He’s told us not to blow it, ‘Cos he knows it’s all worthwhile…
Well it may be number 19 by Q’s reckoning, but for many of us 40-year-olds (and the rest!) Starman is nearer to the number one song that changed our worlds. This Q Special Edition is now on the shelves, and it’s the kind of list that’s guaranteed to provoke heated debate among music lovers the world over.
A double-page spread is given up to David Bowie’s classic 1972 hit, and one of those pages is a beautiful black and white still taken at the TOTPs recording. Here’s a little of what Mark Paytress has to say about Starman in his opening paragraph:
Publicised by a series of startling appearances on Top Of The Pops in spring 1972, Starman seemed to be, on the surface at least, a triumph of style over sound. But visual splendour was just one facet of David Bowie’s achievement, for the song also introduced us to the alien showmanship of his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego, after which popular music never looked, sounded, or even felt quite the same again.
Hear! Hear! The rest of the piece is worth looking at if you can get your hands on a copy, and whatever your opinion of the recordings that populate this list, the magazine does make for an interesting historical read. Here’s the whole of the Top 20:
The Top 20
01. That’s Alright – Elvis Presley (1954)
02. I Wanna Hold Your Hand – the Beatles (1963)
03. God Save the Queen – Sex Pistols (1977)
04. Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill Gang (1979)
05. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana (1991)
06. Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday (1939)
07. Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan (1965)
08. Walk This Way – Run DMC (1986)
09. Blue Monday – New Order (1983)
10. Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid (1985)
11. Good Vibrations – the Beach Boys (1966)
12. Rock Around The Clock – Bill Hayley and His Comets (1954)
13. Helter Skelter – the Beatles (1968)
14. The Message – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, (1982)
15. You Really Got Me – the Kinks (1964)
16. Autobahn – Kraftwerk (1975)
17. Stayin’ Alive – the Bee Gees (1977)
18. Telstar – The Tornados (1962)
19. Starman – David Bowie (1972)
20. Think – Aretha Franklin (1968)