The best No 1 records: David Bowie – Space Oddity

1975: It had previously hit the top five six years earlier, but Bowie's song still sounded impossibly futuristicSpace Oddity was originally a top five hit in 1969, after featuring in advertisements for the miniature Stylophone synthesiser, which Bowie plays on the song, and during the BBC's coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. But the space age sounds and lyrics such as "Ground control to Major Tom" still sounded incredibly futuristic on its 1975 re-release, by which point Bowie bestrode pop ...

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