Hallo Spaceboy

Written in early 1995, Bowie biographers Nicholas Pegg and Chris O'Leary point to the influence of the work of Brion Gysin on the song, who purportedly spoke the words "Moon dust will cover me" just before his death in 1986.[2][3] Recording partner Reeves Gabrels recalled writing a song fragment called "Moondust" in mid-1994, which he thinks may have also influenced the song.[2][3] Bowie wrote and recorded the song in mostly-improvised sessions with his band in 1995, and intentionally wrote it with a Nine Inch Nails-like vibe.[4] Early work on the song was done with Brian Eno, Carlos Alomar, and drummer Joey Barron.[3] After finishing the track, Bowie said "I adore that track. In my mind, it was like Jim Morrison meets industrial. When I heard it back, I thought, 'Fuck me. It's like metal Doors.' It's an extraordinary sound."[4]

In late December 1995, Bowie was intending "Hallo Spaceboy" to be his next single after "Strangers When We Meet", and recorded a video for the song at a concert in Birmingham. The song "Hallo Spaceboy" was performed twice at the venue, once as part of the regular set and once as the last encore, with that final performance intended to be the official music video for the song. Two live songs from the set, "Moonage Daydream" and "Under Pressure", were used as b-sides to the single release as well.[5] However, the Pet Shop Boys were approached to remix the song as well, and their remix was used as the official single version instead. Neil Tennant explained that since the original song had only a single verse, Lowe suggested using lyrical fragments from Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity" to create a second verse.[6] Bowie initially expressed reservation about the additions when Tennant initially told him during a telephone conversation, but later agreed that they worked well.[7]

Tennant told NME in a 1997 interview that he and Lowe, working alongside Bowie, had completed what Tennant called the "Major Tom trilogy", in reference to a fictional character who first appeared in Space Oddity and who had later recurred in Bowie's 1980 song "Ashes to Ashes". Tennant explained, "I said to David Bowie, 'It's like Major Tom is in one of those Russian spaceships they can’t afford to bring down,' and he [Bowie] said, 'Oh wow, is that where he is?'"[6]

The final official music video for "Hallo Spaceboy" was directed by David Mallet, mixing shots of both Bowie and the Pet Shop Boys into a rapid-fire montage of Cold War era retro-footage of science fiction film clips, atomic bomb testing footage, and television advertising clips.[3]

In late 1995, Bowie performed this song together with Nine Inch Nails during Bowie's Outside Tour. In December 1995, Bowie performed the song twice at a concert in Birmingham, both of which appear on the live album No Trendy Réchauffé (Live Birmingham 95) (2020). Bowie performed the song live on Jools Holland's 'Later' (Series 6) in December 1995.[8] In February 1996, Bowie performed the song with Pet Shop Boys at the 1996 Brit Awards.[9][10] A version recorded in July 1996 at the Phoenix Festival in England was released on the various artist compilation Phoenix: The Album in 1997. A version performed during the Earthling Tour in July 1997 was released on the live album Look at the Moon! in 2021,[11] and another version performed in November 1997 on the same tour appeared on the live album LiveAndWell.com in 2000 (re-released in 2021).[3] The Pet Shop Boys performed their version of the song live with Sylvia Mason-James singing Bowie's parts, released on the DVD Somewhere – Live at the Savoy (1997).[3] At Bowie's 50th Birthday Bash in New York January 1997, the song was performed together with Foo Fighters. This version featured Zachary Alford,[12] William Goldsmith and Dave Grohl on three different drum sets and Nate Mendel and Gail Ann Dorsey on two bass guitars. Bowie's 25 June 2000 performance of the song at the Glastonbury Festival was released in 2018 on Glastonbury 2000. Bowie performed the song live at BBC Radio Theatre, London, on 27 June 2000, and a recording of this performance was included on the bonus disc accompanying the first releases of Bowie at the Beeb in 2000. A November 2003 live performance from the A Reality Tour is included on the A Reality Tour DVD, released in 2004, as well as the A Reality Tour album, released in 2010.

• All tracks by Bowie/Eno unless noted.

All live tracks were recorded 13 December 1995 in Birmingham, England during the Outside Tour.[13]

• Producers:
  • David Bowie
  • Brian Eno
  • David Richards
• Musicians (original album version):
  • David Bowie: lead and backing vocals, saxophone
  • Brian Eno: synthesizers, drum machine
  • Reeves Gabrels: rhythm guitar
  • Carlos Alomar: lead guitar
  • Erdal Kızılçay: bass
  • Mike Garson: piano
  • Sterling Campbell: drums
• Musicians (Pet Shop Boys remix):
  • David Bowie: lead and backing vocals
  • Neil Tennant: lead and backing vocals
  • Chris Lowe: synthesizers, programming

• The Pet Shop Boys remix was released as an additional track on Outside – version 2 and is included on some editions of the compilation albums Best of Bowie (2002), Nothing Has Changed (2014), and Bowie Legacy (2016).
• Several of the remixes (mostly from the 12" promo singles) were released on the 2004 limited 2CD edition of Outside.
• The extended Pet Shop Boys remix of "Hallo Spaceboy" is included on the Pet Shop Boys album Disco 4, released on 8 October 2007.

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics