1969-02-22 London ,Clairville Grove – Recorded Live At The Sussex University – SQ -9
01. Space Oddity.flac
02. Janine.flac
03. An Occasional Dream.flac
04. Conversation Piece.flac
05. Ching-A-Ling Song.flac
06. Letter To Harmione (I’m Not Quite).flac
07. Love Song.flac
08. When I’m Five.flac
09. Life Is A Circus.flac
A fascinating glimpse of the genesis of the Space Oddity album is afforded by a ten-song acoustic demo tape recorded by David and his Feathers partner John âHutchâ Hutchinson, probably in mid-April 1969. In addition to the âSpace Oddityâ demo, the tape features early versions of âJanineâ, âAn Occasional Dreamâ, âConversation Pieceâ, âLetter To Hermioneâ (here called âIâm Not Quiteâ), and âCygnet Committeeâ (with very different lyrics and called âLover To The Dawnâ). There are also renditions of the Feathers staples âWhen Iâm Fiveâ, âChing-a-Lingâ, âLove Songâ and âLife Is A Circusâ.
Exactly when and where this demo tape was recorded remains difficult to pinpoint. It was almost certainly after Kenneth Pittâs meeting with Simon Hayes on 14 April, and the presence of Hutch means that it canât have been a great deal later, for he bowed out and returned to Yorkshire the same month. It has been suggested that the demos were recorded on professional equipment at Mercury Recordsâ headquarters in Knightsbridge, but this seems highly unlikely considering Bowieâs apologies on the tape for the âvery bad tape recorder and microphoneâ and for the noises coming from the piano teacher upstairs; the usual consensus is that the venue was his new flat in
Foxgrove Road, Beckenham, where he moved on 14 April.