Early version of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album announced for Record Store Day

On what would have been David Bowie’s 77th birthday, Parlophone have announced a special vinyl LP called Waiting in the Sky (Before The Starman Came to Earth).

This record features the then provisional tracklisting for what would become Bowie’s 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. This early version is taken from the Trident Studio quarter-inch tapes dated 15 December 1971.

There are four songs on Waiting in the Sky that didn’t make the final album. On side one, in the place of ‘Starman’ (one of the last three tracks recorded for the album in February 1972, is the Chuck Berry cover ‘Round and Round‘ which was eventually found a home as the B-side to the Aladdin Sane single ‘Drive-in Staturday’, on 6 April 1973. Also, Bowie’s version of Jacques Brel’s ‘Amsterdam’, ended side one (this was sat on for even longer and became the B-side of ‘Sorrow’ on 12 October, 1973. Side two of this RSD release includes both ‘Holy Holy‘ and ‘Velvet Goldmine‘. The former is the re-recording with The Spiders of David’s 1971 single and wasn’t released at the time until ‘Diamond Dogs’ was issued as a single when it became yet another B-side. ‘Velvet Goldmine’ was unreleased for nearly four years, but became the B-side to the 1975 reissue of ‘Space Oddity’.

As well as ‘Starman’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide’ and ‘Suffragette City’ had not been recorded and are also missing from this early version of the album. Three great late additions, I’m sure you’ll agree!

This vinyl was cut from digital and is a half-speed vinyl pressing. There is no CD version for Record Store Day (see the recent SDE post on CDs!).

Waiting in the Sky (Before The Starman Came to Earth) will be released on 20 April 2024 (this year’s Record Store Day) via Parlophone and will be available at participating independent record shops.

Tracklisting

Waiting in the Sky (Before The Starman Came to Earth) David Bowie /

• • Side 1

    1. Five Years
    2. Soul Love
    3. Moonage Daydream
    4. Round And Round
    5. Amsterdam

    Side 2

    1. Hang On To Yourself
    2. Ziggy Stardust
    3. Velvet Goldmine
    4. Holy Holy
    5. Star
    6. Lady Stardust