David Bowie: Mercury Demos

DESCRIPTION:

THE 'MERCURY' DEMOS are ten early Bowie recordings captured live in one take to a Revox reel to reel tape machine inBowie's flat in spring 1969, with accompaniment from John "Hutch" Hutchinson on guitar and vocals.

THE 'MERCURY' DEMOS set will come in a replica of the original tape box and will feature one LP, a print, two photo contact sheets, and sleeve notes by Mark Adams. The labels of the LP feature the same EMIDISC acetate styling as Spying Through A Keyhole and Clareville Grove Demos with the song titles in Bowie's own handwriting.

Driven by an entirely deeper dynamic than most pop artists, David Bowie inhabited a very special world of extraordinary sounds and endless vision. Unwilling to stay on the treadmill of rock legend and avoiding the descent into ever demeaning and decreasing circles of cliché, Bowie wrote and performed what he wanted, when he wanted. His absence from the endless list of “important events” has just fuelled interest. Constant speculation about what the guy was up to has even led some to wonder if this is his gr

The session was a basic recording of the ‘Bowie & Hutch’ duo’s set list at the time and was committed to tape at the request of Mercury Records A&R man Calvin Mark Lee who wanted the tracks to send them to his boss Bob Reno. Both Calvin and Bob are referenced during the 41-minute recording, and the demos were key in securing David his recording deal with Mercury Records.

The version of ‘Space Oddity’ from the Demos, originally released with edits on the Sound & Vision boxset, is presented here in its true context for the first time. The other nine recordings on the album are all previously unreleased. In addition to Bowie originals, the session also includes the Roger Bunn composition Life Is A Circus (which features as an earlier demo version on the Clareville Grove Demos set) and the Lesley Duncan composition, Love Song, later recorded by Elton John for his Tumbleweed Connection album. David’s own Conversation Piece is announced as ‘a new song’ and Janine features a short nineteen second section sung to the melody of The Beatles’ Hey Jude.

David Robert Jones was born in Brixton on January 8, 1947. Driven by an entirely deeper dynamic than most pop artists, David Bowie inhabited a very special world of extraordinary sounds and endless vision. Unwilling to stay on the treadmill of rock legend and avoiding the descent into ever demeaning and decreasing circles of cliché, Bowie wrote and performed what he wanted, when he wanted. His absence from the endless list of “important events” has just fuelled interest. Constant speculation about what the

Mercury Demos

1. Space Oddity (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
2. Janine (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
3. An Occasional Dream (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
4. Conversation Piece (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
5. Ching-A-Ling (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
6. I'm Not Quite (Aka Letter to Hermione) [With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson] ['Mercury' Demo]
7. Lover to the Dawn (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
8. Love Song (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
9. When I'm Five (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]
10. Life Is a Circus (With John 'Hutch' Hutchinson) ['Mercury' Demo]

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