| "Life on Mars?" | ||||||||||
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| Single by David Bowie | ||||||||||
| from the album Hunky Dory | ||||||||||
| B-side | "The Man Who Sold the World" | |||||||||
| Released | 22 June 1973 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" single | |||||||||
| Recorded | Trident Studios, London April 1971 |
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| Genre | Glam rock | |||||||||
| Length | 3:48 | |||||||||
| Label | RCA Records 2316 |
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| Writer(s) | David Bowie | |||||||||
| Producer | Ken Scott | |||||||||
| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Life on Mars?" is a song by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. The song—which BBC Radio 2 later called "a cross between a Broadway musical and a Salvador Dalí painting"[1]—featured guest piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973, it reached #3 in the UK and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. The song re-entered the UK charts at #55 over 30 years later, largely because of its use in the television series Life on Mars.
Neil McCormick of the Telegraph ranked it as #1 in his 100 Greatest Songs of All Time list.[2]
He also commented on the song:
"A quite gloriously strange anthem, where the combination of stirring, yearning melody and vivid, poetic imagery manage a trick very particular to the art of the song: to be at once completely impenetrable and yet resonant with personal meaning. You want to raise your voice and sing along, yet Bowie’s abstract cut-up lyrics force you to invest the song with something of yourself just to make sense of the experience. And, like all great songs, it's got a lovely tune."
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In 1968, Bowie wrote "Even a Fool Learns to Love", a song with lyrics by Bowie set to the music of a 1967 French song ("Comme d'habitude"). Bowie's song was never released, but Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into "My Way," made famous by Frank Sinatra in a 1969 recording on his album of the same name. The success of the Anka version prompted Bowie to write "Life on Mars?" as a parody of Sinatra's recording.[1]
In notes for a Bowie compilation CD that accompanied a June 2008 issue of The Mail on Sunday,[3] Bowie described how he wrote the song:
Bowie noted that Wakeman "embellished the piano part" of his original melody and guitarist Mick Ronson "created one of his first and best string parts" for the song.[1]
The liner notes for Hunky Dory indicate that the song was 'inspired by Frankie'.[1]
BBC Radio has described "Life on Mars?" as having "one of the strangest lyrics ever" consisting of a "slew of surreal images" like a Salvador Dalí painting.[1] The line "Look at those cavemen go" is a reference to the song "Alley Oop", a one-off hit in 1960 for American doo-wop band The Hollywood Argyles.[4]
Bowie, at the time of Hunky Dory's release in 1971, summed up the song as "A sensitive young girl's reaction to the media". In 1997 he added "I think she finds herself disappointed with reality ... that although she's living in the doldrums of reality, she's being told that there's a far greater life somewhere, and she's bitterly disappointed that she doesn't have access to it".[4]
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As early as 1974 Barbra Streisand released a version of the song on her album ButterFly. The song has also been covered by Italian artist L'Aura, Australian rock vocalist Mig Ayesa, Finnish singer-songwriter Hector, American pop musician Michelle Branch, and Brazilian singer Seu Jorge (on the soundtrack of the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). The Flaming Lips did a live cover in 1992 which later appeared on the single "This Here Giraffe". The song was played many times in concert by the American jam band Phish (with keyboardist Page McConnell on vocals) - most heavily in 1995 and 1996. Anggun covered the song on her first international debut album, Snow on the Sahara (1998), and issued it as a promotional single. Jazz trio The Bad Plus covered the song on their 2007 album Prog. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain perform it intertwined with "My Way" and "For Once in My Life" among others. In 2009, VAMPS, a Japanese rock band, did a cover as a B-side on their third single, "Evanescent".
Canadian band Arcade Fire, with Bowie guesting on vocals, performed the song at the 2005 Fashion Rocks.
This is the first part of a David Bowie medley performed by Adam Lambert on the Idols Live tour of 2009. Idols Live is a tour composed of the top 10 finalists of the television show American Idol. Lambert finished runner up in 2009. The other songs used in the medley are Fame and Lets Dance.
To promote the single release, Mick Rock directed a promotional video for the song, featuring Bowie in a turquoise suit performing the song solo against a white backdrop.
All songs written by David Bowie:
The Portuguese release of the single had "Black Country Rock" as the B-side.
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
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| 2009 | ARIA Australian Singles Chart | #67[5] |
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   | BBC Radio 2 webpage on the song - BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - TOP 100 - Life On Mars |
| | You Tube - YouTube - 3 Campfire |
| | Lyrics for this song from LyricWiki.org - David Bowie - Life On Mars - Lyrics from LyricWiki |
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