The Prettiest Star

"The Prettiest Star"
Song
B-side	"Conversation Piece"

"The Prettiest Star" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in 1970.

Bowie had recently re-recorded an old Deram track, "London Bye Ta Ta", intended as a follow-up single to "Space Oddity" in early 1970. However, the same sessions had also spawned a new composition named "The Prettiest Star". Bowie wrote it for Angela Barnett, reputedly playing it down the telephone as part of his proposal to her. He also chose it as his next single, to the displeasure of manager Kenneth Pitt, who favoured "London Bye Ta Ta".

The track featured Marc Bolan on guitar, with whom Bowie would spend the next few years as a rival for the crown of the king of glam rock. Producer Tony Visconti, who brought the two aspiring pop stars together in the studio, recalled that the session went well until the end when Bolan's wife June remarked to Bowie, "Marc is too good for you, to be playing on this record!"

Despite receiving good notices, the single reportedly sold less than 800 copies, a major disappointment on the back of the success of "Space Oddity". In 1973, a more glam-influenced version was recorded and released on the album Aladdin Sane, with Mick Ronson recreating Bolan's original guitar part almost note-for-note.

Track listing

1. "The Prettiest Star" (David Bowie) – 3:09
2. "Conversation Piece" (Bowie) – 3:05

Alternate cover

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File:Bowieprettystar2.jpg

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Production credits

• Producer:
  • Tony Visconti

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: vocals, guitar
  • Marc Bolan: guitar on "The Prettiest Star"
  • Tony Visconti: bass on "The Prettiest Star"
  • John Cambridge: drums
  • Tim Renwick: guitar on "Conversation Piece"
  • John Lodge: bass on "Conversation Piece"

Other releases

• The Aladdin Sane version was released as the B-side of the US single "Time" in April 1973.
• The 1973 version also appeared on the Japanese compilation The Best of David Bowie in 1974.
• The single version from 1970 was released in the Sound + Vision box set in 1989.
• On The Best of 1969/1974 in 1997 the original recording was issued for the first time in stereo, named on the sleeve as "Bolan Stereo Mix".
• It was used in the musical soundtrack of Kinky Boots

Cover versions

• Finnish musician Hector recorded a version for his 1977 album, HEC.
• French industrial metal band Treponem Pal recorded a version for their 1989 debut album, Treponem Pal.
• Ian McCulloch recorded a version for Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, a Bowie tribute album from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine.
• American singer Jad Fair recorded a version for his free download album, Sunshiney Shine.
• YouTube user Tom Milsom (hexachordal) released a cover under the pseudonym of 'Tommy Firefly' in 2009, with the hope of his version becoming a Number One single. Milsom unusually released the song on 1 April 2009, which was a Wednesday. This made the track not appear on the midweek charts, so as to "play an april fool's joke on the chart listings peeps". The song failed to make the Top 100.

References

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
• "The Prettiest Star" at Teenage Wildlife