The Prettiest Star
Encyclopedia
"The Prettiest Star" is a song by David Bowie
, originally released as a single in 1970.
Bowie had recently re-recorded an old Deram
track, "London Bye Ta Ta", intended as a follow-up single to "Space Oddity" in early 1970. However, the same sessions had also spawned a new composition named "The Prettiest Star". Bowie wrote it for Angela Barnett
, reputedly playing it down the telephone as part of his proposal to her. He also chose it as his next single, to the displeasure of manager Kenneth Pitt, who favoured "London Bye Ta Ta".
The track featured Marc Bolan
on guitar
, with whom Bowie would spend the next few years as a rival for the crown of the king of glam rock
. Producer Tony Visconti
, who brought the two aspiring pop stars together in the studio, recalled that the session went well until the end when Bolan's wife June remarked to Bowie, "Marc is too good for you, to be playing on this record!"
Despite receiving good notices, the single reportedly sold less than 800 copies, a major disappointment on the back of the success of "Space Oddity". In 1973, a more glam-influenced version was recorded and released on the album Aladdin Sane
, with Mick Ronson
recreating Bolan's original guitar part almost note-for-note.
Tim Renwick, John 'Honk' Lodge and John Cambridge were all from the band Junior's Eyes
, who briefly served as Bowie's backing band for live appearances and on an October 1969 BBC Radio session.
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...
, originally released as a single in 1970.
Bowie had recently re-recorded an old Deram
Deram Records
Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
track, "London Bye Ta Ta", intended as a follow-up single to "Space Oddity" in early 1970. However, the same sessions had also spawned a new composition named "The Prettiest Star". Bowie wrote it for Angela Barnett
Angela Bowie
Angela Bowie is an American cover girl, model, actress and musician. She is the former wife of English musician David Bowie and mother of film director Duncan Jones.-Early life:...
, reputedly playing it down the telephone as part of his proposal to her. He also chose it as his next single, to the displeasure of manager Kenneth Pitt, who favoured "London Bye Ta Ta".
The track featured Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, with whom Bowie would spend the next few years as a rival for the crown of the king of glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
. Producer 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 performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
, who brought the two aspiring pop stars together in the studio, recalled that the session went well until the end when Bolan's wife June remarked to Bowie, "Marc is too good for you, to be playing on this record!"
Despite receiving good notices, the single reportedly sold less than 800 copies, a major disappointment on the back of the success of "Space Oddity". In 1973, a more glam-influenced version was recorded and released on the album Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1973 . The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album Bowie wrote and released as a bona fide rock star...
, with Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
recreating Bolan's original guitar part almost note-for-note.
Track listing
- "The Prettiest Star" (David Bowie) – 3:09
- "Conversation Piece" (Bowie) – 3:05
Alternate cover
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Production credits
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
:- Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
- Tony Visconti
- MusicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s:- David Bowie: vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Marc BolanMarc BolanMarc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
: guitar on "The Prettiest Star" - Tony Visconti: bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on "The Prettiest Star" - John Cambridge: drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Tim RenwickTim RenwickTimothy John Pearson 'Tim' Renwick is an English guitarist.-Career:Renwick started playing guitar in the 1960s. He performed with many bands, including Little Women, Wages of Sin, Junior's Eyes, The Hype, Quiver and Lazy Racer...
: guitar on "Conversation Piece" - John 'Honk' Lodge: bass on "Conversation Piece"
- David Bowie: vocals, guitar
Tim Renwick, John 'Honk' Lodge and John Cambridge were all from the band Junior's Eyes
Junior's Eyes (band)
Junior's Eyes was a British group led by guitarist Mick Wayne , which recorded one album and is notable for acting as David Bowie's backing band during 1969.-Beginnings:...
, who briefly served as Bowie's backing band for live appearances and on an October 1969 BBC Radio session.
Other releases
- The Aladdin Sane version was released as the B-side of the US single "TimeTime (David Bowie song)"Time" is a song by David Bowie. Written in New Orleans in November 1972 during the American leg of his first Ziggy Stardust tour, it was released as the opening track on Side Two of the album Aladdin Sane in April 1973...
" in April 1973. - The 1973 version also appeared on the Japanese compilation The Best of David Bowie in 1974.
- The single version from 1970 was released in the Sound + Vision box set in 1989.
- On The Best of 1969/1974The Best of 1969/1974The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 is an album by David Bowie, released by EMI in 1997. The US release of the album was pulled from the stores because of a large number of inaccuracies in the credits and liner notes. This album was also included as the first disc of the compilation The Platinum...
in 1997, the original recording was issued for the first time in stereo, described on the sleeve as "Bolan Stereo Mix". - The song appeared on the musical soundtrack of the film Kinky BootsKinky Boots (film)Kinky Boots is a 2005 comedy film written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, about a traditional Northampton shoemaker, based in Earls Barton, who turns to producing fetishism footwear in order to save the failing family business and the jobs of his workers...
.
Cover versions
- Finnish musician HectorHector (musician)Heikki Veikko Harma is a Finnish singer-songwriter who has also distinguished himself as a translator of song lyrics, but has written popular lyrics of his own too...
recorded a version for his 1977 album, HEC. - French industrial metalIndustrial metalIndustrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
band Treponem PalTreponem PalTreponem Pal is a French industrial metal band formed in 1986. Early tracks such as "Embodiment of Frustration" mix together the relentless hypnotic heaviness popularized by Swans and bursts of thrash metal and hardcore...
recorded a version for their 1989 debut album, Treponem Pal. - Ian McCullochIan McCulloch (singer)Ian Stephen McCulloch is an English singer, born in Liverpool, and is best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.-Career:...
recorded a version for Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, a Bowie tribute album from the March 2003 issue of UncutUNCUT (magazine)Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazine. - British singer Simon TurnerSimon Fisher TurnerSimon Turner is an English musician, songwriter, composer, producer and actor.After portraying Ned East in the 1971 BBC TV adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays and roles in films such as The Big Sleep , Dover-born Simon Turner quickly rose to fame as a teen star in Britain thanks to his mentor...
recorded a version for Oh! You Pretty Things: The Songs of David Bowie, a 2006 Bowie tribute album. - American singer Jad FairJad FairJad Fair is an American singer, guitarist and graphic artist, most famous for being a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.-Biography:In 1974, with his brother David, Jad Fair founded the lo-fi group Half Japanese...
recorded a version for his free download album, Sunshiney Shine. - British musician and videographer Tom Milsom released a version under the name Tommy Firefly as an April Fools joke to the UK Singles ChartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in April 2009.