The Man Who Sold the World (song)

Infobox Song
Name = The Man Who Sold the World


Artist = David Bowie
Album = The Man Who Sold the World
Released = November 4 1970 (U.S.)
April 1971 (UK)
track_no = 8
Recorded = Trident and Advision Studios, London
18 April - 22 May 1970
Genre = Rock
Length = 3:55
Label = Mercury Records
Writer = David Bowie
Producer = Tony Visconti
prev = "She Shook Me Cold"
prev_no = 7
next = "The Supermen"
next_no = 9Extra tracklisting
Album = MTV Unplugged in New York
Type = live
prev_track = "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam"
prev_no = 3
this_track = "The Man Who Sold The World"
track_no = 4
next_track = "Pennyroyal Tea"
next_no = 5

"The Man Who Sold the World" is a song by David Bowie. It is the title track of his third album, released in the U.S. in November 1970 and in the UK in April 1971. It was later re-popularised and introduced to a new generation by Nirvana's cover on their "MTV Unplugged in New York" album. In the wake of this cover, Bowie bemoaned the fact that when he performed the number himself he would encounter "kids that come up afterwards and say, 'It's cool you're doing a Nirvana song.' And I think, 'Fuck you, you little tosser!'" [Nicholas Pegg (2000). "The Complete David Bowie": p.138-139]

In common with a number of tracks on the album, the song's themes have been compared to the horror/fantasy works of H. P. Lovecraft. [Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). "Bowie: An Illustrated Record": p.38] The lyrics are also cited as reflecting Bowie's concerns with splintered or multiple personalities, [David Buckley (1999). "Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story": p.100] and are believed to have been partially inspired by the poem "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns: [ [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:8gr67ul0201d All Music Guide review] ]

: Yesterday upon the stair: I met a man who wasn't there: He wasn't there again today: I wish that man would go away

Other releases

*"The Man Who Sold the World" appears as a B-side on the American single releases for the songs "Space Oddity" (1972) and "Life on Mars?" (1973). It also appears on various Bowie compilations.

*Bowie performed the song live in 1979 with Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias on "Saturday Night Live". A portion of this show is included in the film "The Nomi Song".

*A re-recorded version produced by Brian Eno appears as a B-side on the 1995 CD single for the song, "Strangers When We Meet". This version also appears on the bonus disc that followed some versions of "Outside - Version 2".

Cover versions

Lulu

The song was covered by the Scottish singer Lulu in 1974, who performed it in "a sleazy, almost Berlin cabaret style". [David Buckley (1999). Op Cit: p.196] It was released as a single on 11 January 1974, making #3 in the UK charts. Bowie produced this version with Mick Ronson during the "Pin Ups" sessions and also contributed guitar, saxophone and backing vocals. The remainder of the band included Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, Mike Garson on piano, and Aynsley Dunbar on drums. [Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Op Cit: p.118]

Richard Barone

The song was covered by American singer Richard Barone in 1987 on his proto-Chamber Pop album, "Cool Blue Halo". Using cello, acoustic guitar and symphonic percussion in an intimate live setting, it foreshadowed the "Unplugged" ethos.

Nirvana

A live rendition of the song was recorded by the American grunge band Nirvana in 1993 during their "MTV Unplugged" appearance. It was released on the band's "MTV Unplugged in New York" album the following year. They regularly covered the song during live sets after their memorable acoustic performance up until lead singer Kurt Cobain's death in 1994.

The song was released as a promo single for the album and received considerable airplay on alternative rock radio stations. It was also thrown into heavy rotation on music video stations such as MTV.;Nirvana cover chart positions

Other covers

*Midge Ure on the film soundtrack "Party Party" (1982). This version is also included on "No Regrets: The Very Best of Midge Ure", and the compilations "The David Bowie Songbook" and "Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs", CD premium from the March 2003 issue of "Uncut" magazine.
*Here & Now on the album "Fantasy Shift" (1983).
*Električni Orgazam on the album "Les Chansones Populaires" (1983).
*Ed Kuepper on the album "The Exotic Mail Order Moods of Ed Kuepper" (1995).
*Simple Minds on the covers album "Neon Lights" (2001).
*3 Melancholy Gypsys sampled the Nirvana version in their song "2010".
*Jordis Unga on "Rock Star INXS", also released as a digital single.
*Bug Funny Music Foundation on the album "Spiders from Venus: Indie Women Artists and Female-Fronted Bands Cover David Bowie" (2003).
*Tacye on "Diamond Gods: Interpretations of Bowie" (2001).
*Cocosuma on "BowieMania: Mania, une collection obsessionelle de Beatrice Ardisson" (2007).
*Apoptygma Berzerk uses the guitar melody for a live rendition of the song Mourn, which can be heard on the album "APBL2000" (2001)
*Cross Canadian Ragweed has also covered the song on various occasions.Mookie Morris performed this song on David Bowie Night on Canadian Idol Season 6 in 2008.

See also

* "The Man Who Sold the Moon", a 1949 science fiction short story and collection by Robert A. Heinlein. It contains many of the same themes as the song.

Notes