| "Oh! You Pretty Things" | |
|---|---|
| Song byDavid Bowie | |
| from the albumHunky Dory | |
| Released | 17 December 1971 (1971-12-17) |
| Recorded | 21 June–late July 1971 |
| Studio | Trident, London |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:12 |
| Label | RCA |
| Songwriter | David Bowie |
| Producers |
|
| Official audio | |
| "Oh! You Pretty Things" (2015 Remaster) onYouTube | |
"Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song by the English singer-songwriterDavid Bowie from his 1971 albumHunky Dory. Bowie recorded the song as a demo before giving it to the singerPeter Noone ofHerman's Hermits, who released it as his debut solo single in April 1971 under the title "Oh You Pretty Thing". Noone's recording featured structural and lyrical differences from Bowie's later version. The single peaked at number 12 in the UK, becoming Bowie's biggest success as a songwriter since his own single "Space Oddity" two years earlier.
Bowie recorded his own version during the sessions forHunky Dory between June and July 1971. Co-produced by Bowie andKen Scott, it featured the musicians who would later become known asthe Spiders from Mars:Mick Ronson (guitar),Trevor Bolder (bass) andMick Woodmansey (drums). Similar to other tracks on the album, the themes of "Oh! You Pretty Things" are dark, reflecting ideals of the occultistAleister Crowley and the philosopherFriedrich Nietzsche, while making literary references toArthur C. Clarke's 1953 novelChildhood's End andEdward Bulwer-Lytton's 1871 novelThe Coming Race.
"Oh! You Pretty Things" is considered by music critics to be one of the best songs onHunky Dory and by some publications as one of Bowie's best songs. Bowie performed the track multiple times forBBC radio programmes between 1971 and 1972 and once on theZiggy Stardust Tour in 1973. Bowie's version has appeared on numerouscompilation albums, while Noone's was included on a 2006 compilation named after the track. Other covers have been recorded bySeu Jorge andAu Revoir Simone.
"Oh! You Pretty Things" was the first song Bowie wrote forHunky Dory.[1] The song came to him in the early hours of a morning in January 1971.[2] He recalled: "I couldn't sleep ... this song was going 'round in my head. I had to get out of bed and just play it ... so that I could get back to sleep again."[a] He requested studio time from his music publisher Chrysalis, whose partner Bob Grace booked time at London'sRadio Luxembourg Studios to record a solodemo. Bowie recorded the demo sometime between February and March 1971.[3] According toPaul Trynka, the demo contains only piano and "the jangling of the bracelets he was wearing".[2] Bowie's demos of "Oh! You Pretty Things" and otherHunky Dory tracks "Life on Mars?" and "Andy Warhol" inspired Bowie's new manager,Tony Defries, to look into securing a new record contract for Bowie, eventually signing him withRCA Records.[4][5]
After recording the demo, Bowie gave the tape to Grace, who showed it to the producerMickie Most, a well-known independent producer in the UK at the time.[6] He chose Most due to his popularity, having produced numerous hits for bands such asthe Animals andHerman's Hermits, tellingRecord Collector magazine years later: "The most sure-fire way of getting a hit in those days was if you got Mickie Most to produce your song."[7][8] Most liked the song and contacted Herman's Hermits' singerPeter Noone, who believed the song would be Noone's first solo hit. Noone recalled, "[Most] only played the intro and I said, 'That's it, it's perfect!'"[7][8]
| "Oh You Pretty Thing" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byPeter Noone | ||||
| A-side | "Together Forever" (double A-side) | |||
| Released | 30 April 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 26 March 1971 | |||
| Studio | Kingsway, London | |||
| Label | RAK | |||
| Songwriter | David Bowie | |||
| Producer | Mickie Most | |||
| Peter Noone singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Noone's version of "Oh! You Pretty Things", titled "Oh You Pretty Thing",[b] was recorded at London's Kingsway Studios on 26 March 1971. With Most producing, the lineup consisted of Noone on lead vocals, Bowie on piano and backing vocals, session playerClem Cattini on drums andHerbie Flowers on bass.[c][7] According to Noone, Bowie struggled with the piano part: "David had some trouble playing it through completely, so we recorded it in three sections, something Mickie Most helped arrange."[7] Most also used acoustic guitar on the recording; according to the biographer Chris O'Leary, this was "to help the chord changes fall easier on the ear". He also states that Noone's version is "bookended byrefrains".[3] Trynka states that it features a "lumpy, pedestrian arrangement" that "failed to hamper" the song's melody.[11] To avoid being banned from radio stations, the line "the Earth is a bitch" was changed with "the Earth is a beast".[7] TheNME editorsRoy Carr andCharles Shaar Murray opined the change to be "one ofrock and roll's most outstanding examples of a singer failing to achieve any degree of empathy whatsoever with the mood and content of a lyric."[12]
"Oh You Pretty Thing" was released as adouble A-side with theDaniel Vangarde/Josh Fishmann song "Together Forever" on 30 April 1971 by Most'sRAK Records label.[13] The single was a commercial success, peaking at number 12 on theUK Singles Chart in May and at number 100 in Australia.[14][15] In addition to being Bowie's biggest success since "Space Oddity" two years earlier, it was the first time most listeners had heard of Bowie since then.[16] Noone toldNME at the time: "My view is that David Bowie is the best writer in Britain at the moment ... certainly the best since[John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney ... David Bowie has more than enough talent to write hit songs ... for just about any kind of singer."[7][17] Bowie commented: "I don't know if Peter knows what [the song] means. It's all about Homo Superior. Herman goes heavy." He would perform the song with Noone on Britain'sTop of the Pops on 9 June 1971.[7]
Work onHunky Dory officially began atTrident Studios in London on 8 June 1971 and concluded on 6 August.[18] Bowie's own version of "Oh! You Pretty Things" was recorded sometime between 21 June and late July, according to O'Leary.[3] Kevin Cann writes that the song had been recorded by 26 July, as the finished track appeared on a promotional album compiled for Gem Productions.[19]
Co-produced by Bowie andKen Scott, it was recorded with the musicians who would later become known asthe Spiders from Mars: guitaristMick Ronson, bassistTrevor Bolder and drummerMick Woodmansey;[20] according to O'Leary, Ronson's only contributions was acello arrangement and backing vocals. He also states that Bowie played piano on the track alone withoutRick Wakeman,[3] who played piano on the rest of the album.[21] However, Wakeman contended in a 2017 BBC interview that Bowie played piano in the beginning section before he took over for the rest of the track.[22][23]
The lyrics of "Oh! You Pretty Things" concern the establishment of a master race that will take over the world. Bowie had explored a similar premise in the 1967 track "We Are Hungry Men".[24] Like other tracks onHunky Dory, particularly "Quicksand",[25][26] the themes of "Oh! You Pretty Things" are dark, reflecting ideals of the occultistAleister Crowley and hisGolden Dawn,[27] and philosopherFriedrich Nietzsche and his theory ofÜbermensch, or "Superman".[28][29] Other songs Bowie had written during this period, including "The Supermen" fromThe Man Who Sold the World, reflect Nietzsche's theory ofÜbermensch.[30] There is a "strong hint" ofArthur C. Clarke's 1953science fiction novelChildhood's End and a direct reference toEdward Bulwer-Lytton's 1871 novelThe Coming Race.[7] Perone writes that the "pretty things" are not gender-specific, leading to possiblehomosexual interpretations.[24]
In a January 1972 interview withMelody Maker Bowie explains that "we have created a new kind of person in a way. We have created a child who will be so exposed to the media that he will be lost to his parents by age 12". He adds "all the things we can't do they will". In 1976 Bowie said "a lot of the songs do in fact deal with some kind ofschizophrenia, or alternatingid problems, and 'Pretty Things' is one of them.[31] Remarking on the 'crack in the sky' mentioned in the song Bowie said "According toJung, to see cracks in the sky is not, is not really quite on. And I did, you know, the sky for me representing something solid that could be cracked and I still had a dome over the world which again I found out was just my own repressions".[32]
Carr and Murray state that the lyrics herald "the impending obsolescence of the human race in favour of an alliance between arriving aliens and the youth of the present society."[33] O'Leary states that the song contains "more acceptance than dread", with a blunt note being "the earth is a bitch". He comments on Bowie's indifferent delivery of the line "all the nightmares came today / And it looks as though they're here to stay", which he compares toBlack Sabbath. In his analysis, the song praises the children that will replace us, but because they will suffer the same fate as us, there's no reason to fear the upcoming apocalypse.[3] Pegg citesBiff Rose's 1968 song "Mama's Boy" from hisThe Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side as a likely inspiration, stating that the lyric "But the kids are growing up as fine as can be / Members of a new society" "prefigures" the lyric for "Oh! You Pretty Things";[7] Bowie covered another song from that album, "Fill Your Heart", forHunky Dory.[34] The darker themes provide a contrast to the music itself.[35]
Musically, the song has been characterised aspop.[3][36] The song contains a descendingdiatonic major progression that Bowie would use for fellow album track "Changes" and later "All the Young Dudes".[28] It opens on piano in the key ofF major. Itstime signature starts in 2/4, before using awaltz bar (3/4) to transition to 4/4common time.[3] The simple piano style has been compared withthe Beatles' 1968 track "Martha My Dear".[27][33] The opening lyrics concern a man waking someone up for breakfast in the middle of what O'Leary describes as a "fresh, apocalyptic morning".[3] Here, it transitions out ofG major usingB7 andD♯ chords. In the first verse, Bowie uses sudden shifts in tonality, from holding one note on the line "wake up you sleepyhead" to ranging across intervals: lowering on "put another log on the fire for me" (which goes fromG to B) and rising on "and it looks as though they're here to stay". He hits an operatic highC on "Homo Superior".[3] This line is the inspiration for the name of a group of youngtelepaths called the Homo Superior inRoger Price's 1973The Tomorrow People. Price was a fan of Bowie and even interviewed him on one occasion.[31]
Bowie compared the song's bassline in the refrain to the works ofPaul McCartney.[3] Doggett describes Bowie's vocal performance as "quite unadorned, presented so starkly ... that it [is] almost unsettling".[35] It ends the same way it began: on piano.[3] The album's following track, "Eight Line Poem", was designed to sound like a "continuation" of "Oh! You Pretty Things".[37]
RCA Records releasedHunky Dory in the UK on 17 December 1971,[38] with "Oh! You Pretty Things" sequenced as the second track on side one of the original LP, between "Changes" and "Eight Line Poem". Cann argues that the song's placement onHunky Dory displayed Bowie's growing evolution as a songwriter.[39] Although "Changes" was released as the firstsingle from the album,[40] some commentators argued that "Oh! You Pretty Things" was the better choice.[41][42] In a contemporary review,Billboard named it as one of the strongest songs on the album.[43] Retrospectively, Michael Gallucci ofUltimate Classic Rock also called it one of the best songs on the album, citing it as an example of showcasing Bowie's growth as a songwriter and proving he would become an unpredictable artist.[38] Ned Raggett ofAllMusic also considers it one of the best songs on the album and one of his best efforts in general.[44] Some reviewers have called it ahomosexual anthem.[45][46]
"Oh! You Pretty Things" has been ranked by some publications as one of Bowie's best songs. In 2008,Uncut magazine ranked it number 19 in a list of Bowie's 30 best songs.[36] In 2015,Mojo magazine considered it Bowie's 17th greatest song.[47] The staff ofNME placed it at number ten in a list of Bowie's 40 best songs in 2018.[48] Two years later,Alexis Petridis ofThe Guardian voted it number eight in his list of Bowie's 50 greatest songs, describing it as one of Bowie's finest uses of an apocalyptic scenario up to that point and concluding: "[It is] a song that sets an incredibly bleak message to a melody so lovely it could be covered by the lead singer of Herman's Hermits."[49]
Bowie recorded "Oh! You Pretty Things" three times forBBC radio programmes: on 3 June and 21 September 1971, and 22 May 1972 forIn Concert:John Peel,Sounds of the 70s:Bob Harris, andTheJohnnie Walker Lunchtime Show, respectively.[3] The 3 June performance was cut from the show before broadcast and is now lost. The September recording, a duo performance between Bowie and Ronson, was released on the Japanese edition of the 2000 releaseBowie at the Beeb and on the 2016 vinyl version of that album, while the May 1972 performance was released on the standard edition ofBowie at the Beeb.[50]
A live version recorded at theHammersmith Odeon in London on 3 July 1973 during theZiggy Stardust Tour was released on the albumZiggy Stardust: The Motion Picture in 1983.[51] It was performed as a medley with "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" and "All the Young Dudes".[50] It was also recorded on 8 February 1972 for the BBC'sThe Old Grey Whistle Test,[52] though the performance was not broadcast until over ten years later. This performance is available on theBest of Bowie DVD. Anouttake from the same session, in which Bowie stumbles over the lines and gets them wrong on several occasions, is hidden amongeaster eggs on the same DVD.[50]
"Oh! You Pretty Things" has appeared on numerouscompilation albums, includingChangestwobowie (1981),[53]The Singles Collection (1993),[54]The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974 (1997),[55]Best of Bowie (2002),[56]The Platinum Collection (2006),[57]Nothing Has Changed (2014),[58] andLegacy (The Very Best of David Bowie) (2016).[59][60][61] In 2015, the song, along with its parent album, was remastered for theFive Years (1969–1973)box set.[62][63] It was released in CD, vinyl, and digital formats.[64] Noone's version also appeared on the 2006 compilationOh! You Pretty Things,[50] named after the track.[65]
Brazilian singerSeu Jorge recorded a Portuguese version of "Oh! You Pretty Things!" for the 2004 filmThe Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, whileAu Revoir Simone recorded it for the tribute compilationLife Beyond Mars.[50]
According to biographer Chris O'Leary:[3]
Production
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] | 100 |
| UK Singles Chart[15] | 12 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[66] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
That is me [playing]. David wanted it to be very simple but, if I remember rightly, he kept cocking up the little riff. He did a few bits of it and I did the rest. He did the beginning.
