Not only is today (January 8) David Bowie‘s birthday, but Record Store Day 2024 is set for April 20, and Bowie fans have a special treat to look forward to—a new collection of Ziggy Stardust-era recordings. Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth) is a collection of Trident Studios productions from 1971. The LP includes many tracks that would go on to be included on the album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars from the following year.
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Additionally, there are four songs on the LP that were not included on Ziggy Stardust. They include a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Round and Round.” The other three are “Amsterdam,” “Velvet Goldmine,” and “Holy Holy.” The rest of the tracklist includes early recordings of Ziggy Stardust.
David Bowie’s estate announced the record drop on the artist’s social media. “To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 77th birthday, Parlophone Records are proud to announce the release of a very special David Bowie limited vinyl LP, WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH) which will be released on 20th April, 2024 for Record Store Day,” the Instagram caption reads.
New David Bowie Collection of Ziggy Stardust-era Recordings Dropping in April 2024
The tracklist is as follows:
Side 1
Five Years
Soul Love
Moonage Daydream
Round And Round
Amsterdam
Side 2
Hang On To Yourself
Ziggy Stardust
Velvet Goldmine
Holy Holy
Star
Lady Stardust
According to a press release from Bowie’s website, “Round and Round” takes the place of “Starman,” which was one of the last songs recorded for Ziggy Stardust in 1972. “Round and Round” was released as a B-Side single on Drive-In Saturday in 1973. The initial closing song of Ziggy Stardust was Bowie’s version of Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam,” then replaced with “It Ain’t Easy.”
The version of “Holy Holy” in this LP is a rerecording with The Spiders of the 1971 single. It was not released until 1974 as a B-Side to Diamond Dogs. “Velvet Goldmine,” according to the release, is a long-time favorite from the Ziggy era. It was recorded with the others during that time, but wasn’t public until 1975 on the rereleased version of Space Oddity. Both songs became cult classics with Bowie fans, and they’re together on one LP for the first time.
Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth) was cut from the restored masters of the Trident Studios recordings, but had no additional remastering done. In that way, it still keeps the texture of the original recordings with only slight polishing. Bowie fans can mark their calendars for April 20, 2024 when this new collection drops on Record Store Day.
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
