Life on Mars?
A piano ballad that began as a parody of My Way and became one of his most loved songs.
David Bowie, from Hunky Dory (1971)
- Written by
- David Bowie
- Released
- 1971
- Length
- 3:43
- Album
- Hunky Dory
He recorded it at Trident on 6 August 1971, the final day of the Hunky Dory sessions, with Ken Scott. Rick Wakeman played piano, Ronson wrote the string arrangement and the strings were played by members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It began as a response to My Way, which has Paul Anka's words set to the song Comme d'habitude. Bowie told Michael Parkinson in 2002 that the song had really made him angry for so long. In 1971 he described it as a sensitive young girl's reaction to the media.
It was released as a single in the UK on 22 June 1973, with The Man Who Sold the World on the B-side. It entered the chart at number 21 and peaked at number three in July, staying for thirteen weeks. It re-entered at number 55 in 2007. Mick Rock made the video on 13 June 1973 at Blandford West Ten Studio in Ladbroke Grove. The television series Life on Mars took its name from the song.
Live and covers
setlist.fm lists 411 performances. He played it for the last time on 8 September 2005, with Arcade Fire at Fashion Rocks in New York. Barbra Streisand recorded it in 1974, and Bowie criticised her version in 1976. Seu Jorge sang a Portuguese version for The Life Aquatic in 2004.
On stage
- 2005-09-08, Fashion Rocks, New York Bowie's last performance of the song, with Arcade Fire.
Covers and versions
- Barbra Streisand (1974)
- Seu Jorge (2004) Portuguese version, for The Life Aquatic
More songs by David Bowie
Space Oddity, Starman, "Heroes", Ashes to Ashes, Lazarus, Changes, Fame, Rebel Rebel, Let's Dance, Under Pressure, Where Are We Now?
Sources
- Life on Mars?, Wikipedia
- David Bowie statistics, setlist.fm