"Letter to Hermione" is a song written by David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 in 1969 for the album Space Oddity

Space Oddity (album)

-Release history:-7" open reel tape releases:There was only one release of Space Oddity on open reel, in 1972 duplicated by Magtec, North Hollywood, CA 91605. This is a high speed 7.5 ips release...

. This ballad is a love letter to Hermione Farthingale, whom Bowie met through Lindsay Kemp

Lindsay Kemp

Lindsay Kemp is a British dancer, actor, teacher, mime artist and choreographer.Born in South Shields on May 3, 1938, Kemp's father, a seaman, was lost at sea in 1940. According to Kemp, he danced from early childhood: "I'd dance on the kitchen table to entertain the neighbours. I mean, it was a...

. She became Bowie's girlfriend and they lived together for a short while in London in 1968. In early 1969 she left Bowie for Stephen Reinhardt

Stephen Reinhardt (musician)

Stephen Reinhardt is an American dancer and music director.He began dancing at age 8. He went on to study at the Pennsylvania School of Ballet and at the Juilliard School in New York...

, an American musician and dancer she met on the film Song of Norway

Song of Norway

Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...

.

An early name for the song was "I’m Not Quite". Bowie recorded a demo version of the song with this name together with John Hutchinson

John Hutchinson

John Hutchinson may refer to:*John Hutchinson , leader in the 17th century Puritan revolt in Britain*John Hutchinson , English writer...

 in February 1969.

Comedian Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...

 has repeatedly expressed his love for this song, going so far as to call it his favourite David Bowie song, indeed, possibly his favourite ever song. He chose it as one of his Desert Island Discs

Desert Island Discs

Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...

.