I have a list of Sequel Songs that I'm working my way through, but because time is limited at the moment, I've been trying to pick ones I think I can write about quickly. The problem is, when I start, I often fall down a rabbit hole...
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
Theoretically, today's post was going to involve just three songs. The first, obviously, was David Bowie's first UK Chart hit, a song which was rush-released in July 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing (the BBC even used it to soundtrack their coverage). It was inspired by Kubrick's 2001, reflecting how alienated Bowie himself felt at this point in his career (having been knocking on the door of the charts for some time, with nobody letting him in), and musical inspiration came from the kind of thing the Bee Gees were doing at that point in their career. If you're surprised by that, I'd point you towards one of my favourite Bee Gees tunes, also from 1969, and I can kind of hear where Bowie might have been coming from...
Although Space Oddity did make the Top Ten, it would be another three years before Bowie returned to the charts, ironically with a song that's another thematic continuation, although by this point he clearly feels more like an alien than an astronaut.
After that, Bowie was here to stay. Maybe it took that long for the world to be ready for him. It wouldn't be any kind of stretch to call him "ahead of his time". Space Oddity was re-issued in 1975, when it became his first chart-topper. His second chart-topper came five years later... and it was the official sequel to Space Oddity.
Do you remember a guy that's been
In such an early song?
I've heard a rumour from Ground Control
Oh no, don't say it's true
By this time, Major Tom was floating in a very different kind of space, having succumbed to drug addiction... the autobiographical elements still clearly present.
Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low
Now, I would have said that this was the last time we heard from Major Tom... at least from his creator. Many of you will know that others took up the story, most notably German singer Peter Schilling, whose 1982 single Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst) reached Number One in both Germany and Austria in 1983... and though the English language version didn't make the UK charts, it did get to #14 in the US.
Schilling's song does appear to offer a little hope of a happy ending for the good Major...
Across the stratosphere, a final message
"Give my wife my love," then nothing more
Far beneath the ship the world is mourning
They don't realize he's alive
No one understands, but Major Tom sees
"Now the light commands, this is my home
I'm coming home"
Iffypedia suggests other artists sought to continue the narrative, though Empty Glass by Canadian band The Tea Party feels more like a Bowie tribute song...
Where do we belong?
Could you help us, Major Tom
'Cause nothing's making sense
I listen and lament
A star man will come
When diamond dogs run
We need ground control
We're losing our souls
And if we include that, we should also offer space to the Conchords...
Another Canadian, K.I.A. offers a different perspective on Major Tom's story, from his earthbound wife...
A version of that song, sung by Sheryl Crow, appeared on William Shatner's fourth album, thematically based on Bowie's character, entitled Seeking Major Tom. The album also included Shatner's own version of the Peter Schilling song...
And here's a direct retelling (but not a cover version) of the original tale by LA rock band Shiny Toy Guns...
And a different take, in French, from Plastic Bertrand...
Meanwhile, Major Tom crops up in all kinds of other bizarre places, including...
I think it's fair to say Major Tom has really made the grade. No wonder the papers want to know whose shirts he wears.
However, you may have wondered about my earlier comment, "I would have said that this was the last time we heard from Major Tom... at least from his creator." Did David Bowie have anything else to say about his greatest creation. Well... yes, it seems he did. Many believe that his 1996 collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys contains an update on the Major Tom story...
But I'm told that Major Tom's final appearance comes in the the video to the title track of the final Bowie album, Blackstar. Many people (including the director) believe that the dead astronaut seen at the start of the video is Major Tom at the end of his journey...