq Stylophone is a miniature stylus operated synthesizer invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis. It consists of a metal musical keyboard played by touching it with a stylus - each note being connected to a cheap Potential difference-controlled Electronic oscillator via a different-value resistor - thus closing a circuit....
, a pocket electronic organ

Electronic organ

An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument originally designed to imitate the sound of a pipe organ. It has developed today into two forms of the instrument, the digital church organ that imitates a pipe organ for classical music and use in churches, and the Hammond organ-style instrument used in more popular music genres....
. The title and subject matter were inspired by Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an influential American-British filmmaker, screenwriter, Film producer and photographer. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films....
’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 in film science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous and of...
and introduced the character of Major Tom

Major Tom

Major Tom is a fictional astronaut created by David Bowie. He appears in the songs "Space Oddity", "Ashes to Ashes " and "Hallo Spaceboy" by Bowie, the song "Major Tom " by Peter Schilling, a French cover of "Major Tom" by Belgian artist Plastic Bertrand, "I'm A Soldier" by Stef?n, "Mrs....
. Some commentators have also seen the song as a metaphor

Metaphor

Metaphor is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things without using the words "like" or "as." More generally, a metaphor describes a first subject as being or equal to a second object in some way....
for heroin

Heroin

Heroin is a opioid synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-acetate ester of morphine . The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, however heroin Freebase may also appear as a white powder....
use, citing the opening countdown as analogous to the drug's passage down the needle prior to the euphoric 'hit', and noting Bowie's admission of a "silly flirtation with smack" in 1968. His 1980 hit "Ashes to Ashes" declared "We know Major Tom's a junkie".

"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed

Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed

"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . The song starts out floatingly with Bowie's 12-string acoustic guitar, which was much used by Bowie in this period and also heard on other songs of the Space Oddity album....
" reflected a strong Bob Dylan influence, with its harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
, edgy guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
sound and snarling vocal. "Letter to Hermione

Letter to Hermione

"Letter to Hermione" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 for the album Space Oddity . This ballad is a love letter to Hermione Farthingale, who Bowie met through Lindsay Kemp while mime dancing....
" was a farewell ballad to Bowie's former girlfriend, Hermione Farthingale, who was also the object of "An Occasional Dream

An Occasional Dream

An Occasional Dream is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . It is a gentle love song with flute arrangement about a brief and intense affair....
", a gentle folk tune reminiscent of the singer's 1967 debut album

David Bowie (album)

David Bowie is the eponymously-titled debut album by rock and roll musician David Bowie, released in 1967 by Deram Records, a Decca Records offshoot....
. "God Knows I'm Good

God Knows I'm Good

"God Knows I'm Good" is a 1969 in music folk song written by David Bowie for the album Space Oddity . It is played on a 12-string guitar which Bowie used often on Space Oddity ....
", Bowie's observational tale of a shoplifter's plight, also recalled his earlier style.

"Cygnet Committee

Cygnet Committee

"Cygnet Committee" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 for his second eponymous album . At over 9 minutes this ambitious Progressive rock folk rock song was Bowie's longest studio recording until the Station to Station of 1976's Station to Station....
" has been called Bowie’s "first true masterpiece". Commonly regarded as the album track most indicative of the composer's future direction, its lead character is a messianic figure "who breaks down barriers for his younger followers, but finds that he has only provided them with the means to reject and destroy him". Bowie himself described it at the time as a put down of hippie

Hippie

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster , and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district....
s who seemed ready to follow any charismatic leader. Another track cited as foreshadowing themes to which Bowie would return in 1970s, in this case the fracturing of personality, was "Janine

Janine (song)

"Janine" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . A cheery folk-rock song with a lyrical theme Bowie often would examine in the 1970s....
", which featured the words "But if you took an axe to me, you’d kill another man not me at all".

The Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
-influenced "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud

Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud

"Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 and first released as B-side to his single "Space Oddity". It was later included in his second eponymously-titled album ....
" was presented in a heavily-expanded form compared to the original guitar-and-cello

Cello

The violoncello is a bowed string instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra....
version on the B-side of the "Space Oddity" single; the album cut featured a 50-piece orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
and was also notable for Mick Ronson

Mick Ronson

Mick Ronson was an England guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and record producer. He is most well known for his work with David Bowie from 1970 to 1973, Bowie's glam rock period, including being part of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars band....
's debut on a Bowie record, playing uncredited guitar and handclaps midway through the song. "Memory of a Free Festival

Memory of a Free Festival

"Memory of a Free Festival" is a 1970 single by David Bowie. The song had originally been recorded as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album ....
" was Bowie's reminiscence of an arts festival he had organised in August 1969. Its drawn-out fade/chorus ("The Sun Machine is coming down / And we're gonna have a party") was compared to The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
' "Hey Jude

Hey Jude

"Hey Jude" is a song by the English Rock music band The Beatles that was recorded in 1968. Originally titled "Hey Jules", the ballad was written by Paul McCartney?and credited to Lennon/McCartney?to comfort John Lennon's son Julian Lennon during his parents' divorce....
"; the song has also been interpreted as a derisive comment on the counterculture

Counterculture

Counterculture is a Sociology term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition....
it was ostensibly celebrating. In 1970 Bowie cut the tune in half for the A- and B-sides of a more rock

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
-oriented version featuring the band that would accompany him on The Man Who Sold the World later that year: Mick Ronson, Tony Visconti and Mick Woodmansey

Mick Woodmansey

Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey is an England Rock 'n' Roll drummer from Driffield, Yorkshire, best known for his work with David Bowie and the Spiders From Mars#The Spiders From Mars....
- an embryonic form of Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars.

Although the opening song had given Bowie a #5 hit in the UK earlier in the year, the remainder of the material bore little resemblance to it and the album was a commercial failure on its initial release, despite some decent reviews. However the November 1972 reissue, released in the wake of Bowie's breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by England rock musician David Bowie. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music Charts....
and featuring a contemporary Ziggy photo on the cover, made #17 in the UK charts and #16 in the United States.

Cover art

The original UK David Bowie LP cover showed a facial portrait of Bowie exposed on top of a work by artist Victor Vasarely

Victor Vasarely

Victor Vasarely was a Hungarian people France artist whose work is generally seen aligned with Op-art.Zebra -- artwork, created by Vasarely in the 1930s, is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op-art....
with blue and violet spots on a green background. The same portrait was used on the U.S. Mercury LP Man of Words/Man of Music, but on a plain blue background. When the album was re-released as Space Oddity in 1972 by RCA, a more recent portrait from the Ziggy Stardust period was displayed on the front cover. Finally, for the 1999 CD reissue (see below) the original UK cover was restored, although the new title was added under the portrait to avoid further confusion.

Track listing

All songs written by David Bowie.

Side one

"Space Oddity
Space Oddity

"Space Oddity" is a song written and performed by David Bowie and released as a single in 1969. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who becomes depressed during an outer-space mission....
" – 5:15
"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed

"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . The song starts out floatingly with Bowie's 12-string acoustic guitar, which was much used by Bowie in this period and also heard on other songs of the Space Oddity album....
" – 6:55
"(Don't Sit Down)" * – 0:39
"Letter to Hermione
Letter to Hermione

"Letter to Hermione" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 for the album Space Oddity . This ballad is a love letter to Hermione Farthingale, who Bowie met through Lindsay Kemp while mime dancing....
" – 2:28
"Cygnet Committee
Cygnet Committee

"Cygnet Committee" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 for his second eponymous album . At over 9 minutes this ambitious Progressive rock folk rock song was Bowie's longest studio recording until the Station to Station of 1976's Station to Station....
" – 9:33

Side two

"Janine
Janine (song)

"Janine" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . A cheery folk-rock song with a lyrical theme Bowie often would examine in the 1970s....
" – 3:18
"An Occasional Dream
An Occasional Dream

An Occasional Dream is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . It is a gentle love song with flute arrangement about a brief and intense affair....
" – 2:51
"Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud

"Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 and first released as B-side to his single "Space Oddity". It was later included in his second eponymously-titled album ....
" – 4:45
"God Knows I'm Good
God Knows I'm Good

"God Knows I'm Good" is a 1969 in music folk song written by David Bowie for the album Space Oddity . It is played on a 12-string guitar which Bowie used often on Space Oddity ....
" – 3:13
"Memory of a Free Festival
Memory of a Free Festival

"Memory of a Free Festival" is a 1970 single by David Bowie. The song had originally been recorded as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album ....
" – 7:05

* "(Don't Sit Down)" was deleted from the album when it was rereleased in 1972 as Space Oddity.

Release history

Region	Date	Title	Label	Format	Catalog
UK United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....	4 November 1969	David Bowie	Philips Philips Records Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics giant Philips. It was started as Philips Phonographische Industries in 1950 in music....	Stereo Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound, using two or more independent Sound recording and reproduction channels, through a symmetrical configuration of loudspeakers, in such a way as to create a pleasant and natural impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing.... LP Gramophone record A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....	SBL 7912
USA	1969	Man of Words/Man of Music	Mercury Mercury Records Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....	Stereo LP	61246
USA	1972	Space Oddity	RCA RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1983 and a partner from 1983 to 1986....	Stereo LP	LSP 4813

CD releases

Space Oddity was first released on CD by RCA in 1984. In keeping with the 1972 RCA LP release, the track "Don't Sit Down" remained missing. The German (for the European market) and Japanese (for the United States market) masters were sourced from different tapes and are not identical for each region.

In 1990, the album was rereleased by Rykodisc

Rykodisc

Rykodisc Records is an United States record label, owned by Warner Music Group....
/EMI

EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
with an expanded track listing including a restored "Don't Sit Down

Don't Sit Down

"" is a song written by David Bowie in 1969 in music for the album Space Oddity . This short song is a folk-rock-style stub consisting mainly of the lyrics "Oh yeah, baby, yeah" and "Don't sit down" before ending in laughter after only 40 seconds....
" as well as "Conversation Piece

Conversation piece

Conversation pieces are small-scale group portraits mainly painted in Kingdom of Great Britain in the eighteenth century, beginning in the 1720s....
" and the two-part re-recording of "Memory of a Free Festival

Memory of a Free Festival

"Memory of a Free Festival" is a 1970 single by David Bowie. The song had originally been recorded as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album ....
" that had been released as a single in 1970.

1990 bonus tracks

"Conversation Piece" (1970 B-side of "The Prettiest Star
The Prettiest Star

"The Prettiest Star" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in 1970.Bowie had recently re-recorded an old Deram Records track, "London Bye Ta Ta", intended as a follow-up single to "Space Oddity" in early 1970....
") – 3:05
"Memory of a Free Festival Part 1" (1970 single version A-side) – 3:59
"Memory of a Free Festival Part 2" (1970 single version B-side) – 3:31

The album was reissued again in 1999 by EMI

EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
, without bonus tracks but with 24-bit digitally remastered sound and retaining the original "Don't Sit Down". The Japanese mini LP replicates the cover of the original Philips LP.

Personnel

David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
– vocals
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
, 12-string guitar
Twelve string guitar

The twelve-string guitar is an Steel-string guitar or electric guitar guitar with twelve string in six Course , which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar....
, Stylophone
Dubreq Stylophone

The Dubreq Stylophone is a miniature stylus operated synthesizer invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis. It consists of a metal musical keyboard played by touching it with a stylus - each note being connected to a cheap Potential difference-controlled Electronic oscillator via a different-value resistor - thus closing a circuit....
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman

Richard Christopher Wakeman is an England keyboard player best known as the keyboardist for progressive rock group Yes . Originally a classically trained pianist, he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and in the use of a rock band in combination with orchestra and choir....
– Mellotron
Mellotron

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphony keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin, which was the world's first sampling keyboard....
, electric harpsichord
Clavecin électrique

The clavecin ?lectrique was invented in 1759 by Jean-Baptiste de La Borde, a Jesuit priest. De La Borde built a working instrument in Paris in 1761....
Terry Cox
Terry Cox

Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox played Drum kit in the British folk rock bands Pentangle , Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums.He also drummed with several other artists, most notably David Bowie and Elton John....
– drums
Tim Renwick
Tim Renwick

Timothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is anEngland guitarist....
– electric guitar
Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickup to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker....
Keith Christmas
Keith Christmas

Keith Christmas is an English people singer and songwriter. In 1969 his first album Stimulus was released. Christmas played acoustic guitar on David Bowie's Space Oddity album, and appeared at the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970....
– acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings. The term is a retronym, coined after the advent of electric guitars, which depend on electronic amplification to make their sound audible....
Mick Wayne – guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti

Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of notable performers, including the Moody Blues, as well as T....
– bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, flute
Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge....
, recorder
Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind instrument musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina....
Herbie Flowers
Herbie Flowers

Herbie Flowers is an England studio musician specialising in bass guitar, double-bass and tuba, who came to prominence performing with David Bowie and Elton John, and then later Lou Reed....
– bass
Benny Marshall and Friends – harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
Paul Buckmaster
Paul Buckmaster

Paul Buckmaster is a Grammy Award United Kingdom artist, arranger and composer. He is perhaps best known for his orchestral collaborations with Elton John....
– cello
Cello

The violoncello is a bowed string instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra....

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1972	UK Albums chart	17
19723	Australian Kent Report Albums Chart	21
1973	Billboard Pop Albums	16

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1969	"Space Oddity"	UK Singles Chart	5
1973	"Space Oddity"	Billboard Pop Singles	15
1975	"Space Oddity"	UK Singles Chart	1