Five Years
Encyclopedia
"Five Years" is a song written by David Bowie
and released in 1972
. It was the opening track on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
.
The song tells of an Earth doomed to destruction in five years and the aftermath of this knowledge. Bowie is rumored to have chosen the length of time, five years, as a result of a dream in which his deceased father told him he must never fly again and would die in five years.
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and released in 1972
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
. It was the opening track on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by English musician David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music...
.
The song tells of an Earth doomed to destruction in five years and the aftermath of this knowledge. Bowie is rumored to have chosen the length of time, five years, as a result of a dream in which his deceased father told him he must never fly again and would die in five years.
Live versions
- Bowie played the song at the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show In Concert: John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
on 3 June 1971. This was broadcast on 20 June 1971 and released in 2000 on the album Bowie at the BeebBowie at the BeebBowie at the Beeb is a compilation album by David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three CD set, the third, bonus CD being a recording on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre...
. - A version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72 is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust tour. Taken from an FM radio broadcast, it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years; according to author David Buckley, possessing a copy was the...
. - Another version recorded on the "Heroes" tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum on 28 April or 29 April 1978, was released on Stage.
- Bowie performed the song live on Old Grey Whistle TestOld Grey Whistle TestThe Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
. It is included on the DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version of Best of BowieBest of BowieBest of Bowie is a career-spanning greatest hits album by multi-platinum recording artist David Bowie. The songs range from his second album to 2002. It was released 35 years after his first album, David Bowie....
. - The track was performed by Bowie with Arcade Fire at the 2005 Fashion Rocks concert in New York as well as "Life On Mars?" and Arcade Fire's own song "Wake Up". These recordings were made available on the iTunes Music StoreITunes StoreThe iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
in a virtual live EP. - The track was to be the closing number of David's 1985 Live AidLive AidLive Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
set at London's Wembley StadiumWembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
but was dropped the day before the concert to allow time for the broadcast of the famous appeal video featuring "Drive"Drive (The Cars song)"Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr....
by The CarsThe CarsThe Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
as its soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
Other releases
- The compilations The Best of David Bowie (Japan 1974) and Starman (Russia 1989).
Cover versions
- AslanAslan (rock band)Aslan are an Irish rock band from Dublin who formed in 1982. Comprising Christy Dignam, Joe Jewell, Billy McGuinness, Alan Downey and Rodney O'Brien, the band has released five studio albums - Feel No Shame , Goodbye Charlie Moonhead , Here Comes Lucy Jones , Waiting For This Madness To End and...
- CD Single (1998) - CycleflyCycleflyCyclefly were an alternative rock band from Cork, Ireland.Once the band were signed to their label for their first two albums they became increasingly frustrated by the confines of being a 'signed act'...
- "Blockbuster: A Glitter Glam Rock Experience" (2000). - Endless - "The Dark Side Of David Bowie: A Tribute To David Bowie" (1997)
- FishFish (singer)Derek William Dick, better known as Fish, is a Scottish progressive rock singer, lyricist and occasional actor, best known as the former lead singer of Marillion.-Biography:...
- "Songs from the MirrorSongs from the MirrorSongs from the Mirror is the third solo album by singer Fish. It does not contain any original Fish material; instead it is a cover album featuring Fish's versions of songs by artists who inspired him before his career started...
" (1993) - Seu JorgeSeu JorgeSeu Jorge is a Brazilian musician, singer/songwriter and actor. Born Jorge Mário da Silva, he was raised in a favela in the city of Belford Roxo in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro state. He is considered by his fans a renewer of Brazilian pop samba...
- The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions (2005) - Marian GoldMarian GoldMarian Gold is the lead singer of the German synthpop group, Alphaville.His multi-octave tenor voice appears in Alphaville's 1980s pop singles, including "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody" and "Dance with Me".Since the early 1990s, Gold has taken Alphaville from a studio-based...
– (United) (1999) - Golden SmogGolden SmogGolden Smog is a loosely connected group of musicians comprised, at various times, of members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star...
- Live Recording 16 April 1996 - Low Max - Live Recording
- The Outcasts - 5-track mini-LP, "Seven Deadly Sins", "Blood and Thunder" & "Seven Deadly Sins" CD (1997)
- Frank SidebottomFrank SidebottomChristopher Mark Sievey was an English musician and comedian known for fronting the band The Freshies in the late 1970s and early 1980s and for his comic persona Frank Sidebottom from 1984 onwards....
- "Frank's Firm Favourites" - Techno Cowboy - The Ziggy Stardust Omnichord Album (2009)
- The Polyphonic SpreeThe Polyphonic SpreeThe Polyphonic Spree is a choral symphonic pop rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by Tim DeLaughter. The band's sound relies on a variety of vocal and instrumental color by featuring a choir, flute, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, percussion, piano, guitars, bass, drums,...
- the track was made available on the band's website. They occasionally played it while supporting Bowie on his RealityRealityIn philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
tour. - Brian MolkoBrian MolkoBrian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...
- Live on France2 (2004) - Uncredited live performance included as a "bonus track" on the tribute album ".2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie" (2006)
- The EnemyThe Enemy (UK band)The Enemy are an English rock band formed in Coventry in 2006, signed to Warner Music Group . In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in...
- Live Recording 12 March 2007 - Christian Beach - Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie (2007)
- Camille O'SullivanCamille O'SullivanCamille O'Sullivan is a Irish singer, actress, and entertainer. -Background:...
- Live @ The Olympia (2008) - Old 97'sOld 97'sThe Old 97's are an alternative country band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1993, they have since released nine studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and have one live album. Their most recent release is The Grand Theatre, Volume Two...
- "Mimeograph" EP (2010) - The PostmarksThe PostmarksThe Postmarks are a pop band from Pompano Beach, Florida. Their self-titled LP was released in February 2007 and has been met with critical acclaim from Rolling Stone and Spin, as well as Pitchfork Media and a host of other music blogs. The group was discovered by Andy Chase of Ivy and...
- By The Numbers (2009) - Dubious Ranger - Butchers Volume 1 (2009)