Love You Till Tuesday

Celebrating David Bowie, 8th January 1947 to 10th January 2016.

 

My first post of 2021 (and 11th in total at that stage, I was still warming up) marked five years since Bowie's birth and passing and included an 18-track selection of live performances. I didn't acknowledge the dates at all in 2022 but not to suggest that Bowie and his music are ever far from my thoughts or my playlist.

Repeating 2021's tack of posting on 9th January, the day after Bowie's birth and the day before his death, here's a brand new selection split into two vinyl-friendly sides with ample room to fit on a C90 cassette side, if you are so inclined.

 

The focus this time is solely on David Bowie's 1960s studio and radio recordings. Side 1 opens with a version of In The Heat Of The Morning (a personal favourite from any era), recorded for John Peel and broadcast on BBC Radio 1's Top Gear show in May 1968. Side 2 closes with Little Bombardier, one of five songs that Bowie recorded on 18th December 1967 with Arthur Greenslade & His Orchestra, and broadcast less than a week later on Christmas Eve.

David Bowie's self-titled debut album is enjoyable enough though I'd say that there are no obvious signs here of the artist that would go on to release Blackstar half a century later, the final release of a remarkable and unique artistic pursuit. That said, I like Bowie's Sixties portraits and quirky pop songs. 

 

I've spared you The Laughing Gnome (although the B-side makes an appearance) and Please Mr. Gravedigger, and included a few selections from 1969. Space Oddity was a turning point - arguably, Bowie kept zig zagging for the rest of his life - though there is still a tangible link from baroque pop to the folkier elements of Janine or God Knows I'm Good. 

 

Sell Me A Coat originally appeared on the debut album, but was one of three songs from this period given an aural lick of paint, with new instrumentation and vocals overdubbed and remixed in 1969 for inclusion on David Bowie's promotional showcase video Love You Till Tuesday. 

 

I vividly recall seeing this at my mate's house in 1985 as his parents had bought a new fangled VHS machine, the first of my schoolmates to have one. The shit hit the fan when my parents discovered that we'd also enjoyed family viewings of the likes of soon-to-be banned 'video nasties' such as The Evil Dead, though their opinion of Bowie's on-screen shenanigans is long since forgotten.

 

Side One

1) In The Heat Of The Morning (John Peel / Top Gear Session) (1968)

2) Love You Till Tuesday (Single Version By Mike Vernon) (1967)

3) Rubber Band (Album Version By Mike Vernon) (1967)

4) An Occasional Dream (Album Version By Tony Visconti) (1969) 

5) Join The Gang (Album Version By Mike Vernon) (1967)

6) Good Morning Girl (Single Version By Tony Hatch) (1966)

7) Silly Boy Blue (Album Version By Mike Vernon) (1967)

8) Sell Me A Coat (Remix By Jonathan Weston) (1969)

 

Side Two

1) Karma Man (Unreleased Version By Tony Visconti) (1967)

2) Janine (Album Version By Tony Visconti) (1969)

3) Come And Buy My Toys (Album Version By  Mike Vernon) (1967)

4) The Gospel According To Tony Day (Single Version By Mike Vernon) (1967)

5) God Knows I'm Good (Album Version By Tony Visconti) (1969)

6) And I Say To Myself (Single Version By Tony Hatch ft. The Lower Third) (1966)

7) Maid Of Bond Street (Album Version By Mike Vernon) (1967)

8) Little Bombardier (Top Gear Session ft. Arthur Greenslade & His Orchestra) (1967)

Side One (22:17) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two (22:00) (KF) (Mega) 

 

You can find my previous Bowie Live selection from 2021 here.