Do you remember a guy…
It was thirty years ago that press ads began to appear for David Bowie’s Ashes To Ashes single in the UK and Europe, shortly followed by adverts for the single and the forthcoming album, Scary Monsters, in the USA.
The UK ads described a 7″ 45 that came in three different sleeves with four different sets of stamps designed by Bowie himself. There were even four different versions of the ads to illustrate each of the sets, which are pictured below.
While the song alone was obviously strong enough in its own right to give Bowie his second #1 single in the UK, the chart success certainly wasn’t hindered by the packaging and the ground-breaking and quite brilliant accompanying Bowie/Mallet-produced video.
The video featured DB in full Pierrot costume (as seen on the single’s sleeve) along with wonderfully dreamlike sequences featuring many of the major players of the fledgling New Romantic movement that was currently worrying parents all across the UK.
The single was backed by Move On from the previous album, Lodger, in Europe, while America got an extra taste of things to come with It’s No Game on the B-side.
Ashes To Ashes enjoyed six weeks in the UK Top Ten (two at #1) and it was Bowie’s first UK #1 since Major Tom gave him a helping hand five years previously. (11.15.2005 NEWS: SPACE ODDITY #1 THIRTY YEARS AGO)
In the USA the Major Tom theme was emphasised on a promotional 12″ 45, (top left in the above montage) where Space Oddity was segued into the single version of Ashes to Ashes under the title of The Continuing Story Of Major Tom.
The album version was also released as a 12″ 45 in Germany in 1980, top right.
Finally, Americans got the chance to own the Bowie-designed stamps in one fell swoop when the full set was included with the Up The Hill Backwards/Crystal Japan 12″ 45 in 1981.
That’s the 12″ with the stamps at the bottom of the above montage…confusingly the Ashes To Ashes sleeve was used for this release, albeit in pink and blue.