Bowie - 1971 to 1982

The series of albums that David Bowie released on RCA between 1971 and 1980 remain the single greatest collection of LP's recorded by anybody in the history of music. Better than the “classic” Rolling Stones period from 1968 to 1972, better also than the set of Stevie Wonder albums from “Music Of My Mind” through to “Songs In The Key Of Life”, these records consist of not only some of the greatest songs ever recorded, but the sheer diversity of musical styles covered by these records is simply staggering. Although 1973’s covers album “Pin Ups” is a bit of a throwaway, much of the remainder stands head and shoulders above most of the recorded output of many other singers. From the acoustic stylings of “Hunky Dory”, via the glam rock roar of “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”, to the nightmare-ish vision of the future on “Diamond Dogs”, to the white boy soul of “Young Americans”, via the post-drugs-comedown terror of “Station To Station”, and the Kraftwerk-apeing genius of “Low”, through to the ‘New Romanticism with noisy guitars’ thud of “Scary Monsters”, nobody has come close to making a series of records as ground breaking as these. The bizarre thing is, these records are so good, even Bowie himself has struggled to top any of them, and this has worked against him - I have lost track of the number of brain-dead journos who will review any new Bowie LP as being “not as good as “Scary Monsters”. Most people who have a record deal these days have never even made one single album as good as “Scary Monsters”, so if you’re going to have a go at Bowie, then you should be doing the same for The Kooks, Snow Patrol and 99% of the rest of the music industry.

At the end of the 80s/start of the 90s, all of Bowie’s RCA period albums were reissued with extra tracks (nearly), which gave the albums that extra gravitas they deserved. But since then, there have been some slightly baffling reissues, and the current situation is that the “on catalogue” editions of these albums may or may not have extra tracks, depending on what LP it is, meaning Bowie’s back catalogue is looking a bit of a mess. In this blog, we shall look at the albums and singles that Bowie released during this period, and what the current situation regarding these LP’s stands at. In order to keep things simple, any Bowie records released by labels other than RCA during this period are not mentioned - details of these releases were in the Bowie article last month. We shall also look at subsequent reissues, but any “new” albums issued on RCA after Bowie left the label at the start of the 80s’ will be covered in a future article. Details of the pre-RCA albums reissued by RCA “post-Ziggy” were also covered last month, and will not be covered in detail here.

The Albums

Not only was Bowie at the peak of his powers during the 70’s, but he was quite prolific as well. He released an album every year from 1971 to 1980, although he cheated a bit in 1978, as the only album that year was the live LP “Stage”. He released two albums in 1973 (“Aladdin Sane” and “Pin Ups”), 1974 (“Diamond Dogs” and “David Live”) and 1976 (“Station To Station” and “Low”). There was no release of any live material from the famous “Ziggy” tour of 1972 and 1973 until after Bowie had left RCA. Earlier releases were on the orange RCA Victor label, later repressings were on the green RCA International label, and where albums had originally been housed in gatefold sleeves, they came in “single” sleeves when reissued.

Most of these albums were reissued on CD during the mid 80s, although all were withdrawn from sale within a few years, reportedly because they had been issued without Bowie’s say-so. However, Bowie endorsed the “expanded” reissues on EMI from1989 onwards, as they were issued to tie in with his so-called “Farewell To The Hits” tour from 1990, dubbed the “Sound + Vision” tour. All of the albums (except one) came with extra tracks, the extra tracks being a mix of stray A-sides, B-sides, alternate takes and unreleased material. Despite most copies stating “includes extra tracks”, the reissue of “Aladdin Sane” had no extra tracks at all - all of the relevant material either being shoe-horned onto the reissue of preceding album “Ziggy Stardust”, or the accompanying ‘hits and rarities’ box-set, “Sound + Vision”. In the USA, many of the reissues were on Cassette as well as CD, and Vinyl editions of several - but not all - reissues were released on both sides of the Atlantic.

Wherever possible, previously rare sleeves were used for the reissues. “Diamond Dogs” came in it’s “uncensored” sleeve, which featured Bowie as a half-man/half dog creature, complete with visible genitalia, whilst “Station To Station” appeared in it’s hastily withdrawn colour sleeve - Bowie opting, pretty much as the album was about to be released, that he wanted the front cover to be in black and white, mirroring the rather dark subject matter of the LP (although Bowie apparently claimed the colour sleeve simply looked “wrong“). Both “David Live” and “Stage” were also re-released, whilst live recordings were also used on “Station To Station”. By the end of the 90’s, EMI decided to re-release all of these records to tie in with the “Hours” album, but removed all of the bonus tracks - there was some talk about “newly improved sound”, but this reissue programme remains the most wasted opportunity in Rock And Roll.

Possibly realising the faux pas they had made, EMI then set about releasing newly expanded editions of some of these albums after the millennium. “Ziggy”, “Aladdin Sane” and “Diamond Dogs” were all given 30th anniversary double-CD reissues, with the original LP on disc 1, and the bonus tracks on disc 2. “Ziggy” cobbled together tracks that had been on a variety of the “Sound + Vision” reissues, although the version of “Sweet Head” included here was an unedited version of the same track that had been on the original “Ziggy” reissue, with bits of studio chat and tuning up before the song started proper. The only real rarity was a previously unissued remix of “Moonage Daydream”, although there was an accidental rarity on disc 1, as the count-in to “Hang On To Yourself” had been lost during the remastering process! “Aladdin Sane” offered more in the way of unreleased material, but whether or not any of it was essential was open to question. There was an interesting acoustic live version of “Drive In Saturday” recorded at a gig some six months prior to the album’s release, but was of such poor quality, I still wonder if EMI included it by accident. There was also a four-song section from a gig in Boston from the same year, but not one of the songs was from “Aladdin Sane”. Perhaps this was the point? There were also the US single mixes of “Jean Genie” and “Time”, neither of which had appeared in the UK before. The “Time” edit is fascinating - it was created so the song could be fitted onto a 7”, but no attempt was made to censor the “falls wanking to the floor” line - this surely wasn’t considered OK for a Radio Edit in 1973 was it?

“Diamond Dogs” is probably the most pointless of the three reissues, offering no unreleased material. It did include some interesting “recorded after 1974” versions of songs like “Candidate” and “Rebel Rebel”, but if you already have the “Sound + Vision” reissues, you would end up getting most of the bonus tracks from the 2004 edition by default, simply by buying other Bowie LP’s and Compilations. The "re-recorded" version of "Candidate" appeared only on a soundtrack, so that makes the release of some interest, but not 100% essential.

1975’s “Young Americans”, supposedly recorded in a style that would ensure it was a hit so Bowie could follow it up with something uncommercial, was reissued again in 2007 with a bonus DVD. The three extra tracks from the “Sound + Vision” reissue made a reappearance, although the version of “It’s Gonna Be Me” was different to the one previously available. The DVD featured the two songs Bowie performed on the “Dick Cavett Show” at the time of the album’s release.

Last month saw the Deluxe and Super-Deluxe editions of “Station To Station” get released. Now back in it’s black and white sleeve again, the deluxe edition features the original album plus a new double-CD live set, “Live Nassau Coliseum 76”, housed in it’s own gatefold sleeve. It was this gig that provided the bonus tracks on the original “Sound + Vision” edition. The Super-Deluxe edition adds a monumental amount of extras - reprints of press kits and fan club material from the period, the album and live album on both CD and Vinyl, plus a DVD with FOUR mixes of the LP, and a slightly pointless but quite good fun “Single Edits” EP, featuring the edited versions of four tracks from the LP that got issued on 45’s somewhere in the world - not bad for an album that only includes six songs! “Wild Is The Wind” was edited for single release in 1981, but was not included on this reissue, although a new edit of “Station To Station” was included instead. Also interesting, is that in addition to a CD containing the 2010 remaster of the record, there was also another CD with the 1985 master - the very version that Bowie reportedly asked to be withdrawn from sale 25 years ago…

Both of Bowie’s live albums have also been re-released again post-2000 - not only do they feature extra tracks in addition to the “Sound + Vision” versions, but the running order on both has been revamped so the songs now appear in the order in which they were played on stage - “Stage” originally devoted each side of the vinyl to a specific period of Bowie’s career, starting with 20 minutes worth of “Ziggy” material, and even though Bowie did tend to perform these songs in a single chunk during the tour, they were actually played about halfway through the show. “David Live” now includes a live version of “Panic In Detroit” that was only ever released as a B-side.

This means, at present, the albums available in the shops sans-bonus tracks are “Hunky Dory”, “Pin Ups”, “Low”, “Heroes”, “Lodger” and “Scary Monsters” - the former being a strange omission, given that for many people, this remains the hight point of Bowie’s career. Will 2011 bring a 40th anniversary edition?

The A-sides and the B-sides

Despite Wikipedia claiming Bowie released a huge slab of “stand alone” 45’s in the 70’s, many of these singles were actually released several years after they had first appeared on album. In fact, Bowie released just ONE non-album single between 1971 and 1979. “John I’m Only Dancing” had been taped during the Ziggy sessions, and remains to this day Bowie’s finest 45. Soon after, Bowie ended up re-recording the track - a habit he has done time and time again during his career. This new version was notable for featuring some significant saxophone work during the choruses, and was thus dubbed the “Sax Version”. It seems that this version of the track was released on the A-side of later pressings of the original 7”, but there was no mention on the label that it was the re-recorded take.

In 1974, seemingly determined to include it on an album, Bowie re-recorded the song again during the “Young Americans” sessions. This new version bore little similarity to the original - it was recorded in the same “plastic soul” style of the rest of the album, with mostly new lyrics, with only the chorus remaining more or less intact. This new version of the song was played at least once during Bowie’s 1974 US tour, where it was announced as “John I’m Only Dancing…from our new album”. In the end, it was one of several songs that failed to make the album at all. In 1979, in a slightly random move, it appeared as a single, titled “John I’m Only Dancing (Again)”- two mixes were released, a short one and a long one, for the 7” and 12” pressings respectively. On the B-side, a slightly remixed version of the original single was included, known as “John I’m Only Dancing (1972)”.

During Bowie’s final few years on RCA, he released a series of stand alone 45’s. A slightly psychotic version of “Alabama Song” - also known variously as “Moon Of Alabama” or “Whiskey Bar“, and more successfully covered by The Doors on their debut album - was issued in 1980 after Bowie had played it during his 1978 tour. In Japan, he released the instrumental “Crystal Japan” the same year, but this remained unissued in the UK until the following year. In 1981, his duet with Queen, “Under Pressure”, was issued by EMI - it was included on Queen’s “Hot Space” album the following year, but has only ever reappeared on Bowie compilation releases, as opposed to being on a “proper“ album. A five track EP of new songs, the “Baal” EP, appeared in 1982.

Bowie’s next single, “Cat People”, was released by MCA the same year. Recorded for a film of the same name, Bowie would later re-record it for his first post-RCA album, “Let’s Dance”. But Bowie’s next release, from Christmas 82, was reportedly the final straw, and the reason he left RCA - in 1977, Bowie had appeared on the “Bing Crosby Christmas Show”, where he had been asked to duet with Crosby, even though Crosby seemingly had no idea who he was. They recorded a “mash up” of “Peace On Earth” and “Little Drummer Boy”, but when RCA suddenly issued it as a 45 some five years later, it was reported that Bowie was incensed, and walked. The 12” version featured huge picture labels in a die cut sleeve, and featured the “talking” intro by the two men before the song started for real. The single has since been reissued, in it’s original 12” picture sleeve, as an enhanced CD with the video from the original 1977 show as an extra track.

Most of these A-sides have been made available on CD at some point, although not all are necessarily available on a current release. For the record, the original “John I’m Only Dancing” is on the 30th anniversary “Ziggy”, the “Sax” mix is on the 30th Anniversary “Aladdin Sane”, and “Alabama Song” is on the 2005 triple-CD “The Platinum Collection” - which also includes the “unedited” mix of “Under Pressure”, taken (if I remember correctly) from the “Hot Space” LP, and the shorter mix of “Cat People”. Only one of the five Baal EP tracks has made it to CD, with “The Drowned Girl” making it onto “The Platinum Collection” as well. I shall go into Bowie’s post-1983 compilations in future blogs.

Although Bowie didn’t release too many exclusive A-sides, several of his singles were edited for single release. A handful of other songs, issued as singles, have also appeared in edited form but not on 7” - more of that later on. One single was also extended for a 12”. The list below shows the tracks that were released as singles in the UK or the US after 1974, of which edited (or extended) mixes exist. In recent years, most of these mixes have been included on compilation LP’s, or reissue CD’s, and I have listed what is the most recent/easy to find release upon which the mix exists - if such an album exists. If it’s an LP only listed, that means the mix is unavailable on CD - unless you know otherwise.

Rebel Rebel (remixed for US release, included on 1989 “Sound + Vision“ Box Set)
Young Americans (only edited on US release, included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie“ CD)
Fame (edited version included on 1980 “The Best Of Bowie” LP)
Golden Years (edited version included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie” CD)
TVC15 (edited version included on 2001 “Christiane F”, CD - some sources state two different edits exist, but I can’t confirm this)
Stay (edited for release as US Only Single, included on 2001 “Christiane F“ CD)
Word On A Wing (edited for release as a B-side in the US, included on 2010 “Station To Station“ Super Deluxe Box Set)
Heroes (included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie” CD)
Beauty And The Beast (extended for the Spanish 12” release, never re-released on any Bowie LP/CD)
DJ (edited version included on 1981 “ChangesTwoBowie” LP, briefly available on CD but very rare as deleted within 12 months)
John I’m Only Dancing (Again) (edited version included on 1982 “Rare” LP, normal/extended mix on 2007 reissue of “Young Americans“ CD)
Ashes To Ashes (edited version included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie” CD)
Fashion (edited version included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie” CD)
Scary Monsters (edited version included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie” CD)
Under Pressure (edited version included on 2002 “Best Of Bowie” CD, unedited version appears on 2005 “The Platinum Collection“ CD, as mentioned earlier)
Wild Is The Wind (edited version never re-released, although mix was also used for accompanying video, available on 1993 “The Video Collection” VHS)
Cat People (edited version included on 2005 “The Platinum Collection” CD, extended mix not available on any Bowie LP although soundtrack CD exists which includes it. Even longer mix of track apparently issued on some overseas 12“ pressings)
Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy (edited version never re-released, full length version briefly available on US CD Single in 2005, as mentioned earlier)

Bowie didn’t really do B-sides either during this period - many of the 45’s issued came with album tracks on the flipside, and when new B-sides did appear, they had often been recorded during earlier album sessions with a view to them being issued on LP, rather than 7”. The first RCA b-side was his cover of Chuck Berry’s “Round And Round”, which appeared on the “Drive In Saturday” 7”, the second was a cover of “Amsterdam” which made it onto the B-side of “Sorrow”. A pre-RCA song, “Holy Holy”, appeared in re-recorded form on the flip of 1974’s “Diamond Dogs”, whilst the live version of “Knock On Wood”, taken from “David Live”, came with a previously unreleased live version of “Panic In Detroit” also taped on the same tour.

In 1975, “Space Oddity” was issued as a three track maxi single, RCA having acquired the rights to release material from his days when he was signed to Philips. A ‘Ziggy’ outtake, “Velvet Goldmine”, was one of the two B-sides, the other was the album version of “Changes”. Initial copies of this single came in a picture sleeve, but later pressings came instead in a custom “Maxi-Single” RCA company bag. A re-recorded (and rather downbeat) version of “Space Oddity” then surfaced on the B-side of “Alabama Song” in 1980, specifically recorded to prepare the listener for the “fall“ of the Major Tom character in “Ashes To Ashes“, released as a single soon after. The aforementioned “Crystal Japan” made it’s debut in the UK as the B-side of “Up The Hill Backwards”.

Although all of Bowie’s studio B-sides appeared on CD as part of the “Sound + Vision” reissue campaign, the decision to delete some of these records now means the latter period recordings are currently not available on a current Bowie CD - details of the “lost” B-sides are highlighted in the LP discography later in this article.

The post-RCA RCA repressing/The “Best Of” Collections

In 1983, prior to the reissue by RCA of Bowie’s albums released between 69 and 80, RCA decided to reissue twenty of his 45’s as part of the “Lifetimes” series. With consecutive catalogue numbers beginning with the “BOW” prefix, each reissue used the same track listing as the original single, and all were housed initially in picture sleeves. Each sleeve had a cream band across the top of the cover, with Bowie’s name and the songs included on the 7” printed in the band. Where possible, the sleeve used the same picture as the original cover, although there was some artistic license in places - “Space Oddity” used a Ziggy-era sleeve, rather than the 1975-era photo used when the 3-track single was originally released, whilst “John I’m Only Dancing” appeared in the sleeve used for the “John I’m Only Dancing (Again)” release. Other releases used picture sleeves originally used for other singles that also got reissued, rather strangely, whilst some singles used pictures taken AFTER the original single release date!

Ten Bowie singles were also issued as 7” picture discs in clear sleeves a year earlier in 1982, with a couple of these not featuring in the 1983 campaign, whilst a limited “book” style boxset titled “Fashions” was released with all ten in one pack. What’s often overlooked about the black vinyl Lifetimes editions, is that after the initial print run had sold out, all 20 releases were re-pressed and housed in grey & red couloured RCA company bags.

Bowie released no less than four “Best Of” records during his time on RCA, all of them appearing during the second half of his time on the label. The first of these was 1976’s “ChangesOneBowie”, the title suggesting RCA were already planning a follow up. A basic Greatest Hits set covering 1969 onwards, initial copies included the “Sax” version of “John I’m Only Dancing” seemingly by accident, before second and subsequent pressings replaced this with the ‘normal’ mix. In 1980, the K-Tel released, RCA endorsed, “The Best Of Bowie” was released. Although it came in a rather cheap sleeve (the “Fashion” 12” with bits and bobs literally glued over the top), it was an impressive overview of the classic period, covering as it did releases from 1969’s “Space Oddity” right up to material from the 1979 LP “Lodger”. In order to cram 16 songs onto a single piece of vinyl, several radio edit mixes were used, whilst the likes of “Diamond Dogs” and “Life On Mars” were edited specifically for the LP - the latter edit, to this day, remains unavailable on any other Bowie record.

In 1981, “ChangesTwoBowie” appeared - a mix of older material that failed to make the first compilation, plus hits from the most recent LP’s. As mentioned earlier, an edited version of “Wild Is The Wind” was issued to coincide, with Bowie filming a video for the single release. At the same time, a video for one of the “Baal” EP tracks was shot, meaning the two clips looked identical. From what I can gather, the album had been released to coincide with the fact that Bowie’s RCA contract was up, although stories regarding the “Little Drummer Boy” single being the catalyst for Bowie’s defection to EMI contradict this. Anybody know the truth?

The same year, another little known collection appeared - it was a soundtrack album to a film called “Christiane F”, but consisted entirely of Bowie material from “Station To Station” onwards. It included edited mixes of “TVC15” and “Stay”, along with the bizarre half-German-half-English version of “Heroes” that had originally appeared on German versions of the 1977 LP of the same name. The album was reissued, in a slightly altered cover now featuring Bowie superimposed over the original cover photo, on CD in 2001.

The UK Discography

Listed below are the most important releases of Bowie’s 71-80 albums. I have listed details of the Sound + Vision pressings, and where they exist, the most recent “expanded” reissues. The Sound + Vision releases, to this day, include material that has not been reissued since, so I have listed the songs on those releases where I consider them to be essential purchases. Any songs since included on “expanded” editions, therefore, do not fall into the list. To avoid complication, I have not listed any other vinyl or CD issues, although several of these albums have been issued on coloured vinyl or as picture discs over the years. The compilation list consists of the most “easy to collect” versions, followed by the complete singles list from 71-82, and the 1982/83 “Fashions”/”Lifetimes” releases.

For the singles, I have listed only essential releases - where a single was released on two formats, I have only listed the version which contains the exclusive (or rarer) mix - in other words, for the singles Bowie released between 71 and 82, you need only buy one format of the two that were available, as any edited or extended mixes not shown below are available elsewhere. Details of later Bowie compilations which included mixes such as the 1982 edit of “Cat People”, briefly touched on earlier, will be discussed at greater length in future blogs.

RCA ALBUMS 71-82

Hunky Dory (CD, 1971, 1990 reissue, EMI CDEMC 3572, includes “Bombers” and additional different versions of “Quicksand” and “The Bewley Brothers”)

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (CD, 1972, 1990 reissue, EMI CD 79 4400 2, includes “John I’m Only Dancing (1972)” and edited version of “Sweet Head“)
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (2xCD, 2002 reissue, EMI 539 8262, 12 extra tracks including full length mix of “Sweet Head”)

Aladdin Sane (CD, 1973, 1990 reissue, EMI CDP 79 4768 2)
Aladdin Sane (2xCD, 2003 reissue, EMI 583 0122, includes numerous extra previously-unissued tracks and US single mixes)

Pin Ups (CD, 1973, 1990 reissue, EMI CDEMC 3580)

Diamond Dogs (CD, 1974, 1990 reissue, EMI 79 5211 2)
Diamond Dogs (2xCD, 2004 reissue, EMI 577 8572, eight extra tracks on CD2)

David Live (2xCD, 1974, 1990 reissue, EMI CDDBLD 1)
David Live (2xCD, 2005 reissue, EMI 3112482, two extra tracks including previously unissued “Space Oddity”)
Note: an “edited highlights” LP, called “At The Tower Philadelphia”, was issued in Holland on RCA during the 70’s (RCA PL-42993), featuring half of the original double vinyl LP.

Young Americans (CD, 1975, 1991 reissue, EMI CDP 796436 2, includes unique mix of “It’s Gonna Be Me”)
Young Americans (CD+DVD, 2007 reissue, EMI 351 2582, DVD includes entire album including bonus tracks plus TV footage)

Station To Station (CD, 1976, 1991 reissue, EMI CDP 79 6435 2, colour p/s)
Station To Station (5xCD, DVD and 4xLP Box Set, 2010 reissue, EMI BOWSTSD2010, includes “Live Nassau Coliseum 76” and “Singles Versions” CDs, black and white p/s)

Low (CD, 1976, 1991 reissue, EMI CDP 79 7719 2, includes 1991 remix of “Sound And Vision”, later released on US only single)

Heroes (CD, 1977, 1991 reissue, EMI CDP 79 7720 2, includes 1991 remix of “Joe The Lion”)

Stage (2xCD, 1978, 1992 reissue, EMI CDEMC 1030)
Stage (2xCD, 2005 reissue, EMI 311 2512, includes previously unissued versions of “Be My Wife” and “Stay”)

Lodger (CD, 1979, 1992 reissue, EMI CDP 79 7724 2, includes “I Pray Ole” and 1988 re-recording of “Look Back In Anger”)

Scary Monsters (CD, 1980, 1992 reissue, EMI CDP 79 9331 2, includes 1979 B-side version of “Space Oddity”, “Crystal Japan”, and re-recorded version of “Panic In Detroit”, last track briefly available in 2002 on “Heathen” double-CD)

RCA ERA COMPILATIONS

ChangesOneBowie (LP, 1976, RCA RS 1055)
The Best Of Bowie (LP, 1980, K-Tel NS 4119)
ChangesTwoBowie (LP, 1981, RCA BOWLP 3)
Christiane F (CD, 2001 reissue, EMI 533 0932)

RCA ERA 45's

Changes/Andy Warhol (7”, 1972, RCA 2160)
Starman/Suffragette City (7”, 1972, initial copies in p/s, RCA 2199 - US copies came in similar picture sleeve which was pressed in greater numbers, and these are easier to find than UK picture sleeve editions)
John I’m Only Dancing/Hang On To Yourself (7”, 1972, RCA 2263)
The Jean Genie/Ziggy Stardust (7”, 1972, RCA 2302)
Drive In Saturday/Round And Round (7”, 1973, RCA 2352)
Life On Mars?/The Man Who Sold The World (7”, 1973, most copies in p/s, RCA 2316)
Sorrow/Amsterdam (7”, 1973, RCA 2424)
Rebel Rebel/Queen Bitch (7”, 1974, RCA LPBO 5009)
Rock N Roll Suicide/Quicksand (7”, 1974, RCA LPBO 5021)
Diamond Dogs/Holy Holy (Re-Recorded Version) (7”, 1974, RCA APBO 0293)
Knock On Wood (Live)/Panic In Detroit (Live) (7”, 1974, RCA 2466)
Young Americans/Suffragette City (Live) (7”, 1975, RCA 2523)
Fame (Edit)/Right (7”, 1975, RCA 2579)
Space Oddity/Changes/Velvet Goldmine (7”, 1975, initial copies in p/s, RCA 2593)
Golden Years (Edit)/Can You Hear Me? (7”, 1976, RCA 2640)
TVC15 (Edit)/We Are The Dead (7”, 1976, RCA 2682)
Suffragette City/Stay (7”, p/s, 1976, RCA 2726)
Sound And Vision/A New Career In A New Town (7”, 1976, RCA PB 0905)
Be My Wife/Speed Of Life (7”, 1976, RCA PB 1017)
Heroes (Edit)/V-2 Schneider (7”, 1977, RCA PB 1121)
Beauty And The Beast/Sense Of Doubt (7”, p/s, 1977, RCA PB 1190)
Breaking Glass (Live)/Art Decade (Live)/Ziggy Stardust (live) (7”, p/s, 1978, RCA BOW 1)
Boys Keep Swinging/Fantastic Voyage (7”, p/s, 1979, RCA BOW 2)
DJ (Edit)/Repetition (7”, p/s, 1979, RCA BOW 3)
John I’m Only Dancing (Again) (7” Mix)/John I’m Only Dancing (1972) (7”, p/s, 1979, RCA BOW 4)
Alabama Song/Space Oddity (1979 Version) (7”, fold out p/s, 1980, RCA BOW 5)
Ashes To Ashes (Edit)/Move On (7”, three different p/s, 1980, RCA BOW 6. Each edition came with one of four different sets of stamps, making 12 different “versions”)
Fashion (Edit)/Scream Like A Baby (7”, p/s, 1980, RCA BOW 7)
Scary Monsters (Edit)/Because You’re Young (7”, p/s, 1980, RCA BOW 8)
Up The Hill Backwards/Crystal Japan (7”, p/s, 1981, RCA BOW 9)
Under Pressure (Edit) +1 (7”, p/s, 1981, EMI 5250 - most sources claim LP version is on 7“, but edited version does exist - I haven‘t played my copy for years, so can‘t remember which mix it plays!)
Wild Is The Wind (Edit)/Golden Years (Edit) (7”, p/s, 1981, RCA BOW 10)
Baal EP: Baal’s Hymn/Remembering Marie A/Ballad Of The Adventurers/The Drowned Girl/The Dirty Song (7”, p/s, 1981, RCA BOW 11, also on 12”)
Cat People (6.41 Mix) +1 (12”, p/s, 1982, MCA 770)
Peace On Earth~Little Drummer Boy/Fantastic Voyage (7”, p/s, 1982, RCA BOW 12, later re-released on CD with unedited version of a-side, plus CD-Rom section)

It is also worth noting that a 12” of “Fashion” was issued in 1983 to coincide with the RCA compilation “Golden Years”, with a new sleeve, but with the same B-side (RCA PC 9638) in Germany only.

LIFETIMES RE-RELEASES

Drive In Saturday/Round And Round (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 501)
Life On Mars?/The Man Who Sold The World (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 502)
Rock N Roll Suicide/Quicksand (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 503)
Diamond Dogs/Holy Holy (Re-Recorded Version) (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 504)
Knock On Wood (Live)/Panic In Detroit (Live) (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 505)
Young Americans/Suffragette City (Live) (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 506)
Fame (Edit)/Right (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 507)
Golden Years (Edit)/Can You Hear Me? (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 508)
TVC15 (Edit)/We Are The Dead (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 509)
Sound And Vision/A New Career In A New Town (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 510)
Be My Wife/Speed Of Life (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 511)
Beauty And The Beast/Sense Of Doubt (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 512)
Heroes (Edit)/V-2 Schneider (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 513)
Rebel Rebel/Queen Bitch (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 514)
The Jean Genie/Ziggy Stardust (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 515)
DJ (Edit)/Repetition (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 516)
John I’m Only Dancing/Hang On To Yourself (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 517)
Space Oddity/Changes/Velvet Goldmine (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 518)
Sorrow/Amsterdam (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 519)
Breaking Glass (Live)/Art Decade (Live)/Ziggy Stardust (Live) (Lifetimes 7”, BOW 520)

1982 PICTURE DISC REPRESSINGS

Space Oddity/Changes/Velvet Goldmine (7” Picture Disc, BOW 101)
Life On Mars?/The Man Who Sold The World (7” Picture Disc, BOW 102)
The Jean Genie/Ziggy Stardust (7” Picture Disc, BOW 103)
Rebel Rebel/Queen Bitch (7” Picture Disc, BOW 104)
Sound And Vision/A New Career In A New Town (7” Picture Disc, BOW 105)
Drive In Saturday/Round And Round (7” Picture Disc, BOW 106)
Sorrow/Amsterdam (7” Picture Disc, BOW 107)
Golden Years (Edit)/Can You Hear Me? (7” Picture Disc, BOW 108)
Boys Keep Swinging/Fantastic Voyage (7” Picture Disc, BOW 109)
Ashes To Ashes (Edit)/Move On (7” Picture Disc, BOW 110)


Next month, we shall look at Bowie in the 80’s - the decade which, strangely, saw Bowie start to sell more records than ever before whilst at the same time making some of the weakest albums of his career. There were, however, several moments of genius committed to the singles, and we shall look at the interesting releases that covered both the good and the not so good Bowie records of that period.

Further reading:
The Ziggy Stardust Companion: http://www.5years.com/start.htm