ParlophoneIn conjunction with what would have been David Bowie‘s 72nd birthday Tuesday, plans have been announced for the release this spring of a box set of seven-inch vinyl discs featuring nine rare early demos.
Titled Spying Through a Keyhole (Demos and Unreleased Songs), the collection is made up mostly of home demo recordings that Bowie made solo, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.
The tracks were previously available for purchase digitally for a limited time last month, but this will mark the first time they’ll be released physically. Among the tracks are two demo versions of David’s classic tune “Space Oddity,” one of which is an excerpt believed to possibly be the first-ever recording of the song. The other version features Bowie performing the song as a duo with his early musical partner John “Hutch” Hutchinson.
Among the other songs featured on Spying Through a Keyhole are demo versions of such early Bowie songs as “In the Heat of the Morning” and “London Bye, Ta-Ta.” The box set’s title comes from the lyrics of a previously unknown song that appears on the collection, “Love All Around.”
An official release date for the Spying Through the Keyhole vinyl box set will be announced soon, and the collection is expected to eventually be made available in other formats.
In other news, Bowie’s widow, Iman, marked her late husband’s birthday by posting a couple of tributes to him on her Twitter feed. The first is a message that reads, “My memory loves you. It asks about you all the time.”
The second features two photos of David and Iman affectionately spending time together in a kitchen, accompanied by the note: “Jan 8th Eternal Memories, Eternal Love #BowieForever.”
Here’s the Spying Through a Keyhole track list:
“Mother Grey” (demo)
“In the Heat of the Morning” (demo)
“Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe” (demo)
“Love All Around” (demo)
“London Bye, Ta-Ta” (demo)
“Angel, Angel, Grubby Face” (demo version 1)
“Angel, Angel, Grubby Face” (demo version 2)
“Space Oddity” (demo excerpt)
“Space Oddity” (demo — alternative lyrics) — with Hutch
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