— Ch. 1 · Origins And Inspiration —
Space Oddity.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
David Bowie released his self-titled debut album through Deram Records in 1967. The record failed to sell and did little to gain him notice. He left the label in May 1968 after a string of unsuccessful singles. His new manager Kenneth Pitt asked him to write something new for a promotional film called Love You till Tuesday. By the end of that year, Bowie felt alienated from his career. Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered in May 1968 and deeply affected him. Bowie said he went stoned out of his mind seeing the movie and it really freaked him out. He also saw the Apollo 8 Earthrise photograph in January 1969. That image influenced his feelings about space travel. He broke up with dancer Hermione Farthingale the following month. She got him writing for and on a specific person. Biographer Marc Spitz stated these feelings of loneliness inspired the song.
Musical Composition Analysis
The track is characterised as a psychedelic folk ballad. It represented Bowie's new interest in acoustic music since joining the experimental trio Feathers. Nicholas Pegg compared its style to the Bee Gees' 1967 single New York Mining Disaster 1941. The song includes minor chords and chorus structures similar to that earlier hit. Hutchinson later stated it was a Bee Gees type song. David knew it and said so at the time. The composition spans over five minutes with multiple distinct sections. It features a faded-in intro followed by a twelve-bar solo verse. A liftoff sequence leads into a duet verse before a bridge appears. An acoustic guitar break follows with a six-bar guitar solo. The third verse arrives then another bridge and outro fade. Although primarily in C major, the song uses various chord changes. The intro pairs F major seven slash E with E minor. The first verse alternates between C major and E minor. A D major chord plays on the line God's love be with you during the countdown. An E seven chord on the line really made the grade counteracts the overall key. The bridge contains a standard folk-style descending progression involving B major nine.Recording Session History