BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1996
“Hallo Spaceboy” is a song by David Bowie from his 1995 album Outside and the third and final single from the album. The track was re-recorded in 1996 and issued as a remix featuring Pet Shop Boys as guest artists. Bowie and Brian Eno co-wrote the original album version of the song.
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. 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. Bowie initially expressed reservation about the additions when Tennant initially told him during a telephone conversation, but later agreed that they worked well.
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?'”
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.
The remixes by Dave Ball (known as the instrumentalist of Soft Cell) and Ingo Vauk are based on the Pet Shop Boys Remix, but only Double Click Mix uses Neil Tennant’s vocals.
SIDE A:
Hallo Spaceboy (12″ Remix) 6:42
Remix –Pet Shop Boys
Vocals – Neil Tennant
Hallo Spaceboy (7″ Remix) 4:25
Remix –Pet Shop Boys
Vocals – Neil Tennant
SIDE B:
Hallo Spaceboy (Lost In Space Mix) 6:32
Remix, Producer [Additional] – Ball*, Vauk*
Hallo Spaceboy (Double Click Mix) 7:46
Remix, Producer [Additional] – Ball*, Vauk*
Vocals – Neil Tennant
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – SPRO-11513
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1996
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Progressive House
CREDITS:
Co-producer [Original Track], Engineer [Original Track] – David Richards
Engineer – Bob Kraushaar
Lyrics By – Bowie*
Mastered By – Kevin Metcalfe
Music By –Eno*, Bowie*
Producer –Pet Shop Boys
Producer [Original Track] – Brian Eno, David Bowie
Programmed By – Pete Gleadall
NOTES:
Mastered at The Townhouse Digital Mastering Studios, London.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Password: burningtheground
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fantastic, thanks Paul
Bought this on cassingle back in ’96
Fantastic. Very Thanks. Sorry, no speak english.
thank you paul! this are great remixes of one of bowie’s best singles of the 90s.
What a single… you essentially have Soft Cell remixing Pet Shop Boys remixing David Bowie. Back in the 90’s when this was new, I went to a radio station sponsored record fair, and when I left I saw this 12″ (which I had never seen before) taped to a pole with a golden arrow written on the actual grooves of the ruined record, I was so angry I tore the sign down as I left. The selection was horrible, though they managed to make signs out of some truly rare David Bowie and Radiohead promo 12″ singles…
I feel your pain.
The perfect example of a collaboration. Love Bowie and PSBs. Thanks Paul.
hi paul,
what a treat. glad you are doing better. we are
experience a lot of cold weather down south.
some are without power and water, but fortunately
i’ve been ok. having music is always a good way
to keep calm and feel better.
i appreciate that your are doing it during this time,
and hope that others can enjoy and appreciate it,
regardless of their situation. every small things will
help us feel better.
take care.
later
-1
A massive thanks for posting this Paul. I really love this PSB remix of David Bowie’s “Hallo Spaceboy”, and it’s great that Neil Tennant added extra vocals and a mention of Major Tom, compared to the original Bowie/Eno version, which is from Bowie’s “Outside” album (which is great too). PSB & Bowie appeared twice on stage, first with the Brit Awards 19/02/1996 then Top Of The Pops (29/02/1996). The Pet Shop Boys also remixed blur’s “Girls & Boys”, which was another great remix, I would love to see this posted in the future, when you have time, no hurry. blur… Read more »
Seconded (Girls & Boys)!
Wow, thank you Paul! I’m a big fan of Bowie and PSB and had no idea they ever collaborated. I appreciate all that you do here!
Thank you, Skiler 🙂
Thanks Paul. I’m not familiar with 90s Bowie in comparison to 70s & 80s. What is apparent is he was still pushing musical boundaries and trying new things/sounds as he had through out his career. Great to hear this.
He was certainly a pioneer. 🙂
Thanks for the nice treat, Paul! Folks, don’t forget Brian Eno co-wrote this song. If you are unfamiliar with Eno, look him up on Discogs for the thousands of credits he is assigned to. 🙂
You’re welcome, Fred 🙂
What a generous person you are Paul. So excited to receive this promo from you. I mean, Bowie! The Pet Shop Boys! David Ball! Can’t wait to hear this one. Thanks so much for taking the time to share this with the world. Been thinking of you because of the hellish winter we’ve been having. I know all too well having your pipes frozen. It’s quite an ordeal and incredibly stressful. Don’t anyone tell you it’s not a big deal. When it happened to us, we were so worried that the pipes would burst and all our stuff would be… Read more »
Thank you for your concern, Jeff. It was stressful but it is all good now. I hope you enjoy this record 🙂
Thanks Paul. Hope the weather condition improved and moved on.
You’re welcome, Steven. Yes things are improving 🙂