King Biscuit Flower Hour – A Look at the 70's

(D.I.R. Broadcasting; USA 01/1980)

Format: 3LP

Release notes: promo-only radio show, NC

Tracks: intro / ads / interview / David Bowie: Space Oddity / interview / John Lennon: Instant Karma / out // interview / David Bowie: Saviour Machine / interview / David Bowie: Suffragette City / interview / Tyrannosaurus Rex: Deborah / out // interview / Kraftwerk: Autobahn / interview / Donna Summer: I Feel Love / interview / David Bowie: D.J. / out/ ads // interview / David Bowie: John, I'm Only Dancing (1972)* / John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) (long version)* / interview / Roxy Music: Virginia Plain / interview / The Stooges: I Wanna Be Your Dog / interview / out // interview / Bobby Womack: I'm Looking for a Love / interview / Ann Peebles: I Can't Stand the Rain / interview / David Bowie: Fame (single edit) / interview / Philip Glass: Trial/Prison / out // interview / Talking Heads: Don't Worry about the Government / interview / Mekons: Where Were You? / interview / ads / out

Other notes: *segued into each other

Collector's notes: Not only RCA produced radio show records, there were other, independent companies who also made such albums. A famous series of such shows was King Biscuit Flower Hour, in which albums by many popular artists were released. This album, which contains Bowie's personal retrospective of the 1970s, is a really fantastic item: not only does it bring you some of the best music from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, but Bowie's comments are also quite interesting. In 1983 the interview was re-released with all music edited out.
Originally, these discs came with several cue sheets, but since I've only got self-printed copies of them, I don't show them here.

John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)

(RCA PB 9482; Italy 01/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) (single edit)* // John, I'm Only Dancing (1972)**

Other notes: *recorded during the Young Americans sessions, Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, 08/1974; **new mix

Collector's notes: Jarman and Jarman & Stöcklin give the release date 12/1979 for this single, but what strikes me as odd is that the label has the "printed"-dates "72/75/80". The first two years are logical - that's when the songs were recorded. But "80" can only be the year of release. So I'll go for January 1980.

Moonage Daydream/Hang On to Yourself

(B&C CB 200; ?? 1980)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: bootleg, 33 1/3 rpm, NC

Tracks: Moonage Daydream / Hang On to Yourself // Man in the Middle

Other notes: all tracks taken from the official 1971 and 1972 Arnold Corns singles

Collector's notes: A nice collection of the three Arnold Corns tracks released that far. Since the label is a rather faithful reproduction of the original B&C label design, this record is often falsely assumed to be an official product from the early 1970s.

Alabama Song

(RCA BOW 5; UK 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: poster PS, company cover

Tracks: Alabama Song* // Space Oddity**

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978; **re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Alabama Song

(RCA PB 9510; Germany 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Alabama Song* // Space Oddity**

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978; **re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Collector's notes: There may be re-pressings with black labels.

Alabama Song

(RCA PB-9510; Spain 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Alabama Song* // Space Oddity**

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978; **re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Alabama Song

(RCA PB 9510; France 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Alabama Song* // Space Oddity**

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978; **re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Collector's notes: By now, a bit of copyright text had been placed left of the RCA logo on the label. This revised plastic-moulded bronze label was used for quite a while.

Alabama Song

(RCA PB-9510; Netherlands 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Alabama Song* // Space Oddity**

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978; **re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Alabama Song

(RCA/Jugoton SRCA 89010; Yugoslavia 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Alabama Song* // Space Oddity**

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978; **re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

"Heroes"/"Héros"

(RCA 20629; Australia 02/1980)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: brown label, language information on tracks next to titles, wraparound PS

Tracks: "Heroes" (short English version) / "Héros" (short French version) // "Helden" (short German version) / V-2 Schneider

Collector's notes: According to Jarman, there are two different label colours (brown and tan) and two variations of the label design. The label design shown here is the original.
Originally, I listed this record under 12/1978 (following Jarman), but as Colin McIntyre has pointed out to me (thanks!), the "A280B" on the cover back is a release date code that points to February 1980. I have checked this on Discogs for other artists of whom records were released in this EP series, and I'm sure that Colin is right: the code always matches the month and year of release. Note that Bruna listed the record as a 1980 release as early as 1983. So this one can be safely classified as a 1980 release.

What's It All about?

(TRAV MA 1791; USA 02/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, NC

Tracks: David Bowie: What's It All about? (interview with Bowie feat. excerpts from Fame, Space Oddity, Art Decade, Golden Years) // Bob Dylan: What's It All about? (interviews with Bob Dylan feat. excerpts from Dylan songs)

Collector's notes: The Bowie side was a re-released later that year with a different B-side.

The Laughing Gnome

(Deram DM 123; UK 1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: mono, red plastic-moulded labels

Tracks: The Laughing Gnome // The Gospel According to Tony Day

Other notes: re-issue of 1967 single

Collector's notes: This was the final re-issue of the single on Deram. It's quite elusive, because it wasn't available for long. Note, though, that there is also a German export version for the UK on Decca, released in 1982.

Crystal Japan

(RCA SS-3270; Japan 07/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: Crystal Japan* // Alabama Song**

Other notes: *recorded during the Scary Monsters sessions, 1980; **studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA BOW 6; UK 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS with shoe in low position, stamp insert 1

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: The UK issue of this single came in three different covers with four different stamp inserts. There doesn't seem to be any system as to which insert was distributed with which cover. So theoretically, there are twelve different combinations. I have heard that there are collectors who actually try to collect all these possible combinations. Well... good luck! I'm content to have all three different covers and all four different inserts.
Furthermore, there are copies with a solid centre (like this one), and copies with a push-out centre (like the one in the next entry). 24 combinations, anyone?

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA BOW 6; UK 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS with shoe in mid-position, stamp insert 2

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA BOW 6; UK 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: translucent dark red vinyl, PS with shoe in high position, stamp insert 3

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: Some copies of the Ashes to Ashes UK 7" were made of "contaminated vinyl" (as Jarman puts it), and are thus translucent dark red. You only realise this if you hold the record against the light; otherwise it looks plain black. In fact, it took me years to discover that this copy is actually of this kind. For the picture shown here the record was held against a strong light.
Same labels as in this entry.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA BOW 6; UK 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: no labels, PS with shoe in high position

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: A funny (though not particularly exciting) mis-pressing - it hasn't got any labels at all. It would of course be more interesting if it was made of translucent vinyl, but it isn't. Same cover as in this entry.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA BOW 6; UK 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS with shoe in mid-position, stamp insert 4

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: Same cover and record (and hence labels) as in this entry.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA JH-12078; USA 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (stereo single edit) // Ashes to Ashes (mono single edit)

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-12078; USA 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // It's No Game (Part 1)

The Continuing Story of Major Tom

(RCA DJL 1-3795; USA 08/1980)

Format: 12"

Release notes: promo-only, 33 1/3 rpm, PS

Tracks: Space Oddity* / Ashes to Ashes (single edit)* // Ashes to Ashes (album version)

Other notes: *segued into each other

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA 103671; Australia 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: wraparound PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-9575; Belgium 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-12078; Canada 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: company cover

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // It's No Game (Part 1)

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB 9575; France 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: A minor cover variation: the lettering has a red "shadow".

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB 9575; Germany 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: The original German issue of the single is slightly translucent, too: it looks orange if held against a strong light. But unlike translucent UK issues (in the case of which the effect is much clearer), these don't seem to be rare.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB 9575; Italy 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: An interesting cover variation - the Italians preferred white to black text. Note that they also confused the "printed" dates for the A-side and the B-side on the labels: it's "79" for Ashes to Ashes and "80" for Move On.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-9575; Netherlands 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-9575; Portugal 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: Another minor cover variation - the Portuguese release has a Union Jack on the cover.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-9575; Spain 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label promo, PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: Interestingly, for this release RCA Spain returned to the old early 1970s label design with "SGAE" in topmost position above "Victor".

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PB-9575; Spain 08/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (single edit) // Move On

Collector's notes: Same cover as in the previous entry.

Ashes to Ashes

(RCA PC 9631 AF; Germany 1980)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes (album version) // Alabama Song*

Other notes: *studio recording, Good Earth Studios, London, 02/07/1978

Collector's notes: The first in a rather long line of Germany RCA 12" singles by Bowie. Note that the Germans obviously used the standard LP labels and blackened out the preprinted playing speed. Although the cover says "disco remix", the record simply plays the album version.
There are also re-pressings (c. 1982) with black labels.

RCA Special Radio Series - Volume 1

(RCA DJL 1-3829A; USA 09/1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, insert

Tracks: introduction 1 / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)/comment / It's No Game (Part 1)/comment / Space Oddity/comment / Ashes to Ashes/comment / Fashion/comment / closing 1 // introduction 2 / Up the Hill Backwards/comment / Kingdom Come/comment / Teenage Wildlife / Scream like a Baby/comment / It's No Game (Part 2)/comment / closing 2

Collector's notes: This promo-only album, which was also distributed under the title RCA College Radio Series (with a different catalogue number on the cover, but not on the labels), is unusual in that it does not have a white label, but the common black variant also used for commercial US releases.

RCA College Radio Series - Volume 1

(RCA DJL 1-3829; USA 09/1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, print

Tracks: see other issue

Other notes: record identical to album RCA Special Radio Series

Collector's notes: This is the rarer alternative issue, mentioned in the previous entry. My copy lacks the cue sheet that the album typically came with, but comes with a promo-photo showing Bowie in his clown outfit. The photo looks quite professional (it's made on paper that says it was made by Kodak), but I don't know if this item originally belonged to the album.
The disc and hence the labels are the same as those of the other issue.

Interview

(RCA DJL 1-3840; USA 09/1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, OIS

Tracks: question re/It's No Game (Part 1) / question re/Up the Hill Backwards / question re/Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / question re/Ashes to Ashes / question re/Fashion // question re/Teenage Wildlife / question re/Scream like a Baby / question re/Kingdom Come / question re/Because You're Young / question re/It's No Game (Part 2) / question re/album artwork / question re/new clown look / question re/singing style / question re/you put yourself on the line / question re/thank you for being on the show; David's response and thanks

Collector's notes: This is by far the silliest of all the RCA promos with Bowie. It's an interview album (as the title suggests), but one with the questions missing. Pre-formulated questions are printed onto the inner sleeve, so that any local D.J. could pretend he was just interviewing David Bowie. You only had to be careful to catch the correct track on the album, in order to play the right answer to your question...

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PL 13647 AP; Germany 09/1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: It's No Game (Part 1) / Up the Hill Backwards / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Ashes to Ashes / Fashion // Teenage Wildlife / Scream like a Baby / Kingdom Come / Because You're Young / It's No Game (Part 2)

Other notes: recorded at Power Station Studios, New York, 02-03/1980, and Good Earth Studios, London, 04/1980

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA 32 156-2; Germany 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: Bertelsmann club edition

Tracks: see regular German issue

Collector's notes: This is an album made for the biggest German book club, Bertelsmann Buchclub. As usual, I don't know the exact month of release, so I have listed the it with the standard version (see the 1973 club edition of Aladdin Sane for more information on German book and record clubs).
Not surprisingly, this issue of Scary Monsters doesn't even have a printed inner sleeve.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA/Sonocord 27 194-0; Germany 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: Sonocord club edition, OIS

Tracks: see regular German issue

Collector's notes: Another German club edition, similar to the one in the previous entry. Sonocord was also a label in its own right, which always belonged to some book/record club, but its owner changed in the course of time, so I don't know which club distributed this version of the album.
This issue is more "luxurious" than the one by Bertelsmann, since it has the printed inner sleeve.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA 05(0131)01783; Colombia 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: A cover variation: the Colombian issue has a heavily red-tinted cover and a back cover completely in red and white. Also note that this release calls the two versions of It's No Game "Part 1" and "Part 2" (like the US release).

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA RCLP 20175; Greece 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: FOC

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: The Greek cover is one of the major variations that I know of: it has a fold-out cover, with the inside having basically the same design as the inner sleeve that came with some other issues (such as the German one).

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA APL1 3647; New Zealand 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: insert

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: The cover and labels refer to both Australia and New Zealand, but the album can be identified as a New Zealand release by the code NZ 980 in the bottom right corner of the cover back. Like the Colombian issue the New Zealand record follows the US pattern in calling the two versions of It's No Game "Part 1" and "Part 2".

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA AQL1-3647; Philippines 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: FOC

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Another major cover variation. The Philippine cover has promotion for the "punk rock" (sic!) hit singles from the album.
There are several minor variations of this Philippine issue. What is interesting is that despite the close link between the Philippines and the USA, the cover labels the versions of It's No Game "No. 1" and "No. 2", thus following the European pattern.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PL-13647; Portugal 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: price code on labels, insert

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: And another interesting variation. The Portuguese cover is fully laminated and has a slightly smaller reproduction of the cover design on the front. Note that the picture doesn't touch the left-hand margin of the cover. Moreover, the cover is heavily green-tinted, giving the picture a more lively, realistic look. The back of the cover is completely in black, green and white. There are also copies that have the price code "SL" on the cover (like this one), but not on the labels (unlike this one).
The sound quality is far below what one would expect from a European pressing of the time.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PL-13647; Spain 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: lighter, green-tinted cover, "S.G.A.E" not in box on labels

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: The Spanish cover is similar to the Portuguese one, in that the cover picture is a slightly smaller reproduction of the usual design. Both cover front and back have a minimally greenish tint. Note that there are two Spanish covers for stock copies of this record. First, there is this lighter one, which came with records that had the "S.G.A.E" print without a box on the label. Since there was no box on the cover of white label promos, either, I assume that this is the first issue. Usually, this first issue came with a printed inner sleeve, which is missing from my copy. Second, there is an issue with a darker cover and a stronger reddish tint. Furthermore, the label design of the second issue is different.
There may be a third cover variation, which is even lighter than this one and was used only for promos.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PL-13647; Spain 198?)

Format: LP

Release notes: darker, red-tinted cover, fold-out insert, "S.G.A.E" in box on labels

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: This is the other, presumably later Spanish issue mentioned in the previous entry. It has a darker cover and a different label design: the most obvious differences are the numbering of sides ("A" and "B" instead of "1" and "2") and the the box around the "S.G.A.E." print.

Hunky Dory

(RCA PL-14623 SL; Portugal 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: price code "SL" on labels

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: first Portuguese issue of the album

Collector's notes: Another cover variation for the Hunky Dory album - the title and artist's name are in red. This is assumed to be the first Portuguese issue, since no 1970s copies are known. Note that the spine of this copy is plain white.
There is an alternative issue without the price code on the labels, and with the title/artist's name in white. Furthermore, there are re-issues with black labels.

Fashion

(RCA BOW 7 (PB 9622); UK 10/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: "A"-label, PS with indention at top

Tracks: Fashion (single edit) / Scream like a Baby

Collector's notes: The large "A" on the label makes the record resemble a promo issue, but it isn't one. According to Jarman, there were even three variations of label design: the A-label type (with both a push-out centre and a solid centre), copies with a large centre hole (which were imported from Germany) and export copies made for Switzerland. Which makes you think a bit: what sense does it make to import records from Germany while exporting the same records to Switzerland...? For unknown reasons the export copies are no longer listed and shown in Jarman & Stöcklin.

Fashion

(RCA BOW T7; UK 10/1980)

Format: 12"

Release notes: promo, PS

Tracks: Fashion (album version) / Scream like a Baby

Collector's notes: Note that (as in the case of the 7") the large "A" on the A-side does not indicate a promo. The only way to identify this record as a promo issue is the small "Demonstration Sample..." text on the labels.

Fashion

(RCA BOW T7; UK 10/1980)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fashion (album version) / Scream like a Baby

Collector's notes: The label design of the 12" single follows that of the 7" by bearing a large "A" on the A-side. For differences to the promo issue see the previous entry. Same cover as the promo.

Fashion

(RCA PB 9622; Germany 10/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fashion (single edit) / Scream like a Baby

Fashion

(RCA PC 9638 AF; Germany 10/1980)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fashion (album version) / Scream like a Baby

Collector's notes: Again, the album version has miraculously turned into a "disco remix".

Fashion

(RCA PB 2134; France 10/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fashion (album version) / Scream like a Baby

Collector's notes: Unlike the other 7" singles, the French version actually plays the full-length album version of Fashion.

Fashion

(RCA PB 9622; Netherlands 10/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fashion (single edit) / Scream like a Baby

Collector's notes: And finally, RCA Netherlands, too, had arrived at black labels.

It's No Game (Part 1)

(RCA RPS-10; Japan 10/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label promo, PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: It's No Game (Part 1) / Fashion

Collector's notes: It's No Game No. 1, with its Japanese voice, was a natural candidate for a single release in Japan.

Drag Cover

((MWP 123875); ?? 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, pirate release, black die-cut NC

Tracks: see LP Interview (1980)

Other notes: re-issue of Interview promo LP (1980) with design of "dress cover" issue of The Man Who Sold the World (1971)

Collector's notes: A picture disc pirate LP of the "dress cover" version of TMWSTW would have been fine, but why for heaven's sake does the record play the superfluous Interview album?

What's It All about?

(TRAV MA 1824; USA 11/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, NC

Tracks: David Bowie: What's It All about? (interview with Bowie feat. excerpts from Fame, Space Oddity, Art Decade, Golden Years) // Frank Zappa: What's It All about? (interview with Frank Zappa feat. excerpts from Zappa songs)

Collector's notes: The Bowie side of the record had previously been released the same year on a disc with Bob Dylan on the B-side.

The Jean Genie

(RCA OLD-25010; Netherlands 11/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: The Jean Genie // Space Oddity

Fame

(RCA OLD-25016; Netherlands 11/1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fame (single edit) // Golden Years

Collector's notes: Golden Years is the album version. So, while this release has the same songs as the 1976 US single or the Canadian version, it has a different combination of edits.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel NE 1111; Austria 12/1980?)

Format: LP

Release notes: correction sticker on back, cover made in UK (combination original)

Tracks: Space Oddity / Life on Mars?* / Starman / Rock'n'Roll Suicide / John, I'm Only Dancing** / The Jean Genie / Breaking Glass*** / Sorrow // Diamond Dogs* / Young Americans / Fame (single edit) / Golden Years (single edit) / TVC 15 (single edit) / Sound and Vision / "Heroes" (short English version) / Boys Keep Swinging

Other notes: *unique Best of edit; **"sax version"; ***live version from the album Stage

Collector's notes: An extremely successful Bowie compilation on the hit label K-Tel - just in time for the Christmas business of 1980. But a few things went wrong here. The songs are arranged in chronological order, so one wonders what the Stage version of Breaking Glass is doing between The Jean Genie and Sorrow.
The puzzle is solved if you remove the "correction sticker" from early British covers (like the one that came with this Austrian pressing): the original tracklist had Drive-In Saturday between the other two songs. They must have decided to include Breaking Glass instead after the first covers had been printed. In fact, there are early French copies that play Drive-In Saturday, like this one.
This rather elusive Austrian copy was distributed in a UK cover, but with a country-specific (but not Bowie-related) inner sleeve. It was quite normal for smaller countries to press their own copies of the album and distribute them in imported covers (sometimes even with a different catalogue number).

The Best of Bowie

(Dominion DN 6091; Netherlands 12/1980?)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see Austrian issue

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel NA580; New Zealand 12/1980)

Format: LP

Tracks: Space Oddity / Life on Mars?* / Starman / Rock'n'Roll Suicide / John, I'm Only Dancing** / The Jean Genie / Breaking Glass*** / Sorrow // Diamond Dogs° / Young Americans° / Fame* / Golden Years° / TVC 15° / Sound and Vision / "Heroes" (English version)° / Boys Keep Swinging

Other notes: *album version; **original version; ***studio version; °unique Australian edit

Collector's notes: Apart from the problem related to the last-minute inclusion of Breaking Glass, there are some differences between the international releases of The Best of Bowie that are really weird.
The New Zealand issue of the album came with a disc made in Australia and - like the Australian version - differs from the "standard version" above in several respects. Sometimes they included album versions where the "standard version" had single edits, in the case of Breaking Glass they replaced the live version by the studio version, John, ... is the original version instead of the "sax version", and in the case of five songs they even provided unique edits: Diamond Dogs is about 4:30 long, Young Americans roughly four minutes, Golden Years is an edited album version, TVC 15 is slightly under four minutes and "Heroes" runs about five minutes.
To add to the confusion, the second New Zealand issue of this album was even weirder.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel NA 580; New Zealand 198?)

Format: LP

Release notes: record Australia (this combination original), counterfeit?

Tracks: see original issue

Collector's notes: This is a true headache issue. The first reason for this is the poor quality: the pressing is rather bad (even the stereo channels are reversed!), and the cover looks like a poor copy of that of the original issue, with extremely faded colours. What is more problematic, though, is the legal status of this release. The article on The Best of Bowie on Bassman's David Bowie Page says that these New Zealand pressings with the "faded" covers are, in fact, counterfeits from the late 1980s. For a long time I was reluctant to believe this, since who would issue a fake Best of Bowie in the late 1980s?
However, some time ago I was contacted by a guy from Australia, who confirmed that in the 1980s a small pressing facility in Melbourne (called "The Record Plant") pressed about 5.000 counterfeits of the album and later got busted for distributing counterfeit albums. They used presses formerly owned by Astor Records. As my informant told me, "[p]ressings from their manual presses had a double 1" ring under the label (around the centre hole) and pressings from their automatic presses had a typical a single ring [...] They always used their matrix number which looked like this: ML12xxx."
Well, exactly the two variations of label mouldings that my Australian informant described do exist for the "faded" version of the New Zealand pressing: my copy has a single ring, and a copy shown in the vinyl albums discography in the forum of the Illustrated db Discography has a double ring on the A-side label. The only thing that does not fit is the information about the matrix numbers: my copy has only "NA 58-A" (sic) and "NA 580-B" hand-scratched into the run-out groove. Maybe the bootleggers were not as consequent in their use of matrix numbers as my informant thought? Be that as it may, given the poor quality of the second issue and the strong evidence for the existence of New Zealand counterfeits, I now tend towards believing that all the "faded" copies are, in fact, counterfeits.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel NS 4119; Sweden 12/1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see Austrian issue

Collector's notes: The cover was made for several Scandinavian countries. However, so far, I haven't seen any other Scandinavian issues.

Low - Music Volume 14

(RCA NL 13956; France 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original issues of Low

Other notes: re-issue of album Low (1977)

Collector's notes: Low re-issued in a French budget series. But if you think that this is the worst that can be done to an original cover design... then look at the next entry.

Diamond Dogs - Music Volume 22

(RCA NL 13889; France 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original issues of Diamond Dogs

Other notes: re-issue of album Diamond Dogs (1974)

Collector's notes: I think this one gets my prize for the worst manipulation of an original cover layout. And I don't think that prize will ever be given to another record!

Live at Kingston Polytechnic 7th May '72 - Volume One

((Poly-1); Germany? 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, mock labels

Tracks: Hang On to Yourself / Ziggy Stardust / The Supermen / Queen Bitch / Song for Bob Dylan / Changes / Starman // Five Years / Space Oddity / Andy Warhol / Amsterdam

Other notes: live, Kingston Polytechnic, London, 06/05/1972; date and track listing on cover incorrect

Collector's notes: The sound quality is so-so. Originally I wrote that it is "poor", but after listening again, I would say that it is not bad for an audience recording from the time. What is funny about the record is that it has a long silent groove where you would expect I Feel Free, which is listed on the cover. The track is, in fact, on Volume Two. The cover back is plain white, hence no picture.

Live at Kingston Polytechnic 7th May '72 - Volume One

((Poly-1); Germany? 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: see alternative issue

Other notes: live, Kingston Polytechnic, London, 06/05/1972; date and track listing on cover incorrect

Collector's notes: A variation with white labels. Again, the cover back is plain white.

Live at Kingston Polytechnic 7th May '72 - Volume Two

((Poly-2); Germany? 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: I Feel Free / Moonage Daydream / White Light/White Heat / You Got to Have a Job (If You Don't Work - You Can't Eat) // Suffragette City / Rock'n'Roll Suicide / Waiting for the Man

Other notes: live, Kingston Polytechnic, London, 06/05/1972; date and track listing on cover incorrect

Collector's notes: This one has I Feel Free, whose presence had been promised on the cover of Volume One. The sound quality is the same as on the first part of the set. Volume Two seems to be the rarer one, although (or maybe because?) it is the more interesting one, since it has two tracks (I Feel Free and You Got to Have a Job) which were otherwise unavailable until the release of this record. The sound of these two tracks is better than on later compilations like The Other Bowie. Plain white cover back.

Bowie 1974

((BOW-1); 1980)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels, PS

Tracks: All the Young Dudes / Cracked Actor // It's Gonna Be Me*

Other notes: live, Universal Theater, Los Angeles, 09/1974; re-issue of 1976 EP Bowie 74 Live; *titled Come Back My Baby on cover

Collector's notes: The sound quality of this re-issue is even worse than that of the original. It has crackle in the background that is not due to the condition of the record. Obviously, it was copied from an older vinyl record.

The Ching-A-Ling Song

(B&C CB-108; 1980)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, wraparound PS

Tracks: Ching-A-Ling* / The Supermen**

Other notes: *studio recording, Trident Studios, 24/10/1968, full length version; **from the Revelations various artists compilation (1972)

Collector's notes: To this day the full-length version of Ching-a-Ling - including the first verse, which is sung by Bowie - has not been officially released on vinyl. It is available on the strange CD issue of the Love You till Tuesday soundtrack and the 2010 2CD deluxe re-issue of the Deram album.
Anyway, the sound quality of this bootleg is very good, so who cares?
The "spine" of the wraparound cover is at the bottom, so that the design of the cover back is actually upside down, if you hold the record in the normal way. However, I have here shown it in the logical way.

Live in Bremen '78 - The Man Who Sold the World TV-Special

(Chamäleon Records; Germany? 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, white labels with number code "8/70"

Tracks: Sense of Doubt* / Beauty and the Beast / "Heroes" / Stay // The Jean Genie / TVC 15 / Alabama Song / Rebel Rebel

Other notes: live, Bremen, Germany, 30/05/1978, for Musikladen Extra TV show; *called "Intro" on the cover

Collector's notes: One of the best Bowie bootlegs ever! It seems to have been recorded from TV, and the sound quality is very good, given the standards of 1978. Bowie's performance is also great, which is quite a miracle. If you have seen the TV broadcast, you know that a less enthusiastic audience is hardly conceivable.
There are also copies in coloured vinyl.

Golden Years of Bow

(Gold Records DB.6791; Switzerland 1980)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: Conversation Piece* / Five Years ** / Ziggy Stardust** / My Death** / farewell speech*** / Rock'n'Roll Suicide*** // John, I'm Only Dancing** / Word on a Wing° / David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy°° / "Heroes"°° / Alabama Song°°° / Reprise+

Other notes: *from the official 1970 single; **live, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, 20/10/1972; ***live, Hammersmith Odeon, London, 03/07/1973; °live, Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum, New York, 23/03/1976; °°Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; °°°live, Scandinavium, Stockholm, Sweden, 04/06/1978; +not Bowie

Collector's notes: This is the first Bowie bootleg I ever bought, and at the time it wasn't a disappointment. It's a nice compilation album of stuff that was rare in the early 1980s, and the sound quality is good to very good. Reprise is a short spoken piece taken from some version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The Beat Goes On

(Toasted 2S 916; Australia 1980)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, 1st issue with printed labels and printed spine

Tracks: 1984/Dodo / Sorrow / Everything's Alright / Space Oddity / The Supermen* / Hang on to Yourself** // Man in the Middle** / I Can't Explain / Time / The Jean Genie / I Got You Babe // Hang On to Yourself / The Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud/All the Young Dudes/Oh! You Pretty Things / Moonage Daydream / Changes / Space Oddity // Time / Suffragette City / The Jean Genie/Love Me Do / Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Other notes: disc 1 (re-issue of Dollars in Drag album, 1974) live, 1980 Floor Show, Marquee, London, 18-20/10/1973; except: *from the Revelations various artists album (1972); **from the 1972 Arnold Corns single; disc 2 (re-issue of an earlier version of His Master's Voice album, 1982, but including D.J.'s introduction and mock intros/outros) live, Hammersmith Odeon, London, 03/07/1973

Collector's notes: A not absolutely necessary, but pleasant "2-on-1" set (so to speak) in very good sound quality. Nice but inappropriate cover. Frifelt claims that this album was released in 1979, but if this is correct, why do the labels give the year 1980? I don't really trust the information on the labels of bootlegs, but even bootleggers don't normally antedate their records.

Do Anything You Say/I Dig Everything

(PRT 7NX 8002; UK 1981 (10/1972))

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: mono, 33 1/3 rpm, NC

Tracks: Do Anything You Say / I Dig Everything // Can't Help Thinking about Me / I'm Not Losing Sleep

Other notes: 4th issue of For the Collector (1972)

Collector's notes: The exact release date of this last issue isn't clear (Jarman doesn't give one). But it was certainly released after PRT was finally established as the successor of the original Pye label in 1980 and before this EP was made superfluous by the Don't Be Fooled by the Name album in 1981. Discogs gives 1981 as the year of release, so I've filed it under that year. Note that there is another label variation.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel BLP 81001/NE 1111; France 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: 1st (mis-)pressing, striped labels, record: 81001, cover: 1111 (made in UK, with correction sticker on back)

Tracks: Space Oddity / Life on Mars?* / Starman / Rock'n'Roll Suicide / John, I'm Only Dancing** / The Jean Genie / Drive-In Saturday / Sorrow // Diamond Dogs* / Beauty and the Beast / Breaking Glass*** / Fame (single edit) / Golden Years (single edit) / TVC 15 (single edit) / Sound and Vision / "Heroes" (short English version) / Boys Keep Swinging

Other notes: *unique Best of edit; **"sax version"; ***live version from the album Stage

Collector's notes: Among all the issues of this album, this is certainly the weirdest one I have come across. The labels have the standard track list, but the content of the record is quite different from that. The Illustrated db Discography mentions that there are French pressings that actually play Drive-In Saturday instead of Breaking Glass, which is not too surprising. What is really surprising, though, is that this copy omits Young Americans and plays Beauty and the Beast and... Breaking Glass instead! However, the existence of such copies has actually been known for a long time, since a French issue with this combination of songs is listed by Thompson. Hadn't I come across this copy, I would have considered this information to be apocryphal. I can only guess that these copies are early pressings that were distributed accidentally. My copy originally came in a Scandinavian cover, but all other copies that I've heard of have early (stickered) UK covers, which is why I show such a cover here. There is no such thing as an "appropriate cover" for this issue - there are not even appropriate labels for it!
The matrix numbers of my copy are "BLP 81 001 A" (hand-scratched), "M6 335050 2", "YPARTX 88314 1" (both machine-stamped) on side 1, and "BLP 81 001 B" (hand-scratched), "M6 335051 2", "YPARTX 88315 1" (both machine-stamped) on side 2.
Early French copies of The Best of Bowie with the corrected standard track list also came with the striped label. Blue label copies are probably later pressings. Like the Italian issue, all French copies have the year 1981 on the label.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel BLP 81001; France 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: striped labels

Tracks: see Austrian issue

Collector's notes: This is the first "regular" French pressing. The labels are the same as in the previous entry, but in the case of this copy they actually match the contents of the record.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel BLP 81001; France 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: blue labels

Tracks: see Austrian issue

Collector's notes: This is a later French pressing with blue labels. In principle, the cover is the same as in the previous entry, but there is a minor difference: whereas the cover of this copy has the catalogue number above the price code ("KT 227") in the top right corner of the cover back, the back cover of the copy in the preceding entry has only the price code in that place. I think this is the result of some variation in the production process. In the case of this copy the back cover design is moved a bit to the bottom, so that it shows the catalogue number - which has simply been cut off from the back of the other copy.

The Best of Bowie

(K-Tel TI 157; Italy 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Space Oddity / Life on Mars?* / Starman / Rock'n'Roll Suicide / John, I'm Only Dancing** / The Jean Genie / Breaking Glass*** / Sorrow // Diamond Dogs° / Young Americans (single edit) / Fame* / Golden Years* / TVC 15° / Sound and Vision / "Heroes" (short English version) / Boys Keep Swinging

Other notes: *album version; **original version; ***studio version; °unique Italian edit

Collector's notes: Like the French release, the Italian version has the date 1981 on the label, that's why I assume that it was a belated release.
Like the New Zealand issue, the Italian version of the album differs drastically from the "standard version" above. In some cases, the deviations are the same as on the New Zealand issue, but there are unique edits of Diamond Dogs and TVC 15.
There are also copies with red labels (different design). I don't know if either of these versions came first or if both versions were distributed at the same time.

Lo Mejor de Bowie

(K-Tel 12L0224 5 (cover)/18L0224 (labels); Spain 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Space Oddity / Life on Mars?* / Starman** / Rock'n'Roll Suicide / John, I'm Only Dancing*** / The Jean Genie / Breaking Glass° / Sorrow // Diamond Dogs°° / Young Americans* / Fame°° / Golden Years°° / TVC 15°°° / Sound and Vision / "Heroes" (short English version) / Boys Keep Swinging

Other notes: *album version; **subdued bridge version; ***original version; °studio version; °°unique Spanish edit; °°°single edit

Collector's notes: Another 1981 issue with a number of unique edits: Diamond Dogs runs 4:30 minutes, Fame 3:18, and Golden Years 3:15. The Spanish release is the only one with a major cover variation: Spanish title on the front and Spanish text on the back.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA BOW 8; UK 01/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: "A"-label, PS

Tracks: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (single edit) // Because You're Young

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PB 9654; Germany 01/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (single edit) // Because You're Young

Collector's notes: The German single reversed the front and back cover designs.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PC 9657 AF; Germany 01/1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (album version) // Because You're Young

Collector's notes: There are also black label re-pressings. These are from late 1981 or from 1982.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PB 8714; France 01/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (album version) // Up the Hill Backwards

Collector's notes: As in the case of Fashion, the French issue plays the full-length album version.

Fashion

(RCA JH-12134; USA 01/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS (stock)

Tracks: Fashion (stereo single edit) // Fashion (mono single edit)

Fashion

(RCA JD-12140; USA 01/1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: promo-only, 33 1/3 rpm, company cover

Tracks: Fashion (album version) // Fashion (single edit)

Collector's notes: I hope I haven't confused anyone: originally, I wrote that this is a promo-only release (which it is, according to my definition, since this coupling of edits wasn't available commercially). In fact, I didn't know that there were also stock copies (with Scream like a Baby on the B-side) - thanks to Ruud Altenburg for pointing this out to me. However, I got it wrong and thought that the stock copies had the same coupling of tracks/edits as this promo. So I hope that's sorted out now.

Aladdin Sane

(RCA INTS 5067; UK 01/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: re-designed cover, green labels with "RCA" on the left

Tracks: see original issues

Other notes: re-issue of 1973 album.

Collector's notes: For this re-issue of the album (without a fold-out cover) RCA used a minor re-design of the cover: for unknown reasons they moved Bowie's name to the left. There are also copies with the RCA logo at the top of the labels, and possibly also copies with black labels and the same catalogue number.
RCA used the alternative cover design (with Bowie's name on the left) again for 1983 German pressings of the album, and also for the first German CD issue.

And I Say to Myself

(Pye 7N.21000; ?? 1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, yellow wraparound PS

Tracks: David Bowie with the Lower Third: And I Say to Myself // Good Morning Girl**

Other notes: official versions of 1966 tracks; *studio recording, Marble Arch Studios, London, late 1965; **studio recording, Pye Studios, London, 07/03/1966

Collector's notes: This record is also available with a red cover (see next entry).
Alas, just like the guys who had made the nice Davy Jones EP in 1978, these bootleggers, who gave us the two Pye tracks that hadn't been available since their original release, came a bit too late: very soon these tracks were re-issued officially.

And I Say to Myself

(Pye 7N.21000; ?? 1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, red wraparound PS

Tracks: David Bowie with the Lower Third: And I Say to Myself // Good Morning Girl

Other notes: official versions of 1966 tracks; *studio recording, Marble Arch Studios, London, late 1965; **studio recording, Pye Studios, London, 07/03/1966

Collector's notes: same labels as in the previous entry.

Love You till Tuesday

(Dream DM-135; ?? 1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, green wraparound PS

Tracks: Love You till Tuesday (single version) // When I Live My Dream*

Other notes: *Love You till Tuesday movie version with different vocals, studio recording, 1967

Collector's notes: At first sight this is another almost failed bootlegger's project, since the single version of Love You till Tuesday, which hadn't been available since 1967, was re-released in 1981. However, the B-side is interesting. It is the version from the Love You till Tuesday soundtrack with different vocals, which might here have been released for the first time. The sound quality is excellent.
The labels of the record are a nice mockery of 1960s Deram promo singles like this.

The World of David Bowie

(Decca 9-46009; Spain 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1970 UK stereo album

Collector's notes: No other re-release of The World of... had such a nice cover design as this Spanish issue.

Up the Hill Backwards

(RCA BOW 9; UK 03/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Up the Hill Backwards // Crystal Japan*

Other notes: *recorded during the Scary Monsters sessions, 1980

Collector's notes: Concerning label designs, there was a lot of confusion in many countries at this time. After having experimented with various versions of black labels, RCA UK returned to the familiar orange labels of the 1970s for this release (but there are also black label copies).

Up the Hill Backwards

(RCA PB 9671; Germany 03/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Up the Hill Backwards // Crystal Japan*

Other notes: *recorded during the Scary Monsters sessions, 1980

Up the Hill Backwards

(RCA PB-9671; Spain 03/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Up the Hill Backwards // Crystal Japan*

Other notes: *recorded during the Scary Monsters sessions, 1980

Up the Hill Backwards

(RCA PD-12249; USA 1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: 33 1/3 rpm, PS, limited edition with stamp-insert

Tracks: Up the Hill Backwards // Crystal Japan*

Other notes: *recorded during the Scary Monsters sessions, 1980

Collector's notes: The US issue of Up the Hill Backwards came with a larger set of stamps that comprised all of those used in the original UK sets.

The London Boys

(Decca F 13579; Germany 03/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: German export pressing for the UK market, company cover

Tracks: The London Boys // Love You till Tuesday*

Other notes: *album version; re-issue of 1975 UK single

Collector's notes: There is also a version without the large "A" on the label of side 1.

Rock & Religion - David Bowie: A Profile

(Rock & Religion RR-147/RR-148; USA 03/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, company cover, cue sheet

Tracks: open / Fame (excerpt) / statement 1 / All the Young Dudes* / statement 2 / Lou Reed: White Light/White Heat (live) / statement 3 / The Man Who Sold the World / statement 4 / After All / statement 5 / Quicksand / statement 6 / Ziggy Stardust / statement 7 / Rock'n'Roll Suicide* / outro/end music: Weeping Wall // open / Changes* / statement 1 / Breaking Glass** / statement 2 / We Are the Dead / statement 3 / Word on a Wing / statement 4 / African Nightflight / statement 5 / Station to Station (excerpt)** / statement 6 / It's No Game (No. 1) / statement 7 / Sons of the Silent Age / outro / It's No Game (No. 1) (excerpt)

Other notes: all tracks edited studio album versions, except: *live version from David Live; **live version from Stage

Collector's notes: A radio show that discusses Bowie's music in the context of religion. None of the tracks is complete.

Original Soundtrack zum Film - "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo"

(RCA BL 43606 SB; Germany 04/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: "small title" version, OIS

Tracks: V-2 Schneider / TVC 15 / "Heroes"/"Helden" (long English/German version) / Boys Keep Swinging / Sense of Doubt // Station to Station* / Look Back in Anger / Stay (single edit) / Warszawa

Other notes: *live version from the album Stage (1978)

Collector's notes: There are two German issues. This one has the film title in relatively small print on both cover and labels, and was also used for export. There are copies with French stickers, and also copies with a Spanish OBI. The other issue has the film title in rather large print and was used for export to the UK.
I wouldn't be surprised if there were variations of cover/label combinations of the two issues, but I never bothered to find that out. However, there are definitely black label re-pressings of this version.

Original Soundtrack - "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo"

(RCA BL 43606 SB; Germany 04/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: "large title" version, OIS

Tracks: see other issue

Collector's notes: This is the cover/label variation mentioned in the previous entry. Note that the inner sleeve and the labels are also slightly different. This version might be the commonest in Germany.
Records of this type were also sold in the UK with UK covers.

Original Soundtrack - "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo"

(RCA 32 050-7; Germany 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: club edition

Tracks: see regular issue

Collector's notes: A club edition (see here for some remarks on club issues), with a cover based on that in the previous entry. It was probably from the Bertelsmann Buchclub.

Bande Originale du Film - Moi, Christiane F. - 13 Ans, Droguée, Prostituée...

(RCA BL 43606; France 04/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Since the Christiane F. movie had different titles in different countries, the soundtrack albums appeared under these titles, too. The French version has a French title on the cover, but uses the German title on the labels.

Banda Sonora Original de la Película yo Cristina F.

(RCA BL-43606; Spain 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: glossy cover, insert

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: This is the first Spanish issue, identifiable by its catalogue number.

Banda Sonora Original de la Película yo Cristina F.

(RCA 59873; Spain 198?)

Format: LP

Release notes: "Especial" series, matt cover, number sticker on cover front, insert (BL-43606)

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Presumably a budget re-issue. It uses the original insert and the original cover (albeit in a matt version). However, the cover bears an additional sticker on the front that covers the original catalogue number. This number (BL-43606) can still be found on the cover spine and on the insert, though. There are also copies, like the one previously listed here, that come in the laminated, unstickered original cover. I can't say if these combinations are original.

Original Soundtrack - Christiane F.

(RCA BL 43606; Israel 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Original Soundtrack - "Christiane F."

(RCA BL 43606; UK 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: record German, cover UK (combination original), export issue

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Same record (and hence labels) as the second regular German issue. This is a German issue in a UK cover. Interestingly, the record used was the one with more German text on the labels. I classify this as a UK issue because of the unique cover made there.

Another Face

(Decca 6.24689 AP; Germany 05/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Rubber Band* / The London Boys / The Gospel According to Tony Day / There Is a Happy Land / Maid of Bond Street / When I Live My Dream / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Liza Jane // The Laughing Gnome / In the Heat of the Morning / Did You Ever Have a Dream / Please Mr. Gravedigger / Join the Gang / Love You till Tuesday* / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Louie, Louie Go Home

Other notes: *single versions

Collector's notes: At the time, this was one of the few sources of the single versions of Rubber Band and Love You till Tuesday.
The record was soon (1982) re-pressed with silver labels, but still with the price code "AP" on the cover. Pressings from 1983 onwards have the price code "BL".

Gigantes del Pop Vol. 28

(Decca 64 95 081 (201); Spain 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: "Vol. 28" on cover front

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: Spanish issue of album Another Face

Collector's notes: Thompson lists this album under 04/1982, but this release date doesn't appear plausible. The fact that the cover has the copyright date 1981 needn't mean anything, since the musically identical British and German Another Face albums were released that year. However, the "Depósito Legal" date on the label is also 1981, so the album was probably released the same year as its British and German counterparts, especially because there also seems to be general consensus on the web that the Gigantes series was released in 1981 (except on some websites referring especially to this Bowie release).
The album was re-issued in 1988. The original has "1981" in the fineprint on the cover back, whereas the re-issue has "1988" in this place. Moreover, the original edition has "Vol. 28" in the box in the middle of the cover front and back, whereas the box is blank on the cover of the re-release.

Rock Galaxy

(RCA NL 43593 DT; Germany 06/1981)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: turquoise labels, FOC

Tracks: Changes / Oh! You Pretty Things / Eight Line Poem / Life on Mars? / Kooks / Quicksand // Fill Your Heart / Andy Warhol / Song for Bob Dylan / Queen Bitch / The Bewlay Brothers // Five Years / Soul Love / Moonage Daydream / Starman / It Ain't Easy // Lady Stardust / Star / Hang On to Yourself / Ziggy Stardust / Suffragette City / Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Other notes: re-issue of Hunky Dory (1971) and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)

Collector's notes: Two classic Bowie albums re-packaged in a boring fold-out cover. Sadly, selling albums this way became a common practice in the early 1980s. There are also re-pressings with black labels and the same catalogue number. The turquoise label was as unusual as the use of the "RCA International" label, which didn't become common in Germany before 1983 - although it was used in the UK as early as 1981.

Rock Galaxy

(RCA NL 43593 DT; Germany 1983 (06/1981))

Format: 2LP

Release notes: black "silver rim" label, FOC

Tracks: see original issue

Collector's notes: This is the black label variant mentioned in the previous entry. The label design suggests that this re-pressing is from 1983, since this was the year RCA introduced the "silver rim" labels. Same cover as the original issue.
Note that there are also "silver rim" re-pressings with a different catalogue number (NL 89077 (2)), which have a barcode and some additional information for international distribution on the back of the cover. Furthermore, these other pressings have the copyright organization BIEM on top on the labels, whereas this copy has the German GEMA on top. All this implies that this issue was made for domestic distribution, whereas the other one aimed at an international market.

David Bowie

(Deram 291029 BA-242; France 06/1981 (UK 06/1967))

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original German issue

Other notes: re-issue of UK/Germany edition of album David Bowie (stereo version)

Collector's notes: Unless you count the Japanese 1973 release (which was the first issue of this album in that country) as a re-issue, this was the first almost faithful reproduction of Bowie's debut worldwide.

Don't Be Fooled by the Name

(PRT DOW 1; UK 09/1981)

Format: 10"LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: I'm Not Losing Sleep* / I Dig Everything* / David Bowie with the Lower Third: Can't Help Thinking about Me** // Do Anything You Say*** / Good Morning Girl*** / David Bowie with the Lower Third: And I Say to Myself**

Other notes: collection of the three 1966 Pye singles; *studio recordings, Pye Studios, London, 05/07/1966; **studio recordings, Marble Arch Studios, London, late 1965; ***studio recordings, Pye Studios, London, 07/03/1966

Collector's notes: At the time, this was an overdue release. Even the re-pressings of the For the Collector EP were already getting rare, and Good Morning Girl and And I Say to Myself hadn't been officially available since 1966.

Don't Be Fooled by the Name

(PRT 585001; France 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see UK issue

Collector's notes: If it is correct that this album was released in 1981, then France was the only other country that released the compilation in the UK cover in the early 1980s (albeit in the 12" format).

David Bowie

(PRT PHEP001; Canada 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see album Don't Be Fooled by the Name

Other notes: Canadian issue of Don't Be Fooled by the Name

Collector's notes: The cover of the UK issue might have been inappropriate with its 1978 live shot, but compared to the Canadian artwork it was certainly beautiful!

London Boys

(PRT/Zafiro ZL-545; Spain 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: David Bowie with the Lower Third: Can't Help Thinking about Me / David Bowie with the Lower Third: And I Say to Myself / David Bowie: Do Anything You Say / David Bowie: Good Morning Girl / David Bowie: I Dig Everything / David Bowie: I'm Not Losing Sleep // Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions: That's Alright / Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions: I'm Looking for a Woman / Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions: I've Been Watching You / Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions: Sugar Baby / A Band of Angels: Invitation / A Band of Angels: Cheat and Lie / Steve Hammond: The World Is Wrapped around My Neck / Steve Hammond: It's Alright

Other notes: side 1 contains the same tracks as Don't Be Fooled by the Name

Collector's notes: A rare and rather weird Spanish release, coupling Bowie's three Pye singles with a number of other rare Pye/Piccadilly singles by British Mod/R&B artists. Thompson writes that this album was released 06/1982, but all information on the labels and the cover (including the "Depósito Legal" date) points at 1981.

Under Pressure

(EMI 5250; UK 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: With hindsight this single was the first hint at the musical direction Bowie was soon going to take...

Under Pressure

(EMI 5250; UK 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: A minor cover variation, with the title in a different position, similar to the US release, but with the title completely in capital letters. Same record (and thus labels) as in the previous entry.

Under Pressure

(Elektra E-47235-A; USA 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, company cover

Tracks: Under Pressure (stereo version)* // Under Pressure (mono version)*

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: This promo record was also distributed in the stock sleeve.

Under Pressure

(Elektra E-47235; USA 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Under Pressure

(EMI 1C 006-64 626; Germany 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label, PS

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: There were at least two label variations. The white label shown here (which does not indicate a promo), and the cream label shown in the next entry.

Under Pressure

(EMI 1C 006-64 626; Germany 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: cream label, PS

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: Same cover as in the previous entry.

Under Pressure

(EMI 10C 006-064626; Spain 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: Another minor cover variation.

Under Pressure

(Elektra P-1587E; Japan 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: The Japanese cover artwork is the only major variation that I know of. Sadly, they completely ignored Bowie.

Under Pressure

(EMI Electrola 1A 052Z-64 626; Netherlands 11/1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Queen & David Bowie: Under Pressure* // Queen: Soul Brother

Other notes: *studio recording, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Changes One - The Very Best of David Bowie

(RCA APL1-1732; Netherlands 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: "Inelco" on cover back

Tracks: see original issues with standard tracklist

Other notes: re-issue of Changes One (German issue, 1976)

Collector's notes: While the Dutch 1976 issue of this album wasn't particularly interesting, because it had the standard cover design, this re-issue was one of the few major cover variations: there is prominent song promotion on the front. It came just in time to supplement the Changes Two album. Of course, the re-issue had the standard tracklist with the original version of John, I'm Only Dancing.
There are two versions of this re-issue: this one, which still has the "Inelco" imprint on the cover back, which was also present on the 1976 issues, and another one without "Inelco". Since the "Inelco" print was something typical of Dutch records from the mid-1970s, I suppose that it was a mistake, and dropped on later issues, so that this version of the re-issue was probably the first one.

Changes One - The Very Best of David Bowie

(RCA APL1-1732; Netherlands 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: no "Inelco" on cover back

Tracks: see original standard issues

Other notes: re-issue of Changes One (German issue, 1976)

Collector's notes: This is the alternative version of this re-issue mentioned in the previous entry.

Changes Two

(RCA PL 14202 SE; Germany 11/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) / Oh! You Pretty Things / Starman / 1984 / Ashes to Ashes* // Sound and Vision / Fashion* / Wild Is the Wind / John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) (1975)** / D.J.

Other notes: *single edit; **long version; all other tracks album versions

Collector's notes: RCA's follow-up to the Changes One album was a bit strange in its choice of songs. Finally, we got Starman, which had mysteriously been left off the first volume. But what were Aladdin Sane and Oh! You Pretty Things doing here, instead of the more logical "Heroes", Be My Wife, Boys Keep Swinging or Scary Monsters? Wild Is the Wind seemed to have been included only to have a candidate for a new single release. Anyway, RCA's release policy in those days was far from logical.
Note that the label lists the Mann/Weil/Leiber/Stoller song On Broadway as part of Aladdin Sane because Mike Garson's piano playing "quotes" from that song. However, the version is the original studio recording.

Changes Two

(RCA AFL1-4202; Israel 1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: The Israeli cover is the only cover variation that I know of (unless you count the certainly unofficial Korean issues). The white box on the cover, which is not a sticker, but printed, contains Hebrew text - probably the tracklist.

Changes Two

(RCA PL 14202; Italy 11/1981)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS, white label promo

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: There is a minor difference between the covers of the Italian promo and stock copies. Whereas the catalogue number in the top right corner of the cover front is white in the case of stock copies, it is dark blue in the case of promos like this. The back of the inner sleeve is also slightly different: the covers are arranged in a different order.
The Italian release (including promos) is quite interesting in that it had picture labels long before these became common.

Changes Two

(KA Stereo KA 739; South Korea 1981?)

Format: LP

Release notes: pirate release, blue cover

Tracks: see German issue

Changes Two

(Hight Stereo Light HR-015; South Korea 1981?)

Format: LP

Release notes: pirate release, brown cover

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Another pirate issue from South Korea.

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA BOW 10; UK 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Collector's notes: No, I will not comment on RCA's logic in the use of label designs...
Note that both sides play the full-length album versions, even that of Wild Is the Wind with about six minutes.

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA BOW T 10 (PC 9815); UK 11/1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA PB 9815; France 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Collector's notes: Note the incorrect B-side title on cover and record: The Golden Years.

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA PB 9815; Germany 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA PC 9773 AF; Germany 11/1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: orange labels, PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Collector's notes: The orange label version is probably the first one. However, around this time RCA Germany started experimenting with black labels, so it may be the case that there are also black label copies that can count as first issues.

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA PC 9773 AF; Germany 11/1981)

Format: 12"

Release notes: black labels, PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Collector's notes: This is one of the black label copies mentioned in the previous entry. As you can see, the A-side label of my copy is placed terribly off-centre. Fortunately, it doesn't touch the playing surface. Same cover as in the previous entry.

Wild Is the Wind

(RCA PB-9815; Spain 11/1981)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years

Takeoff - "Heroes"

(RCA NL 13857 AE; Germany 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original UK issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1977 UK album

Collector's notes: This re-issue is presumably from 1982, since it has the same exceptional turquoise labels as the original issue of Rock Galaxy, and is also on the RCA International label. Furthermore, the back cover design resembles that of the Rock Galaxy album. However, the promotion on the inner sleeve of the Changes Two album (which still lists the original catalogue number for the "Heroes" album) shows that the record can't have been released before November 1981, so that early 1982 is a good guess.
An interesting aspect about this album is that it is the first German issue of this LP with the UK tracklist (i.e. with the long English version of the title track).
There are several later black label re-issues of "Heroes" for the European market that still have the "Takeoff" imprint on the labels, but restore the original cover design (on both front and back).

At the Tower Philadelphia

(RCA PL-42993; Netherlands 01/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of album Rock Concert (1979)

Collector's notes: So now we had a badly edited 1974 show with a 1978 live cover shot... There is also a German issue from 1984.

Sorrow

(RCA 74-16383 26.11075; Germany 1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS, orange labels

Tracks: Sorrow // Amsterdam

Other notes: re-issue of 1973 single

Collector's notes: I still wonder why RCA Germany decided to re-release exactly this single in 1982. However, at the time it was a treat to hear Amsterdam, which was extremely rare back then.
RCA Germany switched from orange to black labels in 1982, so the record was soon re-pressed with black labels.

Sorrow

(RCA 74-16383 26.11075; Germany 1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS, black labels

Tracks: Sorrow // Amsterdam

Other notes: re-issue of 1973 single

Collector's notes: This is the black label issue mentioned in the previous entry. Same cover.

Space Oddity

(RCA PPBO-7040 26.11389; Germany 1982?)

Format: 7"

Release notes: black labels, PS, record list on back cover

Tracks: Space Oddity // The Man Who Sold the World

Other notes: re-issue of German 1976 single with identical front cover

Collector's notes: From 1982 onwards, RCA Germany re-pressed several Bowie singles with these black labels. However, Space Oddity was the only one that also displayed a difference in the cover design: whereas original pressings had the same design on the front and the back, this issue had a list of the singles of the Oldies but Goldies series on a white cover back.

"Heroes"/"Helden"

(RCA PC 9821 AF; Germany 1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: "Heroes"/"Helden" (long English/German version) // "Heroes"/"Héros" (long English/French version)

Collector's notes: This record is often assumed to be a 1977 release (because this is the only year on the cover and labels), but not only do I remember when it first turned up in record stores (namely in 1982!), but the catalogue number fits perfectly between the Wild Is the Wind and Alabama Song/Amsterdam 12" singles. There are also pressings with black labels.

Alabama Song/Amsterdam

(RCA PC 9854 AF; Germany 1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: orange labels, PS

Tracks: Alabama Song / Amsterdam // Space Oddity*

Other notes: *re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Collector's notes: Another 12" that was distributed with both orange and black labels.

Alabama Song/Amsterdam

(RCA PC 9854 AF; Germany 1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: black labels, PS

Tracks: Alabama Song / Amsterdam // Space Oddity*

Other notes: *re-recorded version for Kenny Everett's New Year's Eve Show, 12/1979

Collector's notes: The black label version; same cover as in the previous entry.

Original Soundtrack from the Film Christiane F.

(RCA ABL1-4239; USA 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: I have filed this record under 1982 because that is the year on the cover and the inner sleeve. The same cover design was used for the Japanese and South African releases.

Original Soundtrack dal Film - Cristiana F. - Noi, I Ragazzi dello Zoo di Berlino

(RCA BL 43606; Italy 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: tan labels with "(original soundtrack)", OIS

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: The labels of the Italian issue have the year 1982. There's a lot of German text on the back, which seems to have been copied from the German issue.
The tan labels, which had also been used in Italy in the late 1970s, suggest that this copy is a first issue. There are two versions of the tan labels: those of this record have "(original soundtrack)" under the title, others have "Colonne sonora originale del film" in that place. I'm not sure if this difference indicates any chronological order, but since tan label pressings seem to be generally rare, they seem to have been available for a rather short time, anyway. Note that this version doesn't have any printer's information at the bottom of the cover back and that the inner sleeve has an orange tint (which can't be seen in the scans) and a matt finish.
The record was soon re-pressed with black labels.

Original Soundtrack dal Film - Cristiana F. - Noi, I Ragazzi dello Zoo di Berlino

(RCA BL 43606; Italy 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: black labels with "Colonne sonora originale del film", OIS, insert

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: This is the black label variation mentioned in the previous entry. It has the text "Colonne sonora..." under the title, which can also be found on some tan label copies. But there are more differences: this version has some printer's text at the bottom of the cover back, and the inner sleeve has a more reddish tint and a glossy finish.
This particular copy came with an additional large lyric insert, which was probably not originally included. It looks like a proof print of some kind, is slightly larger than a gatefold cover, and has "Made in Germany" together with the Italian album title on it. The back of the insert (not shown) has Italian lyrics for some non-Bowie album.

David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal

(RCA BOW 11; UK 02/1982)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: PS, matt glued multi-FOC

Tracks: Baal's Hymn / Remembering Marie A. // The Ballad of the Adventurers / The Drowned Girl / The Dirty Song

Other notes: studio recordings, Hansa Studios, Berlin, 09/1981

Collector's notes: The songs are not the same recordings as in the broadcast of the Baal TV play, but re-recordings made immediately after shooting it. They were the last recordings Bowie made for RCA.
The UK EP came in a nice multi-fold-out cover. The cover of this version is matt and the two leftmost sheets of the cover (viewed from the inside) are glued together to form a pocket that holds the record (see next entry for a different issue). The labels deviate minimally from the standard black labels, and the record is housed in a plain black die-cut sleeve.
Note that for all I know RCA UK were the only ones who opted for the 7" format. All other issues are 12" records.

David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal

(RCA BOW 11; UK 02/1982)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: PS, semi-glossy unglued multi-wraparound-FOC

Tracks: see other issue

Collector's notes: This version has a semi-glossy sleeve. The two leftmost sheets of the cover (again, viewed from the inside) are not glued together, so that it is actually a fourfold wraparound cover. The labels are the same as in the previous entry.
Although this version was sold in the UK, too, it seems that many copies were exported to Scandinavian countries.

David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal

(RCA CPL1-4346; USA 1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: 33 1/3 rpm, PS

Tracks: Baal's Hymn / Remembering Marie A. // The Ballad of the Adventurers / The Drowned Girl / The Dirty Song

Other notes: studio recordings, Hansa Studios, Berlin, 09/1981

David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal

(RCA PG 45092 SQ; Germany 02/1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: 33 1/3 rpm, PS, FOC

Tracks: Baal's Hymn / Remembering Marie A. // The Ballad of the Adventurers / The Drowned Girl / The Dirty Song

Other notes: studio recordings, Hansa Studios, Berlin, 09/1981

Collector's notes: RCA Germany didn't seem to know what to do with this record. It runs at the speed of 33 1/3 rpm, which was reserved for LPs in Germany.

David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht's Baal

(RCA PC-8902; Spain 1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS, insert

Tracks: Baal's Hymn / Remembering Marie A. // The Ballad of the Adventurers / The Drowned Girl / The Dirty Song

Other notes: studio recordings, Hansa Studios, Berlin, 09/1981

Bowie

(London L20P 1053; Japan 03/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: fold-out insert

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of The World of David Bowie (stereo version, 1970)

Die weisse Serie

(Decca 6.25232 AF; Germany 03/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: Rubber Band* / The London Boys / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Liza Jane / Silly Boy Blue / Sell Me a Coat / Did You Ever Have a Dream // The Laughing Gnome / Please Mr. Gravedigger / Maid of Bond Street / In the Heat of the Morning / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Louie, Louie Go Home / Love You till Tuesday*

Other notes: *single versions

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA 770; UK 04/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit)* // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: Although Bowie is also listed as the artist of the B-side, he was not involved in the recording of this track.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(Backstreet BSR-52024; USA 04/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS (stock)

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: In the 1980s, when picture sleeves became commoner in the USA, many promos were distributed with such sleeves, too. However, sometimes no separate promo sleeve was printed, but the companies simply used spare copies of the stock sleeves (even if the information concerning the B-side didn't match the actual record).

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(Backstreet L33-1759; USA 04/1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: promo-only, 33 1/3 rpm, NC

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA 104 582; Germany 04/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, company cover with insert

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (edited version)* // Cat People (single edit)**

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981; *unique promo edit, omits the opening section; **incorrectly called "LP version" on the label

Collector's notes: An unusual German promo-only single of the kind more familiar from the USA.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA 102 104-100; Germany 04/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: Note that the German label incorrectly calls the song Cat People (Putting Out the Fire).

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA 600 536; Germany 04/1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA/Backstreet 259 574-0 D; Germany 04/1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS, export issue

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: This alternative issue of the German Cat People 12" was probably made for export and was available until the late 1980s.

Dove Vai/Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(Dischi Ricordi J.B. 226; Italy 04/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: jukebox promo, company cover, jukebox strip

Tracks: Franco Dani: Dove Vai // David Bowie: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit)*

Other notes: *vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: Another typical Italian jukebox promo. In this case, the Bowie side is the B-side, of which I have shown the label. Interestingly, the jukebox strip lists the tracks in the reversed order.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA 102 104-100; Netherlands 04/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: The only difference between this Dutch issue and the German one is the fineprint at the label margin (which says "Ariola-Benelux B.V. Haarlem" on the Dutch copy). Even the error in the title ("Putting Out the Fire") can be found on the labels of both issues.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA SR 52024; Portugal 04?/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: The Portuguese release plays the album version, and is thus as long as the 12" singles.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA/Backstreet B-104 102; Spain 04?/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Cat People - Original Soundtrack

(MCA 204 634-320; Germany 04/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks (Bowie): Cat People (Putting Out Fire) // Giorgio Moroder: The Myth*

Other notes: *features humming by Bowie, probably recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Collector's notes: There is an alternative German pressing with the catalogue number 250 433-1. I don't know if both pressings are from 1982, but the one shown here definitely is.

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

(MCA/Backstreet VIMX-1541; Japan 06/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (single edit) // Giorgio Moroder: Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)

Other notes: vocals recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland, 07/1981

Royalty of Rock - A Celebration of the Rock Empire

(TM Special Projects (TM-ROR DAVID BOWIE); USA 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, NC

Tracks: comment / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / comment / Changes / The Jean Jean / comment / Rebel Rebel / comment / Young Americans // comment / Fame / comment / Suffragette City / Ziggy Stardust / comment / Space Oddity / comment / Ashes to Ashes

Other notes: all tracks official album versions

Collector's notes: A typical US radio show, discussing Bowie's career and persona, interspersed with excerpts from interviews. The following year this album was re-issued with additional intros and outros. I haven't got cue sheets for this issue, so I can't say which month it was released.

The Laughing Gnome

(Decca F 13924; Germany 06/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: mono, German export pressing for the UK market, company cover

Tracks: The Laughing Gnome // The Gospel According to Tony Day

Other notes: re-issue of 1967 UK single

Collector's notes: Jarman claims that this re-issue is from 1981, but comparisons with other Decca catalogue numbers from the time show that Thompson's release date is more plausible.

La Grande Storia del Rock 21

(Armando Curcio Editore GSR 21; Italy 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: FOC

Tracks: Uncle Arthur / There Is a Happy Land / Silly Boy Blue / The London Boys / Karma Man / Rubber Band* // In the Heat of the Morning / When I Live My Dream / Maid of Bond Street / The Laughing Gnome / Please Mr. Gravedigger / Join the Gang

Other notes: *single version

Lost in Our Vaults until Now

(Elephant Records Elp 012; ?? 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: Life on Mars?* / Ashes to Ashes* / Zion** / Tired of My Life*** // BBC introduction / Waiting for the Man° / The Width of a Circle° / Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud°

Other notes: *Tonight TV show, 03/09/1980; **demo, 1973; ***demo, Radio Luxembourg Studios, London, c. 11-12/1970; °Sounds of the 70s: Andy Ferris BBC programme, Playhouse Theatre Studios, London, 25/03/1970; incorrect order of tracks on cover

Bowie and the Spiders from Mars' Last Stand - His Master's Voice

(TAKRL 1935; Germany 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, 3rd edition: "Musikinitiative" labels, plain white NC with yellow insert

Tracks: Hang On to Yourself / The Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud/All the Young Dudes/Oh! You Pretty Things / Moonage Daydream / Changes / Space Oddity // Time / Suffragette City / The Jean Genie/Love Me Do / Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Other notes: live, Hammersmith Odeon, London, 03/07/1973

Collector's notes: Very good sound quality. This bootleg, Bowie's 1973 "farewell show", had been available before in slightly different versions. One such version had been part of the The Beat Goes On double album.

That's Advertisement

(66.23058-01; Germany 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: see album Good Enough to Eat/Soft in the Middle

Other notes: re-issue of 1974 bootleg

Collector's notes: The label shows the original title of this LP. The sound quality is comparable to the original, but Rebel Rebel and I'm Not Losing Sleep sound as if there were skips - they obviously used a defective copy of Soft in the Middle to make this album.

To Meet Bowie

(Joy 1000; USA 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: Rare Promotional Flexi Disc for David Live (= Presented Free with Record Mirror (1974))* / "Heroes" (long English version)** / 1984/Dodo*** / You're Holding Me Down° / Zion (edited version)°° / Round and Round* / Waiting for the Man°°° / Love You till Tuesday+ / Davy Jones: Baby Loves That Way* / David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth++ / "Heroes" ++

Other notes: *official single tracks; **homemade remix; ***studio recording, Trident Studios, 10/1973; °not Bowie; °°demo, 1973; °°°Sounds of the Seventies: Bob Harris BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 5, London, 18/01/1970; +demo, 1966; ++Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977

Collector's notes: The most interesting tracks on this album are 1984/Dodo, which was still quite rare at the time, and the acoustic demo version of Love You till Tuesday, which includes an additional verse. The sound quality of the recordings on this LP varies between "acceptable" and "very good". For You're Holding Me Down, see the entry in the "Apocrypha" section under "Contributions etc.".

Portrait of a Star

(RCA PL 37700; France 08/1982)

Format: 3LP

Release notes: box, 2 inserts

Tracks: Fantastic Voyage / African Nightflight / Move on / Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Life) / Red Sails // D.J. / Look Back in Anger / Boys Keep Swinging / Repetition / Red Money // Beauty and the Beast / Joe the Lion / "Heroes" (long English/French version) / Sons of the Silent Age / Blackout // V-2 Schneider / Sense of Doubt / Moss Garden / Neuköln / The Secret Life of Arabia // Speed of Life / Breaking Glass / What in the World / Sound and Vision / Always Crashing in the Same Car / Be My Wife / A New Career in a New Town // Warszawa / Art Decade / Weeping Wall / Subterreneans

Other notes: re-issue of the albums Lodger (1979), "Heroes" (French version, 1977) and Low (1977)

Collector's notes: The only interesting aspect about this box set is the inclusion of the French version of the "Heroes" album. Nonetheless, it was re-pressed in Germany in 1984.
The back of the second insert is plain white.

Historia de la Musica Rock 4

(Decca 9-47 002; Spain 08/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Other notes: Spanish edition of Another Face

Collector's notes: The label gives only the year 1981, but that needn't mean anything. There is conflicting information on the web as to when the Spanish Historia series was released: some claim it was in 1981, others write it was in 1982. I'll go for Thompson's release date 08/1982 then.

The Manish Boys/Davy Jones & the Lower 3rd

(See For Miles CYM 1; UK 10/1982)

Format: 10"EP

Release notes: mono, PS

Tracks: The Manish Boys: I Pity the Fool / The Manish Boys: Take My Tip // Davy Jones: You've Got a Habit of Leaving / Davy Jones: Baby Loves that Way

Other notes: re-issue of 1979 7"EP

Fashions

(RCA BOW 100; UK 11/1982)

Format: 10 x 7"(EP)

Release notes: picture singles in plastic wallet, limited edition of 25.000

(BOWP 101):

Tracks: Space Oddity // Changes / Velvet Goldmine

(BOWP 103):

Tracks: The Jean Genie // Ziggy Stardust

(BOWP 106):

Tracks: Drive-In Saturday // Round and Round

(BOWP 102):

Tracks: Life on Mars? // The Man Who Sold the World

(BOWP 107):

Tracks: Sorrow // Amsterdam

(BOWP 104):

Tracks: Rebel Rebel // Queen Bitch

(BOWP108):

Tracks: Golden Years // Can You Hear Me

(BOWP 105):

Tracks: Sound and Vision // A New Career in a New Town

(BOWP 109):

Tracks: Boys Keep Swinging // Fantastic Voyage

(BOWP 110):

Tracks: Ashes to Ashes // Move On

Other notes: re-issues of UK 7" singles from 1972 to 1980

Collector's notes: A pleasant set, but the quality of the pressings isn't the best. Made to be looked at, rather than to be played.

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA BOW 12(PRO); UK 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, mono, PS (stock)

Tracks: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy // Dialogue / Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

Other notes: Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977

Collector's notes: Pegg writes that this single was released in October 1982, but I doubt that the first copies turned up before November.

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA BOW T 12; UK 11/1982)

Format: 12"

Release notes: large picture labels, PS

Tracks: David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Dialogue / Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy* // David Bowie: Fantastic Voyage**

Other notes: *mono, Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; **from Lodger (1979)

Collector's notes: A kind of "pseudo-picture-disc" with paper labels that have the size of a 7" single, and a die-cut cover with holes that fit the size of the labels.

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA JV-13400; USA 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, mono, company cover

Tracks: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy // Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

Other notes: Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA PH-13400; US 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy* // David Bowie: Fantastic Voyage**

Other notes: *mono, Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; **from Lodger (1979)

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA PB 3400 (label)/BOW 12/PB 13400 (cover); Belgium 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: UK export PS

Tracks: David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy* // David Bowie: Fantastic Voyage**

Other notes: *mono, Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; **from Lodger (1979)

Collector's notes: The catalogue number of this Belgian release is difficult to tell since there is conflicting information on cover and labels. The cover has the same text and catalogue number as the UK issue, but in a different position. The record, however, is definitely made in Belgium. This cover seems to have been used neither in the UK nor in any other European country. So it appears to be a unique export cover for Belgium.

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA PB 3400; Germany 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy* // David Bowie: Fantastic Voyage**

Other notes: *mono, Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; **from Lodger (1979)

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA RPS-97; Japan 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label promo, PS (insert with NC)

Tracks: David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy* // David Bowie: Fantastic Voyage**

Other notes: *mono, Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; **from Lodger (1979)

Collector's notes: I've seen copies of the Japanese single offered as "translucent red". In fact, my promo copy is also slightly translucent. They didn't seem to have used a lot of black pigments, so that the records appears orange (not red!) if held against a strong light. However, the effect might appear with all copies, and it is less spectacular than in the case of the translucent red Ashes to Ashes UK singles.

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA X-MAS 82; Netherlands 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, mono, 1-sided, PS

Tracks: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

Other notes: Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977

Collector's notes: An unusual promo from the Netherlands. Although the cover front has basically the same design as the other issues, it's a special promo cover with Christmas greetings in Dutch, French, English and German on the back.

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy

(RCA PB-3400; Spain 11/1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label promo, PS

Tracks: David Bowie and Bing Crosby: Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy* // David Bowie: Fantastic Voyage**

Other notes: *mono (label says stereo), Bing Crosby's Merry Old Christmas TV special, 11/09/1977; broadcast 26/11/1977; **from Lodger (1979)

Collector's notes: There were also promo-stamped stock copies.

Superstar

(Armando Curcio Editore SU-1027; Italy 11/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: partly mono, FOC with booklet attached

Tracks: Love You till Tuesday* / Silly Boy Blue / Karma Man° / The Gospel According toTony Day° / Rubber Band* / Uncle Arthur / Join the Gang // Did You Ever Have a Dream° / Maid of Bond Street / Sell Me a Coat / Let Me Sleep beside You° / Little Bombardier / London Boys° / She's Got Medals

Other notes: stereo, except: °mono; *album versions

Collector's notes: I originally discarded this album as a beautiful but musically superfluous release. However, it's not a bad as I thought: all mono tracks included are actually true mono mixes, even Karma Man and Let Me Sleep beside You! The release of this album was the first and, in fact, last time that these tracks were issued on an official vinyl record. On the mono version of The World of David Bowie the tracks were down-mixes from stereo. The next time the true mono mixes saw the light of day was on the deluxe CD version of the Deram album.
I must admit that I wouldn't have realized the subtle differences in the mixes, since I never listened very carefully to the album. So thanks to user "paleblinds" from the forum of the Illustrated db Discography, who seems to have been the first who listened really carefully!
I originally listed this record as a 1983 release, because that was the year I came across it. However, there are several sources that classify this as a 1982 release, so I'm willing to believe this.

Bowie Rare

(RCA PL 45406 SB; Germany 12/1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola / Round and Round / Amsterdam / Holy Holy* / Panic in Detroit** / Young Americans*** // Velvet Goldmine / "Heroes"/"Helden"° / John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)°° / Alabama Song°°° / Crystal Japan

Other notes: all track previously released; *re-recorded version from 1974 single; **live, Tower Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 12-13/07/1974, from 1974 single; ***US single edit from 1975 single; °long English/German version; °°single edit; °°°mistitled Moon of Alabama on cover

Collector's notes: At the time, this was a pleasant record, especially for the inclusion of Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola, which here saw its first official release since 1970.
Rare was the first "new" German Bowie album that was released with black labels. This label design was also used for (non-budget) re-issues until RCA Germany finally settled on the "silver rim" labels in 1983.

Love You till Tuesday

(Dream DM-100; ?? 1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, PS (insert and "Major Tom" company cover)

Tracks: Love You till Tuesday* // When I'm Five**

Other notes: *demo, 1966; **Top Gear BBC programme, Piccadilly Studio 1, London, 13/05/1968

Collector's notes: The A-side is the acoustic demo of the song in very good sound quality, the sound quality of side 2 is acceptable.
This single is funny in that it couples two familiar bootleg "labels": the label of the record revives Dream records (again mocking a 1960s US Deram promo), and the cover consists of an insert plus a Major Tom company bag with a pseudo-Spanish layout. Which makes no sense at all, by the way: Spanish singles never came in a company bag with an insert. That was reserved to Japanese releases. Be that as it may, it's a nice release!

"Heroes"

(Bo-Bo Recordings 1977 A; ?? 1982)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, 1-sided, mono, PS

Tracks: "Heroes"

Other notes: Marc TV show, Granada Studios, Manchester, 09/09/1977

Collector's notes: The sound quality is quite good.

Subway

(Flat 8211; USA 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels with number print, plain white NC with black/white insert (copy of original 1976 edition)

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: live, Music Hall, Boston, 16/07/1974; re-issue of 1976 album Subway

Collector's notes: Most copies of this re-issue came in a printed brown cover, but some copies were distributed in an insert cover that was similar to that of the original. However, the re-issues are easily identified by the rather poor black and white reproduction of the original insert. Note that contrary to what I wrote before, the matrix numbers of originals and re-issues are identical.
There was also a picture disc version of the re-issue.

Subway

((FW 8211); USA 1982)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, picture disc

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: live, Music Hall, Boston, 16/07/1974; re-issue of 1976 album Subway

Collector's notes: The sound quality isn't any better than on the original version, but the pressing quality is worse. A true collector's item, nothing else!

Bowie Rare

(RCA PL 46 646 6; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: club edition

Tracks: see regular issue

Collector's notes: An issue for the "Bertelsmann Buchclub" (see here for some remarks on German club editions). The catalogue number suggests 1983 as the year of release.

Amsterdam

(RCA ESP-601; Spain 03?/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS

Tracks: Amsterdam // Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola

Collector's notes: A promo-only disc to promote the Bowie Rare album.
The "Depósito Legal" date on the record is 1983; furthermore, a copy I once owned had the hand-written note "18/4/83", which is probably the date of the Spanish release of the album. So 03/1983 seems to be a good guess for the release date of the single.

Let's Dance

(EMI EA 152; UK 03/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Collector's notes: And this is where the "commercial Bowie" really starts. So sit back and enjoy the ride...

Let's Dance

(EMI 12 EA 152; UK 03/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS, promo sticker on cover back

Tracks: Let's Dance // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Collector's notes: The sticker on the back says "Manufacturers Property - Not for Sale". So this copy might be a promo or some kind of test-pressing.

Let's Dance

(EMI 2C 008-86660; France 03/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Let's Dance

(EMI 1C 006-86 660; Germany 03/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Let's Dance

(EMI 1C K052-86 660 Z; Germany 03/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Let's Dance

(EMI 3C 000-79241; Italy 03/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: jukebox promo-only, NC

Tracks: David Bowie: Let's Dance (single edit) // Garbo: Generazione

Let's Dance

(EMI 11C 008-86660; Portugal 03/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Let's Dance

(EMI 10C 006-086.660; Spain 03/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Let's Dance

(EMI 10C 052-086.660 Z; Spain 03/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Let's Dance // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Collector's notes: An interesting cover variation from Spain.

Let's Dance

(EMI 8763; Mexico 04/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-stamp on B-side label and inside of PS, wraparound PS

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Collector's notes: You had to turn to Mexico to find a major variation of the 7" cover.

Let's Talk

(EMI SPRO-9960/9961; USA 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, OIS

Tracks: Modern Love / answer #1 / answer #2 / answer #3 / answer #4 / China Girl / answer #5 / answer #6 / answer #7 / answer #8 / answer #9 // Shake It / answer #10 / answer #11 / answer #12 / answer #13 / Criminal World / answer #14 / answer #15 / answer #16 / Let's Dance

Collector's notes: Another rather silly promo-LP, similar to the 1980 Interview album. At least there's also some music on it this time. Note that this is a completely different album than the Danish Let's Talk LP.

Let's Dance

(EMI 1C 064-400 165; Germany 04/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: Modern Love / China Girl / Let's Dance / Without You // Ricochet / Criminal World / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / Shake It

Other notes: recorded at Power Station Studios, New York, 12/1982

Let's Dance

(EMI 46787 8; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: club edition, OIS

Tracks: see regular issue

Collector's notes: A German club edition that was probably released a few months after the regular issue. Since I don't know when exactly, I file it with that release.
The catalogue number of the inner sleeve of this club edition is the same as on the regular release. Note that there is an alternative German club edition, which, judging from the catalogue number, was made for Bertelsmann. I don't know for which club this one was made.

Bailemos

(EMI 8155; Argentina 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: see German issue

Other notes: Argentine edition of Let's Dance

Collector's notes: The only noteworthy cover variation I have seen: the dance steps on the front yield the Spanish title "Bailemos".

Let's Dance

(EMI AML 3029; Iceland 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: According to the seller of this record, Iceland imposed a luxury tax of 85% on vinyl imports between 1981 and 1984, so four Icelandic companies decided to have their own records pressed by a pressing company called "Alfa", located in Hafnarfjöður. Most covers were printed by "Prisma", also located there. Albums were pressed in a quantity of about 250 to 500 copies. The seller claimed to have contacted two former record company managers, who, however, couldn't provide any information on the exact quantity. So this is the information from the seller.
The only problem is that this story can't be true (at least if you take all of it literally): the labels of this Let's Dance album says "Manufactured in the UK" and the cover is simply that of the UK issue. So it seems that these records were actually made in the UK for the Icelandic market. Maybe there was some tax reduction if the albums were not simply foreign copies, but copies clearly marked to be made for the domestic market, but that's only speculation. There are also Icelandic copies of the Tonight album.

Let's Dance

(EMI OLE 484/SO-17093; South Korea 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: insert

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Unlike other Bowie LPs to this point, this album got a fully official release in South Korea. Copies of this record often come with a large yellow sticker.

Let's Dance

(High Stereo Light 636; South Korea 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: pirate release

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: Another typical South Korean pirate release. What is interesting about it, however, is that this release competed with an official issue. Note that, according to Discogs, there is even a second pirate issue (on "High Stereo" - without the "Light").

Let's Dance - Bailemos

(EMI 10C 072-400165; Spain 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: As often, the Spanish issue adds the Spanish title to the cover and labels. And (again: as so often) there are numerous minor differences in the covers, inner sleeves and labels of the Spanish issues of this LP. Note that this issue might be a re-pressing.

Let's Talk

(AR 30010; Denmark 04/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, NC

Tracks: interview // interview

Other notes: re-issue of 3LP set King Biscuit Flower Hour – A Look at the 70's (1980) with the music edited out

Collector's notes: The interview was still interesting, but of course it's not half as interesting without the music they are talking about.
Frifelt writes that this record came with the first 100 copies of the bootleg The Thin White Duke Meets Ziggy, but was later re-pressed. I don't think that this order of events is correct. Interview records like this are almost always semi-legal items, but normally - and unlike bootlegs - they are ignored by the record industry. Because of this they are often sold in regular record stores, which is where I bought my copy. So it seems more plausible to me that the bootleggers bought a hundred copies of Let's Talk and added them to the first 100 copies of their product to create something like a limited first edition. What is true, though, is that for a while this record was quite rare, but was soon re-distributed in large quantities in a die-cut cover.
The release date 04/1983 is from Thompson. Note that the release has nothing to do with the regular US promo-LP Let's Talk.

Pin Ups

(RCA NL 84653; Germany 04/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: signed, possibly fake

Tracks: see original issues

Other notes: re-issue of 1973 album

Collector's notes: The signature might be a fake and the minor cover variation (a small white margin on the right-hand side of the cover) may be negligible, but this release is a good opportunity to warn you of certain pressings. In 1983, RCA Germany started re-issuing Bowie albums - especially early ones - in their "RCA International" series (with these black "silver rim" labels). They were usually available at budget prices. But note that many of them had a sound quality that was far below that of the original. I've heard (and once had) several of them, and I particularly remember an extremely "dull" TMWSTW. So keep your hands off them, unless you are an absolute completist!
The release date is from the fine print on the cover back ("C 4 83 EUR").

Let's Dance

(EMI EYS-17350; Japan 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS, insert

Tracks: Let's Dance (single edit) // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (re-recorded version)

Collector's notes: Exceptionally, this Japanese single had a "real" picture cover, i.e. not only a company bag with a picture insert. However, it came with a one-sided insert with the Japanes lyrics.

Bad Boys/Let's Dance

(E-214; Malaysia 1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: jukebox promo-only, pirate release?, NC, jukebox strip

Tracks: Wham!: Bad Boys // David Bowie: Let's Dance (unique edit*)

Other notes: *running time of about five minutes

Collector's notes: This Malaysian jukebox promo is similar to the Italian issues with two different artists. However, it's quite likely that such Malaysian releases were not authorised (note the absence of a record company on the labels).

China Girl

(EMI EAP 157; UK 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: picture disc, plastic NC

Tracks: China Girl (single edit) // Shake It

China Girl

(EMI 1C 006 1866877; Germany 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: China Girl (single edit) // Shake It

China Girl

(EMI 1792487; Italy 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: jukebox promo-only, NC

Tracks: David Bowie: China Girl (single edit) // Richie Havens: Death at an Early Age

China Girl

(EMI EYS-17378; Japan 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: China Girl (single edit) // Shake It

Collector's notes: For this release EMI Japan returned to the familiar Japanese cover layout - a company sleeve with an insert.

China Girl

(EMI 8798; Mexico 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: wraparound PS

Tracks: China Girl (single edit) // Shake It

China Girl

(EMI 1A 006-1866877; Netherlands 05/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: China Girl (single edit) // Shake It

Collector's notes: Dutch copies, with their slightly different cover design, were also sold in Germany.

China Girl

(EMI 1A K052Z-1866896; Netherlands 05/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: China Girl // Shake It (remix)

Lifetimes

(RCA LIFETIMES 1; UK 06/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, limited numbered edition: 299/1000

Tracks: The Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud / Black Country Rock / Oh! You Pretty Things / Soul Love / The Prettiest Star / See Emily Play / 1984 / Across the Universe // Stay / All the Young Dudes* / Breaking Glass / "Heroes" (long English version) / D.J. / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Round and Round**

Other notes: *live version from the album David Live (1974); **from the 1973 single; all other tracks regular album versions

Collector's notes: Unlike its American counterpart, RCA UK never produced a lot of promo-only records. This album was published to promote the upcoming Lifetimes series of single re-issues. Pegg claims that this one was released in August, but it doesn't appear plausible to me that this album was released two months after the singles it was meant to promote.

Drive-In Saturday

(RCA BOW 501 (RCA 2352); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Drive-In Saturday // Round and Round

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1973 single

Life on Mars?

(RCA BOW 502 (RCA 2316); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Life on Mars? // The Man Who Sold the World

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1973 single

Rock'n'Roll Suicide

(RCA BOW 503 (RCA LPBO-5021); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Rock'n'Roll Suicide // Quicksand

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1974 single

Diamond Dogs

(RCA BOW 504 (RCA APBO 0293); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Diamond Dogs // Holy Holy

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1974 single

Knock on Wood

(RCA BOW 505 (RCA 2466); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Knock on Wood // Panic in Detroit

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1974 single

Young Americans

(RCA BOW 506 (RCA 2523); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Young Americans // Suffragette City

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1975 single

Fame

(RCA BOW 507 (RCA 2579); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Fame // Right

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1975 single

Golden Years

(RCA BOW 508 (RCA 2640); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Golden Years // Can You Hear Me

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1975 single

TVC 15

(RCA BOW 509 (RCA 2682); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: TVC 15 // We Are the Dead

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1976 single

Sound and Vision

(RCA BOW 510 (PB 0905); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Sound and Vision // A New Career in a New Town

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1977 single

Be My Wife

(RCA BOW 511 (PB 1017); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Be My Wife // Speed of Life

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1977 single

Beauty and the Beast

(RCA BOW 512 (PB 1190); Ireland 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS UK (combination original)

Tracks: Beauty and the Beast // Sense of Doubt

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1978 single

Collector's notes: All singles of the Lifetimes series were also issued as rather elusive Irish pressings. The Irish singles have completely different labels: no Lifetimes logo and a solid centre. They were sold in UK covers.

"Heroes"

(RCA BOW 513 (PB 1121); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: "Heroes" // V-2 Schneider

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1977 single

Rebel Rebel

(RCA BOW 514 (LPBO 5009); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: solid centre, PS

Tracks: Rebel Rebel (single edit) // Queen Bitch

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1974 single

Collector's notes: This solid centre copy plays the correct B-side. Mis-pressings with a push-out centre and an incorrect B-side seem to be commoner.

Rebel Rebel

(RCA BOW 514 (LPBO 5009); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: mis-pressing: B-side should play Queen Bitch according to label and cover, PS

Tracks: Rebel Rebel (single edit) // Song for Bob Dylan

Other notes: Lifetimes series; intended to be a re-issue of 1974 single

Collector's notes: There are actually copies that play the correct B-side. The problem is that, in order to find them, you must either play the record or look at the matrix numbers: copies with the number "A-1U-1-1-" or "A-1U-1-1-11" in the run-out groove of the A-side play the correct track (information partly from Chas Pearson's website). Note that the solid centre/push-out centre distinction is not a sufficient criterion. Same cover as in the previous entry.

The Jean Genie

(RCA BOW 515 (RCA 2303); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: The Jean Genie // Ziggy Stardust

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1972 single

D.J.

(RCA BOW 516 (BOW 3); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: D.J. // Repetition

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1979 single

John, I'm Only Dancing

(RCA BOW 517 (RCA 2263); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: John, I'm Only Dancing* // Hang On to Yourself

Other notes: *original version, 1979 remix; Lifetimes series; intended to be a re-issue of 1972 single

Collector's notes: Since the two mixes of the original version of John, I'm Only Dancing are only minimally different, it is difficult to say, but my impression is that the disc acutally plays the newer mix from the 1979 single.

Space Oddity

(RCA BOW 518 (RCA 2593); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Space Oddity // Changes / Velvet Goldmine

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1975 EP

Sorrow

(RCA BOW 519 (RCA 2424); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS, Swiss promo sticker

Tracks: Sorrow // Amsterdam

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1973 single

Collector's notes: Please don't ask me what the Swiss promo sticker is doing on the cover...

Breaking Glass

(RCA BOW 520 (BOW 1); UK 06/1983)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Breaking Glass // Art Decade / Ziggy Stardust

Other notes: Lifetimes series; re-issue of 1978 EP

Royalty of Rock - A Celebration of the Rock Empire

(RKO Radio Networks; USA 06/1983 (1982))

Format: LP

Release notes: promo-only, NC with 2 cue sheets

Tracks: intro / comment / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / comment / Changes / out / intro / The Jean Jean / comment / Rebel Rebel / comment / Young Americans / out // intro / comment / Fame / comment / Suffragette City / out / intro / Ziggy Stardust / comment / Space Oddity / comment / Ashes to Ashes / out

Other notes: all tracks official album versions; re-issue of 1982 album

Collector's notes: This re-release adds intros and outros, which were not present on the original LP.

Nothin' but a a Star

(Chamelion 0041/0042; France? 07?/1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, disc 1: "Chameleon" labels, disc 2: plain white labels, wraparound cover, limited edition of 1.000

Tracks: The Jean Genie (intro) / Star / Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / What in the World / Wild Is the Wind / Golden Years / TVC 15 // Fashion / Let's Dance / Breaking Glass / Life on Mars? / Sorrow / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / China Girl // Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel / White Light/White Heat / Station to Station / Cracked Actor // Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity / band introduction* / Young Americans / Hang On to Yourself / Fame / The Jean Genie / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany, 20/05/1983; *not listed on cover; generally incorrect track listing on cover

Collector's notes: An audience recording in decent sound quality, released in summer 1983, very shortly after the show (July or possibly even June).

A Second Face

(Decca TAB 71; UK 08/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: "Made in England The Decca Record Co Ltd" on labels

Tracks: Let Me Sleep beside You / Sell Me a Coat / She's Got Medals / We Are Hungry Men / In the Heat of the Morning / Karma Man // Little Bombardier / Love You till Tuesday* / Come and Buy My Toys / Silly Boy Blue / Uncle Arthur / When I Live My Dream

Other notes: *album version

Collector's notes: Obviously, this was meant to be a follow-up to Another Face from 1981. But why are When I Live My Dream and In the Heat of the Morning included on both albums? There is a minimal label variation that has a shorter copyright text at the label margins.

Golden Years

(RCA PL 14792 SB; Germany 08/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Fashion / Red Sails / Look Back in Anger / I Can't Explain / Ashes to Ashes // Golden Years / Joe the Lion / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Wild Is the Wind

Other notes: all tracks original album versions

Collector's notes: An RCA compilation that was obviously meant to be something like a tour souvenir: it contains only songs that Bowie played during the Serious Moonlight Tour. Most of the songs were not included on earlier "Greatest Hits" compilations such as Changes One and Changes Two, but the concept wasn't entirely consistent.

Golden Years

(RCA 28 540-3; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: club edition

Tracks: see regular issue

Collector's notes: This club issue was probably released a bit later than the regular release, an assumption that is supported by the fact that it has the later "silver rim" labels.

Golden Years (Años Dorados)

(RCA PL 14792; Spain 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Other notes: Spanish issue of Golden Years with Spanish title in brackets

Collector's notes: The Spanish issue is a minor cover variation, in the top left corner it has a blue band promoting the tour souvenir character of the album. There is a label variation with the copyright information at the bottom arranged in a slightly different way. Discogs shows another (re-)issue with a very unusual catalogue number (8167.5). Discogs also lists a fourth issue: that one does not have the blue band and I haven't seen it anywhere else. There is little information in the entry and there are no pictures except a low resolution picture of the front, which might be a photo of an copy from another country. In fact, I doubt that such a release exists.

Años de Oro

(RCA TLP-50115; Argentina 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Other notes: Argentine edition of Golden Years

Collector's notes: It is interesting that the Spanish and Argentine issues used different Spanish translations of the English title.

Space Oddity/The Man Who Sold the World

(RCA NL 37727; France 1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: insert

Tracks: Space Oddity / Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed / Letter to Hermione / Cygnet Committee // Janine / An Occasional Dream / The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud / God Knows I'm Good / Memory of a Free Festival // The Width of a Circle / All the Madmen / Black Country Rock / After All // Running Gun Blues / Saviour Machine / She Shook Me Cold / The Man Who Sold the World / The Supermen

Other notes: re-issue of the albums Man of Words/Man of Music (US issue, 1969) and The Man Who Sold the World (USA/UK/Australia issues, 1970)

Collector's notes: A typical budget re-issue, similar to the German Rock Galaxy set. They didn't even bother to provide a fold-out cover, all we got was a meagre insert. Note that the cover back is actually printed upside down.

David Bowie

(RCA TRC 5005; South Africa 1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: FOC

Tracks: Five Years / Soul Love / Moonage Daydream / Starman / It Ain't Easy // Lady Stardust / Star / Hang on to Yourself / Ziggy Stardust / Suffragette City / Rock'n'Roll Suicide // Watch That Man / Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) / Drive-In Saturday / Panic in Detroit / Cracked Actor // Time / The Prettiest Star / Let's Spend the Night Together / The Jean Genie / Lady Grinning Soul

Other notes: re-issue of the albums Ziggy Stardust (1972) and Aladdin Sane (1973)

Collector's notes: Another double album compiled of two Bowie classics, comparable to the album from the previous entry or the German Rock Galaxy. The South Africans didn't spend too much money on the cover design, either: not only does the cover back look exactly like the front, but the inner of the fold-out cover (both halves!) has that design, too.

Die weisse Serie - Extra-Ausgabe

(Decca 6.25549 LF; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Let Me Sleep beside You / In the Heat of the Morning / Karma Man / Silly Boy Blue / She's Got Medals / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Liza Jane // Did You Ever Have a Dream / Join the Gang / Uncle Arthur / Love You till Tuesday* / The Laughing Gnome / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Louie, Louie Go Home

Other notes: *single version

Collector's notes: This album is not really a follow-up to Die weisse Serie because it includes a lot of tracks that had already been on the earlier LP.

David Bowie

(Decca/Impact 6886 030; France 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Rubber Band* / Please Mr. Gravedigger / The London Boys / Come and Buy My Toys / In the Heat of the Morning / Did You Ever Have a Dream // She's Got Medals / Uncle Arthur / Maid of Bond Street / Sell Me a Coat / Love You till Tuesday / When I Live My Dream

Other notes: *single version

Collector's notes: For a long time I thought that this was a late 1970s release, and listed it under 1977. However, Discogs lists it under 1983. There are more albums from the same series ("Distribution Impact"), which were released in 1983 and have similar labels, so the most likely theory is that this is actually another 1983 exploitation release cashing in on the success of Let's Dance, similar to the Die weisse Serie - Extraausgabe from the previous entry.
The album was re-released as Programme Plus in 1985.
Note that the albums discography of the IdbD forum lists the album under 1985, but that seems implausible to me: why should they release the same album under two different titles in the same country the same year?

Early Bowie

(PRT PRNL 31722; Italy 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: white label promo

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 10"LP Don't Be Fooled by the Name (1981)

Modern Love

(EMI EA 158; UK 09/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Modern Love (single edit) // Modern Love (live version)*

Other notes: *live, Forum, Montreal, 13/07/1983

Modern Love

(EMI 12EA 158; UK 09/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS, limited poster

Tracks: Modern Love // Modern Love (live version)*

Other notes: *live, Forum, Montreal, 13/07/1983

Collector's notes: Only the first copies came with the poster. I don't know how limited the issue was, but it seems that the poster is quite rare nowadays: probably most buyers "destroyed" it by using it the way it was meant to be used.

Modern Love

(EMI 1C 006 1867627; Germany 09/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Modern Love (single edit) // Modern Love (live version)*

Other notes: *live, Forum, Montreal, 13/07/1983

Modern Love

(EMI EYS-17403; Japan 09/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: Modern Love (single edit) // Modern Love (live version)*

Other notes: *live, Forum, Montreal, 13/07/1983

Modern Love

(EMI 1A K052-1867627; Netherlands 09/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Modern Love // Modern Love (live version)*

Other notes: *live, Forum, Montreal, 13/07/1983

Modern Love

(EMI 006 1867627; Spain 09/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Modern Love (single edit) // Modern Love (live version)*

Other notes: *live, Forum, Montreal, 13/07/1983

Fashion

(RCA PB 9622; Germany 10/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: "live"-PS

Tracks: Fashion // Scream like a Baby

Other notes: re-issue of 1980 single

Fashion

(RCA PC 9638 AF; Germany 10/1983)

Format: 12"

Release notes: "live"-PS

Tracks: Fashion // Scream like a Baby

Other notes: re-issue of 1980 12" single

Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture

(RCA CPL2-4862; USA 10/1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: clear vinyl, limited edition of 1.000, FOC

Tracks: Hang on to Yourself / Ziggy Stardust / Watch That Man / Medley: Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud/All the Young Dudes/Oh! You Pretty Things // Moonage Daydream / Space Oddity / My Death // Cracked Actor / Time / The Width of a Circle // Changes / Let's Spend the Night Together / Suffragette City / White Light/White Heat / Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Other notes: live, Odeon Hammersmith, London, 03/07/1973

Collector's notes: And finally, here's the official version of Ziggy's "farewell show" from 1973 in great sound quality and almost in its full glory. I say "almost" because they didn't include the two tracks featuring Jeff Beck (The Jean Genie/Love Me Do and Round and Round). At least the former of these tracks was available on bootlegs like His Master's Voice. It took 40 years until both track were officially released.
Only 1.000 of the clear vinyl version were made. It is sometimes said that they were distributed for promotional reasons only, but they originally came with a sticker on the shrinkwrap that called the album a "collector's item", so these records must have been made for general distribution.
In order to save space I have changed the usual order of pictures and show the back before the inside of the fold-out cover.

Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture

(RCA PL 84862(2) DT; Germany 10/1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: FOC

Tracks: see US issue

Collector's notes: There are several label variations. The record shown here (bought briefly after the release) has labels with copyright information under the song titles and "GEMA" and "BIEM" in one box. There are also copies that have the copyright information, but "GEMA" and "BIEM" in two separate boxes, and then there is a variation which is identical to this one with respect to "GEMA" and "BIEM", but lacks the copyright texts. Furthermore, there is a fourth variant with the re-activated "classical" round RCA logo of the 1950s/1960s on the labels. Those must be from 1986 or later, since they refer to BMG on the label, a music group that was formed that year (and re-introduced the old logo).

White Light/White Heat

(RCA 372; UK 10/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: White Light/White Heat // Cracked Actor

Other notes: live versions from the album Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture

White Light/White Heat

(RCA JK-13660; USA 10/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS

Tracks: White Light/White Heat // White Light/White Heat

Other notes: live version from the album Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture

Collector's notes: The cover is unique to the promo issue - there is no reference to the regular B-side Cracked Actor.

White Light/White Heat

(RCA PB 3660; Germany 10/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: White Light/White Heat // Cracked Actor

Other notes: live versions from the album Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture

White Light/White Heat

(RCA RPS-126; Japan 10/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label promo, PS (insert with NC)

Tracks: White Light/White Heat // Cracked Actor

Other notes: live versions from the album Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture

Serious Moonlight in Gothenburg

(MIW Records DB 37; ?? 1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, 1st edition, FOC

Tracks: The Jean Genie (Intro)* / Star / Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / What in the World / Golden Years / Fashion / Let's Dance // Red Sails / Breaking Glass / Life on Mars? / Sorrow / Cat People (Putting out Fire) / China Girl / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) // Rebel Rebel / White Light/White Heat / Station to Station / Cracked Actor / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity // band introduction* / Young Americans / Hang On to Yourself / Fame / TVC 15 / Stay / The Jean Genie / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Nya Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden, 12/06/1983; *not listed on cover

Collector's notes: A decent audience recording in a very professionally made fold-out cover. Subsequent pressings were on red vinyl.

Göteborg Memories

(MIW Records DB 37; ?? 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, white die-cut NC with pink insert

Tracks: Rebel Rebel / White Light/White Heat / Station to Station / Cracked Actor / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity // band introduction / Young Americans / Hang On to Yourself / Fame / TVC 15 / Stay / The Jean Genie / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Nya Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden, 12/06/1983; second disc of Serious Moonlight in Gothenburg as a separate album. Same label design as in the previous entry.

Collector's notes: The "authenticity" of this album is not quite clear (if a bootleg can be "authentic" at all), since this might be a home-made issue.

Cat People Let's Dance - Live at the Olympic Dance Hall in Munich 1983, Vol. 1

((4); ?? 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, 1st edition with "leather type" cover, limited edition of 500

Tracks: Intro: The Jean Genie (intro) / Star / Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / What in the World / Golden Years / Fashion / Let's Dance // Breaking Glass / Life on Mars? / Sorrow / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / China Girl / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel

Other notes: live, Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany, 22/05/1983; *not listed on cover

Collector's notes: Another audience recording, but one with a lot of audience noise and a generally poor sound quality.
Re-issued as Moonlight Special Part 1.

Modern Love for Young Americans - Live at the Olympic Dance Hall in Munich 1983, Vol. 2

((4); ?? 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, 1st edition with "leather type" cover, limited edition of 500

Tracks: White Light/White Heat / Station to Station / Cracked Actor / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity // Young Americans / Hang On to Yourself / Fame / TVC 15 / The Jean Genie / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany, 22/05/1983

Collector's notes: Part 2 of the Munich show with the same rather poor sound quality.
Re-issued as Moonlight Special Part 2.

Keep On

(Rare Music CK 2908; USA? 1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, 1st edition: yellow/orange vinyl

Tracks: The Jean Genie (Intro) / Star / Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / What in the World / Golden Years / Fashion / Let's Dance / Breaking Glass / Life on Mars? // Sorrow / Cat People (Putting out Fire) / China Girl / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel / White Light/White Heat // Station to Station / Cracked Actor / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity / band introduction* / Young Americans // Hang On to Yourself / Fame / TVC 15 / Stay / The Jean Genie / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 26/06/1983; *not listed on cover

Collector's notes: Another audience recording in acceptable, but by no means brilliant, sound quality.
Also available in other vinyl colours.

Oui... C'est Radical Chic!

(Tropicana Records SK 1521; USA? 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, picture disc, 1st edition: black rim, NC

Tracks: Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / Golden Years / Fashion / Let's Dance / China Girl // Life on Mars? / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity / Young Americans / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Palais des Sports, Lyon, France, 25/05/1983; *not listed on record

Collector's notes: A beautiful picture disc with an audience recording in acceptable sound quality.
There are re-issues with a clear margin that tends towards becoming brown in the course of the years.

Ziggy Plays Guitar Live '72

(L01; ?? 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: Ziggy Stardust / Life on Mars? / Space Oddity / Andy Warhol / Moonage Daydream // Panic in Detroit* / Waiting for the Man / The Jean Genie / Suffragette City / Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Other notes: live, live, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, 20/10/1972, execpt: *live, Tower Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 10-13/07/1974

Collector's notes: An awful bootleg. Most of the tracks are taken from some earlier Santa Monica bootleg. Panic in Detroit is copied from the official 1974 7", and segued into the next track to create the impression that it was from the same show. The sound quality is much duller and generally worse than on other Santa Monica releases, and even that of Panic was much better on the official single. So keep your hands off this bootleg unless you're an absolute completist.

Footstomp'n

(Funk House Records 83530; Netherlands? 1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, 1-sided (silent groove on B-side), limited edition of 500, PS (white NC with blue insert)

Tracks: Footstompin'/Wish I Could Shimmy like My Sister Kate

Other notes: Dick Cavett US TV show, 02/11/1974

Collector's notes: Same label on both sides. The sound quality isn't very good.

His Master's Voice

((L.T. 001); Germany? 1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: bootleg, limited edition: 384/500, PS

Tracks: Panic in Detroit* // Rebel Rebel**

Other notes: *live, Tower Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 12-13/07/1974, from the 1974 single; **US single version, from the 1974 single

Collector's note: The sound quality is very good, which is not surprising, since both tracks are taken from official singles

Spider from Mars

(The Amazing Pig DB-TAP 008-PRO; Germany 1983)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: bootleg, green vinyl, limited edition: 16/200, stamped wraparound PS

Tracks: Waiting for the Man* / Bombers** // White Light/White Heat*** / All the Young Dudes°

Other notes: re-issue of 1978 bootleg EP with changed order of tracks; *Sounds of the Seventies: Bob Harris BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 5, London, 18/01/1972; **recorded during the Hunky Dory sessions, Trident Studios, London, 09-10/07/1971; ***°Sounds of the Seventies: John Peel BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 4, London, 16/05/1972; °recorded during the Aladdin Sane sessions, 12/1972

Collector's notes: Same excellent sound quality as on the original. On this issue the tracks aren't segued into each other.

Spider from Mars

(The Amazing Pig DB-TAP 008-PRO; Germany 1983)

Format: 7"EP

Release notes: bootleg, limited edition: 457/?, wraparound PS

Tracks: Waiting for the Man* / Bombers** // White Light/White Heat*** / All the Young Dudes°

Other notes: re-issue of 1978 bootleg EP with changed order of tracks; *Sounds of the Seventies: Bob Harris BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 5, London, 18/01/1972; **recorded during the Hunky Dory sessions, Trident Studios, London, 09-10/07/1971; ***Sounds of the Seventies: John Peel BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 4, London, 16/05/1972; °recorded during the Aladdin Sane sessions, 12/1972

Collector's notes: Strangely, my copy of the black vinyl version has different labels than the coloured issue.

Little Toy Soldier

(Albino Records AL 7153; UK 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: Waiting for the Man* / Little Toy Soldier* / Space Oddity** // The Supermen*** / Right on Mother° / Lady Stardust°°

Other notes: *studio recordings, Decca Studios, 05/04/1967, featuring The Riot Squad; **demo, home recording featuring John Hutchinson, London (probably Clareville Grove), spring 1969 (probably 03/1969); ***Sounds of the Seventies: Andy Ferris BBC programme, Playhouse Theatre Studios, London, 25/03/1970; °demo, Radio Luxembourg Studios, London, 09/03/1971; °°demo, Radio Luxembourg Studios, London, 09-10/03/1971

Collector's notes: One of the best Bowie bootlegs in fantastic sound quality! The version of Waiting for the Man and the title track were later issued officially on The Riot Squad's Toy Soldier EP. For a long time I had thought that Waiting for the Man was the mysterious December 1966 version mentioned by Pegg, but its presence on the Riot Squad EP shows that it is the later recording. Note that both sides of the record have the B-side label.

Thin White Duke Meets Ziggy

(Vinyl Sound DB 36; ?? 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: All the Young Dudes* / It's Gonna Be Me** / Who Can I Be Now?** / Moonage Daydream*** / Waiting for the Man° // Word on a Wing°° / Stay°° / Waiting for the Man°° / Queen Bitch°° / Life on Mars?°° / Five Years°°

Other notes: *Mott the Hoople featuring Bowie, live, Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, 29/11/1972; **Young Americans sessions, Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, 08/1974; ***Sounds of the Seventies: John Peel BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 4, 16/05/1972; °Sounds of the Seventies: Andy Ferris BBC programme, Playhouse Theatre Studios, 25/03/1970; °°live, Falkoner Teatret, Copenhagen, Denmark, 29/04/1976; track listing on cover incorrect

Collector's notes: A nice compilation with good to very good sound quality. Remarkable in particular for the inclusion of the two tracks from the Young Americans sessions in very good quality.

Kiss Away the Darkest Day

(Igor/Jonas Production; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: Iggy Pop: Raw Power* / Iggy Pop: T.V. Eye* / Iggy Pop: Gimme Danger* / Iggy Pop: No Fun* / Iggy Pop: Search and Destroy* // Iggy Pop: I Wanna Be Your Dog* / Iggy Pop: Turn Blue* / David Bowie: Space Oddity** / David Bowie: Let Me Sleep beside You*** / David Bowie: Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed*** / David Bowie: Janine*** / David Bowie: All the Madmen°

Other notes: *live, Midnight Mantra Studios, Chicago, 28/03/77, featuring Bowie on keyboards and backing vocals; **demo, fragment, home recording, Clareville Grove, London, late 1968, featuring John 'Hutch' Hutchinson; ***The Dave Lee Travis Show BBC programme, Aeolian Hall Studio 2, 20/10/1969; °fragment, unknown origin, possibly a fake mix

Collector's notes: The sound quality is quite good, especially that of the BBC recordings. Kiss Away the Darkest Day was the first of a number of bootlegs that combined Bowie tracks with recordings by Iggy Pop, and sometimes (as in this case) recordings in which both were involved.
The excerpt from Space Oddity included here was a mystery for a long time, and several theories about its origin were put forward. In 2019 the puzzle was finally solved when the full-length version was released on the Conversation Piece CD box.
This bootleg was also (re-?)released under the title Liquor and Drugs (same labels).

Lost & Forgotten

(Halloween Jack Productions Ltd.; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: Life on Mars?/Five Years* / Five Years* / Fame** / Zion*** / Don't Sit Down° / John, I'm Only Dancing°° / Star°°° // Lady Stardust°°° / Hang on to Yourself+ / Moonage Daydream+ / Suffragette City+ / Queen Bitch++ / Waiting for the Man++

Other notes: *live, Ahoy Sport Paleis, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 13/05/1976; **Cher Show, 23/11/1975; ***demo, 1973; °official track from the David Bowie album (UK version), 1969; °°official original version; °°°official versions from the Ziggy Stardust album; +Sounds of the Seventies: John Peel BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 4, London, 16/05/1972; ++Sounds of the Seventies: John Peel BBC programme, Kensington House Studio T1, London, 11/01/1972

Collector's notes: And another weird compilation with a sound ranging from "just acceptable" to "okay". But why did they include the official versions (except for Don't Sit Down, which was quite rare at the time)?

Used Up and Empty

(Diamond Dukes Productions Ltd.; Germany 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: Ziggy Stardust* / Five Years** / Rock'n'Roll Suicide*** / Hang on to Yourself** / Starman° / Oh! You Pretty Things°° // Bombers°°° / Changes°°° / Amsterdam°°° / Kooks°°° / How Lucky You Are+ / Rupert the Riley++

Other notes: +not listed on cover; *Sounds of the Seventies: John Peel BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 4, London, 16/05/1972; **Sounds of the Seventies: Bob Harris BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 5, London, 18/01/1972; ***Sounds of the Seventies: Bob Harris BBC programme, Maida Vale Studio 4, London, 23/05/1972; °The Johnny Walker Lunchtime Show BBC programme, Aeolian Studio 2, London, 22/05/1972; °°Sounds of the Seventies: Bob Harris BBC programme, Kensington House Studio T1, 21/09/1971; °°°demos, Radio Luxembourg Studios, London, 06/1971; +demo, Radio Luxembourg Studios, London, c. 11-12/1970; ++studio recording, Trident studios, 23/04/1971, featuring Mickey King on lead vocals, Bowie on backing vocals; the cover does not mention Amsterdam

Collector's notes: Another interesting compilation, obviously from the same people who gave us the Kiss Away the Darkest Day, Lost & Forgotten and Alarm albums. The sound quality ranges from "just acceptable" to "quite good". Amsterdam, Kooks, Bombers and How Lucky You Are run at the wrong speed: they are a bit too slow.
It's a collection of demos and BBC recordings. Especially the inclusion of Rupert the Riley and How Lucky You Are made this album interesting at the time. All the demos that made the release fascinating were given an official release on Divine Symmetry in 2023. Still, there's something interesting about this old bootleg. The sound quality of Changes and Bombers is generally worse on this release, since it is very dull and with a lot of superfluous reverb. Moreover, Bombers runs at the wrong speed. However, both recordings are less crackly than the acetate-based recordings on the official album. So the bootleggers must have had access to an alternative source which even Bowie's heirs didn't have!

Thin White Duke

(Duke Plates 1001; ?? 1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, "legs" cover, yellow/red vinyl, 1st edition in this cover

Tracks: see The Thin White Duke - Live at Nassau Coliseum, N.Y. 1976

Collector's notes: A re-issue of The Thin White Duke in the infamous "legs cover".

Live at Nassau Coliseum, N.Y., 1976 (Part 1 + Part 2)

((55); ?? 1983)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, picture discs

Tracks: see album Thin White Duke

Collector's notes: A nice picture disc version of the album in the previous entry. However, the sound quality is slightly inferior. According to Frifelt, 15 copies had a handmade cover.

Changes Three

(Grace AZL-1984; USA 1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg

Tracks: London Bye Ta-Ta* / Conversation Piece** / The Prettiest Star** / Holy Holy*** / John, I'm Only Dancing° / 1984/Dodo°° / Memory of a Free Festival, Part 1 (single version)°°° // Rebel Rebel+ / The Supermen++ / All the Young Dudes+++ / Bombers# / Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud (single version)## / "Héros"### / Memory of a Free Festival, Part 2°°°

Other notes: *re-recorded version, Trident Studios, 08-15/01/1970; **original versions from the 1970 single; ***original version from the 1971 single; °"sax version" from the 1973 single; °°studio recording, Trident Studios, 10/1973; °°°from 1970 single; +US single version from the 1974 single; ++from the Revelations various artists album (1972); +++recorded during the Aladdin Sane sessions, 12/1972; #recorded during the Hunky Dory sessions, Trident Studios, London, 09-10/07/1971; ##from the 1969 single; ###short French version from the 1977 single

Collector's notes: Although most of the material on this album was taken from official sources, it was a sensation at the time! Most of the songs hadn't been officially available for a decade or longer, and the unreleased tracks had an unprecedented sound quality, too. Surprisingly, the only tracks with an unsatisfactory sound were two of the official ones: the two parts of the single version of Memory of a free Festival had been taken from a single that ran terribly off centre.
Be that as it may: with its choice of tracks, its mostly fantastic sound, its beautiful cover, and its funny labels that mocked both the RCA logo and label design, this was one of the best Bowie bootlegs ever!

ABC Rock Radio Network - Super Groups

(D.I.R. Broadcasting Corp. (SG-34); USA 11/1983)

Format: 3LP

Release notes: promo-only radio show, NC

Tracks: intro sound / show introduction / Levi's ad / intro / Look Back in Anger / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel / Lavender Blue/"Heroes" / What in the World / out / Good News ad // intro / Life on Mars? / Sorrow / Fashion / Let's Dance / Red Sails / out / Levi's ad // intro / China Girl / White Light/White Heat / Station to Station / out / Atarisoft ad / Good News ad // intro / Cracked Actor / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity / band introduction / Young Americans / out / Levi's ad // intro / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / Fame / Star / out / Atarisoft ad / Honda ad // intro / The Jean Genie / I Can't Explain / Modern Love / out / Levi's ad / Good News ad / end credits / show announcement feat. Modern Love

Other notes: live, Forum, Montreal, Canada, 13/07/1983

Collector's notes: The Montreal show in fantastic sound quality. It was recorded for radio broadcast. Note that unlike the Vancouver show, which is available on video and DVD, this show also features some more "eccentric" tracks like Red Sails and I Can't Explain.
In earlier versions of this entry I assumed that not all tracks on this album were recorded on the 13th, but that some may be from the previous night. However, in the meantime I have found out that Bowie actually played a very long show on that night (27 songs!), so that there is no need for the above assumption. The three missing tracks can be found on the 1985 Best of the Biscuit set. Most of the tracks are also on the Serious Moonlight [Live '83] album from the 2018 Loving the Alien box set. However, since that album is incomplete, the old promo-only albums are still indispensible.

Without You

(EMI P-B-8190; USA 11/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS (stock)

Tracks: Without You // Without You

Without You

(EMI AMI.1225; Australia 11/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Without You // Criminal World

Without You

(EMI EYS-17451; Japan 11/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: Without You // Criminal World

Without You

(EMI 1A 006-2000767; Netherlands 11/1983)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Without You // Criminal World

Let's Dance

(EMI AMLP 3029; UK 11?/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, plastic NC

Tracks: see regular issue

Collector's notes: The picture disc version of the LP can't have been released at the same time as the original album, since the back refers to the Serious Moonlight Tour. I have filed it under November, because this is when the Japanese picture disc was released.

Let's Dance

(EMI/Toshiba EYS-991069; Japan 11/1983)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, PS, OBI, insert

Tracks: see regular issue

Collector's notes: Unlike the UK issue, the Japanese picture disc had a die-cut cover (and insert) at least. The discs of the two issues are almost identical.

DRJONES 180683

(Good Taste Production 9XYCVBN; ?? 1984)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, white NC with hand-written title on back and 2 inserts, plain white labels (with "III" and "IV" in small hand-writing on the respective sides), "advance copy" of Event of David Bowie, limited edition of 250

Tracks: The Jean Genie (intro)*/Star / Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / What in the World / Golden Years / Fashion / Let's Dance / Red Sails / Breaking Glass // Life on Mars? / Sorrow / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / China Girl / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel / White Light/White Heat // Station to Station / Cracked Actor / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity / band introduction* / Young Americans // TVC 15 / Fame / Stay / The Jean Genie / Modern Love

Other notes: live, Freilichttheater, Bad Segeberg, Germany, 18/06/1983; *not listed on cover

Collector's notes: Very good sound quality for an audience recording! It's a bit difficult to decide under which title this album should be filed. It is an "advance copy" for the Event of David Bowie bootleg, but the only title on the cover is the hand-written DRJONES 180683 on the cover back.

Let's Bowie Dance - Live Rarities

((no number); ?? 1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, rubber-stamped white NC, plain white labels, one rubber-stamped

Tracks: Fashion / Let's Dance / Ashes to Ashes / Space Oddity* / band introduction* / Young Americans // Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / China Girl / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel

Other notes: live, Les Arenes, Frejus, France, 26/05/1983; *not listed on cover

Collector's notes: A very simple bootleg - the (incomplete) tracklist and the title are stamped onto the cover front, the back is blank. The B-side label is stamped with the same stamp that is used for the cover. It's an average audience recording, not particularly good. No wonder that this bootleg is usually quite cheap.

Live Dance

((FR2M8/FR2M3); USA 1984)

Format: 2LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: see album Nothin' but a Star

Other notes: live, Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany, 20/05/1983; incorrect track listing on cover

Collector's notes: This is the US issue of the Nothin' but a Star bootleg. Since it appears to have been copied straight from the European edition, the sound quality is slightly inferior. The track listing on the cover is different, but still incorrect.

J.R. Is Watching You

((901); ?? 1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: bootleg, plain white labels

Tracks: The Jean Genie (intro) / Lavender Blue*/"Heroes" / What in the World / Look Back in Anger / Joe the Lion / Wild Is the Wind // Golden Years / Sorrow / Cat People (Putting Out Fire) / China Girl / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Rebel Rebel

Other notes: rehearsals, Sound Stage, Las Colinas, Dallas, Texas, USA, 26/04/1983; *not listed on cover

Collector's notes: The sound quality is so-so: Bowie's vocals are quite clear, but the general sound is very thin and there's constant hiss in the background.

Without You

(EMI 2000767 PM 102; France 1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Without You // Criminal World

Collector's notes: What is interesting about the French release is that the front and back cover pictures are inverted.

1984

(RCA JK-13769; USA 1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, PS (stock)

Tracks: 1984 // 1984

1984

(RCA PB-13769; USA 1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: 1984 // TVC 15

Collector's notes: Same cover as in the previous entry.

1984

(RCA JD-13770; USA 1984)

Format: 12"

Release notes: white label promo, 33 1/3 rpm, PS (stock)

Tracks: 1984 // TVC 15

1984

(RCA PB 3769; Germany 1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: 1984 // TVC 15

1984

(RCA PC 3770 AF; Germany 1984)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: 1984 // TVC 15

Fame and Fashion (David Bowie's All Time Greatest Hits)

(RCA PL 84919 AO; Germany 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Space Oddity / Changes / Starman / 1984 / Young Americans / Fame // Golden Years / TVC 15 / "Heroes" (long English version) / D.J. / Fashion / Ashes to Ashes

Other notes: all tracks album versions

Fame and Fashion (David Bowie's All Time Greatest Hits)

(RCA RCLP 20302; Greece 1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Fame and Fashion (David Bowie's All Time Greatest Hits)

(High Stereo Light 070; South Korea 1984?)

Format: LP

Release notes: pirate release, blue cover

Tracks: see German issue

Aladdin Sane

(RCA BOPIC 1; UK 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, limited edition, numbered certificate 8578, die-cut PS

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1973 album

Collector's notes: The first of five beautiful picture discs that RCA released in 1984. Each issue came with a numbered certificate.

Hunky Dory

(RCA BOPIC 2; UK 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, limited edition, numbered certificate 8697, die-cut PS

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1971 album

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

(RCA BOPIC 3; UK 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, limited edition, numbered certificate 10792, die-cut PS

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1972 album

Pin Ups

(RCA BOPIC 4; UK 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, limited edition, numbered certificate 11023, die-cut PS

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1973 album

Diamond Dogs

(RCA BOPIC 5; UK 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: picture disc, limited edition, numbered certificate 3808, die-cut PS

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1974 album

Love You till Tuesday

(Metronome 820 083-1ME; Germany 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: Love You till Tuesday* / The London Boys / Ching-a-Ling** / The Laughing Gnome / Davie Jones with the King Bees: Liza Jane / When I'm Five*** // Space Oddity° / Sell Me a Coat°° / Rubber Band°°° / Let Me Sleep beside You / When I Live My Dream+

Other notes: *remixed single version; **studio recording, Trident Studios, 24/10/1968, edited version omitting Bowie's verse; ***Top Gear BBC programme, Piccadilly Studio 1, London, 13/05/1968; °studio version, Morgan Studios, Willesden, 02/02/1969, edited version; °°remix with vocal overdubs; °°°single version; +remixed unreleased single version, 03/06/1967

Collector's notes: The soundtrack to the re-released Love You till Tuesday movie from 1969 contains a lot of material that was previously unavailable, but also some stuff that is not related to the film at all.

Love You till Tuesday

(Deram 820 083-1; Netherlands 04/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see German issue

Collector's notes: There is also a variation with the running speed on the labels (which are otherwise identical).

Portrait of a Star

(RCA PL 89078(3); Germany 1984)

Format: 3LP

Release notes: box, 2 inserts

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of 1982 album

Collector's notes: Still, the only interesting thing was the French version of the "Heroes" album. Originally I wrote that this was the only German release of "Heroes" with the French version, but there was also a separate German issue of that album (RCA NL 83857, also from 1984).
The back of insert 2 is plain white.
There is an alternative German issue of this box set, which has a different French price code on the back, no info sheet (just the photo insert), and "GEMA" and "BIEM" in reversed order on the labels. The fact that "BIEM" is on top here might indicate that this issue was primarily aimed at international distribution (although it was bought in a German record shop).

At the Tower Philadelphia

(RCA PL 89082; Germany 1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of Dutch album Rock Concert (1979)

Collector's notes: This album was a re-issue of the near-identical 1982 Dutch LP. If we assume that there was any logic in the way RCA numbered their records at the time, then this German release must have been issued after the German Portrait of a Star, which has a slightly lower catalogue number, and is definitely a 1984 release (as the fineprint on the cover shows). So now we had a German re-issue of a Dutch re-issue of an already superfluous Dutch LP.

30 Años de Musica Rock - Salvat

(London 822 299-1; Mexico 1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: -

Tracks: see original issue

Other notes: re-issue of album Another Face (1981)

Collector's notes: There are also copies with a booklet showing Bowie on the front cover. If I get this right, these booklets were distributed with (double?) bundles of records from the 30 Años... series. I can only guess that they include information about the other artist(s) of the bundle, too, so that, strictly speaking, they are not items related to Bowie only.

Hunky Dory

(RCA PD84623; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Changes / Oh! You Pretty Things / Eight Line Poem / Life on Mars? / Kooks / Quicksand / Fill Your Heart / Andy Warhol / Song for Bob Dylan / Queen Bitch / The Bewlay Brothers

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1971 album

Collector's notes: As regards Bowie's European RCA CDs, a number of general notes are in order here. First, I have listed these as German releases, because that's were the booklets and inlays and most discs were made (except in four cases, in which the discs were imported from Japan). However, this does not mean that these were Germany-only releases: they were distributed all over Europe.
Second, there has been a lot of confusion about the release dates. General discographies (like Strong) tend to link the release of the CD issues to the re-release of the vinyl issues. The release dates might, in fact, co-incide in some cases, but if this is true, it's only accidentally. Fortunately, Rob Davison, former co-ordinator of RCA Europe's CD programme, has helped to set the record straight. According to Rob, all the European RCA CDs (with the exception of Stage) were released in mid to late 1984. This is why I have listed them all under September 1984 (I could equally well have chosen August or October, of course). The exact order of releases isn't known, so I have listed them in the order in which the vinyl albums were originally released by RCA.
Back in those days, CDs were all the hype, and some of the albums seem to have been rush-released, with little thought put into the cover design. In fact, the front of Hunky Dory looks as if someone had hastily tried to re-create the original title with the nearest felt-tip pen at hand...

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

(RCA PD84702; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Five Years / Soul Love / Moonage Daydream / Starman / It Ain't Easy / Lady Stardust / Star / Hang on to Yourself / Ziggy Stardust / Suffragette City / Rock'n'Roll Suicide

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1972 album

Space Oddity

(RCA PD84813; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Space Oddity / Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed / Letter to Hermione / Cygnet Committee / Janine / An Occasional Dream / The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud / God Knows I'm Good / Memory of a Free Festival

Other notes: CD re-issue of US album Man of Words/Man of Music (1969)

The Man Who Sold the World

(RCA PD84654; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: The Width of a Circle / All the Madmen / Black Country Rock / After All / Running Gun Blues / Saviour Machine / She Shook Me Cold / The Man Who Sold the World / The Supermen

Other notes: CD re-issue of The Man Who Sold the World (US/UK/Australia issues, 1970)

Aladdin Sane

(RCA PD83890; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Japan" on disc, combination original, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Watch That Man / Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) / Drive-In Saturday / Panic in Detroit / Cracked Actor / Time / The Prettiest Star / Let's Spend the Night Together / The Jean Genie / Lady Grinning Soul

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1973 album

Pin Ups

(RCA PD84653; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Japan", combination original, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Rosalyn / Here Comes the Night / I Wish You Would / See Emily Play / Everything's Alright / I Can't Explain / Friday on My Mind / Sorrow / Don't Bring Me Down / Shapes of Things / Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere / Where Have All the Good Times Gone

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1973 album

Diamond Dogs

(RCA PD83889; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Future Legend (incl. Bewitched) / Diamond Dogs / Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise) / Rebel Rebel / Rock'n'Roll with Me / We Are the Dead / 1984 / Big Brother / Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1974 album

Young Americans

(RCA PD80998; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Young Americans / Win / Fascination / Right / Somebody Up There Likes Me / Across the Universe / Can You Hear Me / Fame

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1975 album

Station to Station

(RCA PD81327; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Station to Station / Golden Years / Word on a Wing / TVC 15 / Stay / Wild Is the Wind

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1976 album

Low

(RCA PD83856; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Speed of Life / Breaking Glass / What in the World / Sound and Vision / Always Crashing in the Same Car / Be My Wife / A New Career in a New Town / Warszawa / Art Decade / Weeping Wall / Subterreneans

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1977 album

"Heroes"

(RCA PD83857; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Beauty and the Beast / Joe the Lion / "Heroes" (long English version) / Sons of the Silent Age / Blackout / V-2 Schneider / Sense of Doubt / Moss Garden / Neuköln / The Secret Life of Arabia

Other notes: CD re-issue of UK version of 1977 album

Peter and the Wolf

(RCA RD 82743; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Peter and the Wolf* / Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra**

Other notes: *Bowie narrator; **no Bowie involvement; CD re-issue of 1978 album

Collector's notes: There are also copies with red stripes on the spine. These might be early pressings, since the copies with blue stripes are commoner.

Lodger

(RCA PD84234; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: Fantastic Voyage / African Nightflight / Move on / Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Life) / Red Sails / D.J. / Look Back in Anger / Boys Keep Swinging / Repetition / Red Money

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1979 album

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

(RCA PD83647; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Germany" on disc, jewel case with booklet and back inlay

Tracks: It's No Game (Part 1) / Up the Hill Backwards / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Ashes to Ashes / Fashion / Teenage Wildlife / Scream like a Baby / Kingdom Come / Because You're Young / It's No Game (Part 2)

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1980 album

Changes Two

(RCA PD84202; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Japan" on disc, combination original, fold-out insert

Tracks: Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) / Oh! You Pretty Things / Starman / 1984 / Ashes to Ashes / Sound and Vision / Fashion / Wild Is the Wind / John, I'm Only Dancing (Again) (1975) / D.J.

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1981 album

Golden Years

(RCA PD84792; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: disc made in Japan (combination original)

Tracks: Fashion / Red Sails / Look Back in Anger / I Can't Explain / Ashes to Ashes / Golden Years / Joe the Lion / Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) / Wild Is the Wind

Other notes: CD re-issue of 1983 album

Fame and Fashion (David Bowie's All Time Greatest Hits)

(RCA PD84919; Germany 1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: no country of manufacture on disc, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Space Oddity / Changes / Starman / 1984 / Young Americans / Fame / Golden Years / TVC 15 / "Heroes" (long English version) / D.J. / Fashion / Ashes to Ashes

Other notes: all tracks album versions; CD re-issue of 1984 album

Collector's notes: Note that this CD is a bit unusual in that it neither states the country of manufacture, nor the copyright society on the disc.

Blue Jean

(EMI P-B-8231; USA 09/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: promo-only, blue vinyl, PS (stock)

Tracks: Blue Jean // Blue Jean

Blue Jean

(EMI B-8231; USA 09/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: blue vinyl, PS

Tracks: Blue Jean // Dancing with the Big Boys

Collector's notes: Same cover as in the previous entry.

Blue Jean

(EMI 1C 006 20 0322 7; Germany 09/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Blue Jean // Dancing with the Big Boys

Blue Jean

(EMI 1CK 062 20 0333 6; Germany 09/1984)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Blue Jean (extended dance mix) // Dancing with the Big Boys (extended dance mix) / Dancing with the Big Boys (extended dub mix)

Blue Jean

(EMI EYS-17476; Japan 09/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: wraparound PS (insert with company cover)

Tracks: Blue Jean // Dancing with the Big Boys

Collector's notes: EMI Japan varied their general design of single covers at the time. The Japanese issue of Let's Dance had already had a closed cover as had been common in most other countries for decades (rather than an insert with a company bag). Tonight had the old company bag, but also a wraparound insert providing a front and back cover.

Tonight

(EMI 1C 064 240227 1; Netherlands 10/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: Loving the Alien / Don't Look Down / God Only Knows / Tonight // Neighbourhood Threat / Blue Jean / Tumble and Twirl / I Keep Forgetting / Dancing with the Big Boys

Other notes: recorded at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Canada, 05-06/1984

Collector's notes: This issue is a bit difficult to classify. The cover says it's made in Holland (which is why I have classified it as a Dutch release), but the text on the labels is mostly in German and the German copyright association "GEMA" is highlighted. So this release, which was primarily sold in Germany, could equally well be classified as a German issue. In fact, there is no other dedicated German release of this album.

Tonight

(Toshiba/EMI EYS-91092; Japan 10/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: OBI, fold-out insert, poster

Tracks: see Dutch issue

Collector's notes: The Japanese issue came with an additional poster, similar to the smaller ones of the US and Japan 7"s.

Tonight (Esta Noche)

(EMI SLEM-1231; Mexico 10/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: title on label: Esta Noche

Tracks: see Dutch issue

Esta Noche

(EMI 8256/81 2402271; Argentina 10/1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: OIS

Tracks: see Dutch issue

Other notes: Argentine issue of album Tonight

Collector's notes: Unlike the Mexican release, which has the Spanish title only on the label, the Argentine issue calls the album Esta Noche on both label and cover. The white stains on the inner sleeve are tears, probably due to some water damage or something like that.

Tonight

(High Stereo Light 786; South Korea 1984)

Format: LP

Release notes: pirate issue, green cover

Tracks: see Dutch issue

Changes One

(RCA PCD1-1732; USA 10/1984)

Format: CD

Release notes: "Made in Japan" on disc, combination original, jewel case with fold-out insert and back inlay

Tracks: Space Oddity / John, I'm Only Dancing* / Changes / Ziggy Stardust / Suffragette City / The Jean Genie / Diamond Dogs / Rebel Rebel / Young Americans / Fame / Golden Years

Other notes: *original version; CD re-issue of 1976 album

Collector's notes: Like the European CD issues, the US releases of Bowie's RCA CDs often came with discs made in Japan, but these had a different design.

Tonight

(EMI B-8246; USA 11/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: limited edition poster PS

Tracks: Tonight // Tumble and Twirl

Collector's notes: The third and fourth picture show the unfolded outer and inner of the cover, respectively. Almost the same poster cover was used for the Japanese issue.

Tonight

(EMI SPRO-9295; USA 11/1984)

Format: 12"

Release notes: promo-only, 33 1/3 rpm, black NC with sticker

Tracks: Tonight // Tonight

Tonight

(EMI 1C 006 20 9443 7; Germany 11/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Tonight // Tumble and Twirl

Tonight

(EMI 1A K060-20 0457 6; Netherlands 11/1984)

Format: 12"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Tonight (vocal dance mix) // Tumble and Twirl (extended dance mix) / Tonight (dub mix)

Tonight

(EMI 2004437; Portugal 11/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Tonight // Tumble and Twirl

Collector's notes: Note the brighter colours of the Portuguese cover.

Tonight

(EMI B-8246; Spain 11/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Tonight // Tumble and Twirl

Collector's notes: The only difference between the Spanish promo and the stock copy is that the former has a small "Disco Promocional..." print on the A-side label. Same cover as in the entry of the stock copy.

Tonight

(EMI B-8246; Spain 11/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: PS

Tracks: Tonight // Tumble and Twirl

Tonight

(EMI EYS-17510; Japan 12/1984)

Format: 7"

Release notes: white label promo, limited edition poster PS, insert, promo sticker

Tracks: Tonight // Tumble and Twirl