To mark a major landmark in popular music, a new version of David Bowie’s “Starman” has been released. The new mix entitled “Starman (Top Of The Pops Version 2022)” dropped today on all major streaming platforms, the single was released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the late singer’s seminal album The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.
The newly released mix was made available via Parlophone Records and was created by the album’s co-producer Ken Scott. The legendary producer is best known as one of the five engineers who worked closely with the Beatles. Scott generated the new mix at the beginning of the year from existing multi-tracks. The new version of the iconic track was based on the master track which resulted from Bowie’s broadcast recording on Top Of The Pops, with the master having initially been released on the picture disc Starman 7’’, which dropped over ten years ago.
A statement on Bowie’s website has given the following description outlining the importance of the performance and recording, “David Bowie’s performance of STARMAN on Top Of The Pops is undoubtedly one of the most essential pieces of music television ever broadcast. It has influenced generations of musicians, artists and writers who saw it at the time and countless others who have since seen it over the decades, from bootleg VHS copies to YouTube clips.”
Although taken off the air in 2006, Top Of The Pops has remained an important institution within British music and has been responsible for the success of many artists since its first broadcast in 1964. According to rules outlined by the Musicians Union. In order to appear on the TV show artists would have to re-record their song and then perform the vocals live over the newly recorded track. Due to these rules, Scott had multiple tracks available to use and was able to utilise both aspects of the process.
The new mix consists of the backing vocals recorded for the show’s purpose and the lead vocals taken from the track featured on the album. As per the show’s request, the backing vocals were recorded at Trident Studios, one of London’s most beloved recording facilities located in SoHo. Keen-eared music fans will spot the Adhoc ab-lib within the mix, Bowie can be heard singing “Hey Brown Crow”.
The re-worked mix of “Starman” is not the only celebratory nod to the influential album’s 50th anniversary, to commemorate the release of The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars the album will also be made available as a special edition. As from Friday 17th June 2022, the album will be available to purchase as a limited edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP and picture disc, the LP will not only hold great collector value but will also include the re-worked master and a reproduction of the promotional poster.
Bowie’s powerful talent is not only evident in his enduring legacy but can also be seen within his influence seen in other musicians, Tim Burgess is one of such artists and chose to celebrate the musical landmark in a virtual fashion. The English singer and frontman for The Charlatans held a very special listening party today via Twitter, Burgess has given the following description of the event, “I’m really excited to be hosting a Ziggy Stardust Listening Party on the 50th anniversary of the album’s release. Fans from all around the world can take part and we’ve enlisted a few friends to help us out too.”
Details concerning Burgess’ listening party can be found here.
Click here to stream/buy/listen to “Starman (Top Of The Pops Version 2022)“
