Hunky Dory
Encyclopedia
Hunky Dory is the fourth album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie
, released by RCA Records
in 1971. It was Bowie's first release through RCA, which would be his label for the next decade. Hunky Dory has been described by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine
as having "a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic mélange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class."
The style of album cover was influenced by a Marlene Dietrich
photo book that Bowie took with him to the photo shoot.
and his replacement on bass by Trevor Bolder
, Hunky Dory was the first production featuring all the members of the band that would become known the following year as Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars. Also debuting with Bowie, in Visconti's place as producer, was another key member of the Ziggy phase, Ken Scott
. The album's sleeve would bear the credit "Produced by Ken Scott (assisted by the actor)". The "actor" was Bowie himself, whose "pet conceit", in the words of NME
critics Roy Carr
and Charles Shaar Murray
, was "to think of himself as an actor".
", focused on the compulsive nature of artistic reinvention ("Strange fascination, fascinating me / Changes are taking the pace I'm going through") and distancing oneself from the rock mainstream ("Look out, you rock 'n' rollers"). However, the composer also took time to pay tribute to his influences with the tracks "Song for Bob Dylan
", "Andy Warhol" and the Velvet Underground
inspired "Queen Bitch
".
Following the hard rock of Bowie's previous album The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of Space Oddity
, with light fare such as "Kooks
" (dedicated to his young son, known to the world as Zowie Bowie
but legally named Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones) and the cover "Fill Your Heart
" sitting alongside heavier material like the occult
-tinged "Quicksand
" and the semi-autobiographical "The Bewlay Brothers
". Between the two extremes was "Oh! You Pretty Things
", whose pop tune hid lyrics, inspired by Nietzsche, predicting the imminent replacement of modern man by "the Homo Superior", and which has been cited as a direct precursor to "Starman
" from Bowie's next album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
.
in April 1971. RCA Records
in New York heard the tapes and signed him to a three-album deal on , releasing Hunky Dory two months later. Supported by the single "Changes", the album scored generally favourable reviews and sold reasonably well on its initial release, without being a major success. Melody Maker
called it "the most inventive piece of song-writing to have appeared on record in a considerable time", while NME
described it as Bowie "at his brilliant best". Stateside, Rolling Stone
opined "Hunky Dory not only represents Bowie's most engaging album musically, but also finds him once more writing literally enough to let the listener examine his ideas comfortably, without having to withstand a barrage of seemingly impregnable verbiage before getting at an idea". However, it was only after the commercial breakthrough of Ziggy Stardust in mid-1972 that Hunky Dory became a hit, climbing to #3 in the UK charts. In 1973, RCA released "Life on Mars?
" as a single, which also made #3 in the UK.
In 1998 Q magazine
readers voted Hunky Dory the 43rd greatest album of all time, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 16 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 107 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
. In the same year, the VH1 placed it at number 47 and the Virgin All Time Top 1000 Albums
chart placed it at position 16. In 2004, it was ranked #80 on Pitchfork Media
's Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. In 2006, TIME
magazine chose it as one of the 100 best albums of all time.
Bowie himself considers the album to be one of the most important in his career. Speaking in 1999, he said: "Hunky Dory gave me a fabulous groundswell. I guess it provided me, for the first time in my life, with an actual audience – I mean, people actually coming up to me and saying, 'Good album, good songs.' That hadn't happened to me before. It was like, 'Ah, I'm getting it, I'm finding my feet. I'm starting to communicate what I want to do. Now: what is it I want to do?' There was always a double whammy there."
, except where noted.
Side one
Side two
Single
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...
, released by RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in 1971. It was Bowie's first release through RCA, which would be his label for the next decade. Hunky Dory has been described by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
as having "a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic mélange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class."
The style of album cover was influenced by a Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
photo book that Bowie took with him to the photo shoot.
Production
With the departure from Bowie's camp of Tony ViscontiTony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
and his replacement on bass by Trevor Bolder
Trevor Bolder
Trevor Bolder is an English rock bassist, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with The Spiders From Mars, the one-time backing band for David Bowie, although he has played alongside a variety of musicians since the...
, Hunky Dory was the first production featuring all the members of the band that would become known the following year as Ziggy Stardust's Spiders From Mars. Also debuting with Bowie, in Visconti's place as producer, was another key member of the Ziggy phase, Ken Scott
Ken Scott
Ken Scott is an English record producer and recording engineer.-Career:Scott started at the age of 16 working in the tape library at Abbey Road Studios. He became a recording engineer working with such acts as The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Procol Harum...
. The album's sleeve would bear the credit "Produced by Ken Scott (assisted by the actor)". The "actor" was Bowie himself, whose "pet conceit", in the words of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
critics Roy Carr
Roy Carr
Roy Carr is an English music journalist. He joined the New Musical Express in the late 1960s and has edited NME, VOX and Melody Maker magazines...
and Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray is an English music journalist. His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz...
, was "to think of himself as an actor".
Style and themes
Musical biographer David Buckley said of Hunky Dory, "Its almost easy-listening status and conventional musical sensibility has detracted from the fact that, lyrically, this record lays down the blueprint for Bowie's future career." The opening track, "ChangesChanges (David Bowie song)
"Changes" is a song by David Bowie, originally released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 and as a single in January 1972. Despite missing the Top 40, "Changes" became one of Bowie's best-known songs. The lyrics are often seen as a manifesto for his chameleonic personality, sexual ambiguity,...
", focused on the compulsive nature of artistic reinvention ("Strange fascination, fascinating me / Changes are taking the pace I'm going through") and distancing oneself from the rock mainstream ("Look out, you rock 'n' rollers"). However, the composer also took time to pay tribute to his influences with the tracks "Song for Bob Dylan
Song for Bob Dylan
"Song for Bob Dylan" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. In the opening lyrics of the song, David Bowie describes Bob Dylan's voice "like sand and glue" which is similar to how Joyce Carol Oates described it upon first meeting Dylan: "When we first heard this raw,...
", "Andy Warhol" and the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
inspired "Queen Bitch
Queen Bitch
"Queen Bitch" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. Bowie was a great Velvet Underground fan and wrote the song in tribute to the band and Lou Reed...
".
Following the hard rock of Bowie's previous album The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory saw the partial return of the fey pop singer of Space Oddity
Space Oddity (album)
-Release history:-7" open reel tape releases:There was only one release of Space Oddity on open reel, in 1972 duplicated by Magtec, North Hollywood, CA 91605. This is a high speed 7.5 ips release...
, with light fare such as "Kooks
Kooks (song)
"Kooks" is a song written by David Bowie from 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. Bowie wrote this song to his newborn son Duncan Jones. The song was a pastiche of early 1970s Neil Young. Bowie was listening to a Neil Young record at home as he got the news of the arrival of his son. British indie band...
" (dedicated to his young son, known to the world as Zowie Bowie
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones , also known as Zowie Bowie is an English film director, best known for directing the science fiction films Moon and Source Code .-Childhood and family life:...
but legally named Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones) and the cover "Fill Your Heart
Fill Your Heart
"Fill Your Heart" is a song written by singer-songwriter Biff Rose and Paul Williams, in 1966. It was first released on Rose's debut album The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side. Tiny Tim released his version as the B-side of his hit single "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", and later on his debut album, God...
" sitting alongside heavier material like the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
-tinged "Quicksand
Quicksand (David Bowie song)
"Quicksand" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. This ballad features multi-tracked acoustic guitars and a string arrangement by Mick Ronson...
" and the semi-autobiographical "The Bewlay Brothers
The Bewlay Brothers
"The Bewlay Brothers" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. The last track to be written and recorded for Hunky Dory, this ballad has been described as "probably Bowie's densest and most impenetrable song"...
". Between the two extremes was "Oh! You Pretty Things
Oh! You Pretty Things
"Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It opens with only Rick Wakeman's piano and Bowie's vocal, before entering the catchy refrain. The simple piano style is often compared to The Beatles' "Martha My Dear"...
", whose pop tune hid lyrics, inspired by Nietzsche, predicting the imminent replacement of modern man by "the Homo Superior", and which has been cited as a direct precursor to "Starman
Starman (song)
"Starman" is a single by David Bowie, released in April 1972. The song was a late addition to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single...
" from Bowie's next 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...
.
Release and aftermath
Bowie had been without a recording contract when he started work on the album at Trident StudiosTrident Studios
Trident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield a drummer of former 1960's group The Hunters and his Brother Barry....
in April 1971. RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
in New York heard the tapes and signed him to a three-album deal on , releasing Hunky Dory two months later. Supported by the single "Changes", the album scored generally favourable reviews and sold reasonably well on its initial release, without being a major success. Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
called it "the most inventive piece of song-writing to have appeared on record in a considerable time", while NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
described it as Bowie "at his brilliant best". Stateside, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
opined "Hunky Dory not only represents Bowie's most engaging album musically, but also finds him once more writing literally enough to let the listener examine his ideas comfortably, without having to withstand a barrage of seemingly impregnable verbiage before getting at an idea". However, it was only after the commercial breakthrough of Ziggy Stardust in mid-1972 that Hunky Dory became a hit, climbing to #3 in the UK charts. In 1973, RCA released "Life on Mars?
Life on Mars?
"Life on Mars?" is a song by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. The song—which BBC Radio 2 later called "a cross between a Broadway musical and a Salvador Dalí painting"—featured guest piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973,...
" as a single, which also made #3 in the UK.
In 1998 Q magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
readers voted Hunky Dory the 43rd greatest album of all time, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 16 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 107 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
. In the same year, the VH1 placed it at number 47 and the Virgin All Time Top 1000 Albums
All Time Top 1000 Albums
All Time Top 1000 Albums is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the Encyclopedia of Popular Music. The book was originally published by Guinness Publishing in 1994 and is in its 4th Revised Edition....
chart placed it at position 16. In 2004, it was ranked #80 on Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. In 2006, TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine chose it as one of the 100 best albums of all time.
Bowie himself considers the album to be one of the most important in his career. Speaking in 1999, he said: "Hunky Dory gave me a fabulous groundswell. I guess it provided me, for the first time in my life, with an actual audience – I mean, people actually coming up to me and saying, 'Good album, good songs.' That hadn't happened to me before. It was like, 'Ah, I'm getting it, I'm finding my feet. I'm starting to communicate what I want to do. Now: what is it I want to do?' There was always a double whammy there."
Track listing
All songs written by David BowieDavid 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...
, except where noted.
Side one
- "ChangesChanges (David Bowie song)"Changes" is a song by David Bowie, originally released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 and as a single in January 1972. Despite missing the Top 40, "Changes" became one of Bowie's best-known songs. The lyrics are often seen as a manifesto for his chameleonic personality, sexual ambiguity,...
" – 3:37 - "Oh! You Pretty ThingsOh! You Pretty Things"Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It opens with only Rick Wakeman's piano and Bowie's vocal, before entering the catchy refrain. The simple piano style is often compared to The Beatles' "Martha My Dear"...
" – 3:12 - "Eight Line PoemEight Line Poem"Eight Line Poem" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It is something of a second part to "Oh! You Pretty Things" since the two flow together without any separation. It is a laidback song with simple piano and country-tinged guitar...
" – 2:55 - "Life on Mars?Life on Mars?"Life on Mars?" is a song by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. The song—which BBC Radio 2 later called "a cross between a Broadway musical and a Salvador Dalí painting"—featured guest piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973,...
" – 3:53 - "KooksKooks (song)"Kooks" is a song written by David Bowie from 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. Bowie wrote this song to his newborn son Duncan Jones. The song was a pastiche of early 1970s Neil Young. Bowie was listening to a Neil Young record at home as he got the news of the arrival of his son. British indie band...
" – 2:53 - "QuicksandQuicksand (David Bowie song)"Quicksand" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. This ballad features multi-tracked acoustic guitars and a string arrangement by Mick Ronson...
" – 5:08
Side two
- "Fill Your HeartFill Your Heart"Fill Your Heart" is a song written by singer-songwriter Biff Rose and Paul Williams, in 1966. It was first released on Rose's debut album The Thorn in Mrs. Rose's Side. Tiny Tim released his version as the B-side of his hit single "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", and later on his debut album, God...
" (Biff RoseBiff RosePaul "Biff" Rose is an American comedian and singer-songwriter.Born in New Orleans, Rose first came to prominence as a banjo-toting standup comedian, profiled in Time magazine in 1965. By 1966 he moved to Hollywood, working as a comedy sketch writer with George Carlin for a host of television...
, Paul WilliamsPaul Williams (songwriter)Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
) – 3:07 - "Andy WarholAndy Warhol (song)"Andy Warhol" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. This is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's greatest inspirations, the American pop artist Andy Warhol. The song starts with some studio chat where Bowie explains to producer Ken Scott, who has just been heard to...
" – 3:56 - "Song for Bob DylanSong for Bob Dylan"Song for Bob Dylan" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. In the opening lyrics of the song, David Bowie describes Bob Dylan's voice "like sand and glue" which is similar to how Joyce Carol Oates described it upon first meeting Dylan: "When we first heard this raw,...
" – 4:12 - "Queen BitchQueen Bitch"Queen Bitch" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. Bowie was a great Velvet Underground fan and wrote the song in tribute to the band and Lou Reed...
" – 3:18 - "The Bewlay BrothersThe Bewlay Brothers"The Bewlay Brothers" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. The last track to be written and recorded for Hunky Dory, this ballad has been described as "probably Bowie's densest and most impenetrable song"...
" – 5:22
Bonus tracks (1990 Rykodisc)
- "BombersBombers (David Bowie song)"Bombers" is a song written by David Bowie. It was recorded in 1970 and intended for the album Hunky Dory, but was replaced at the last minute by the cover "Fill Your Heart"...
" (previously unreleased track, recorded in 1971, mixed 1990) – 2:38 - "The SupermenThe Supermen"The Supermen" is a song written by David Bowie in 1970 and released as the closing track on the album The Man Who Sold the World. It was one of a number of pieces on the album inspired by the works of literary figures such as Friedrich Nietzsche and H. P...
" (alternate version recorded for the Glastonbury FayreGlastonbury FayreGlastonbury Fayre is a 1972 documentary film directed by Nicolas Roeg and Peter Neal of the 1971 Glastonbury Festival which was held on 20–24 June 1971.-About the film:...
in 1971, originally released on Glastonbury Fayre Revelations – A Musical Anthology, 1972) – 2:41 - "Quicksand" (demo version, recorded in 1971, mixed 1990) – 4:43
- "The Bewlay Brothers" (alternate mix) – 5:19
Personnel
- David BowieDavid BowieDavid 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...
– vocals, guitar, alto and tenor saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, piano - Mick RonsonMick RonsonMichael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
– guitar, vocals, MellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, arrangements - Rick WakemanRick WakemanRichard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
– piano - Trevor BolderTrevor BolderTrevor Bolder is an English rock bassist, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with The Spiders From Mars, the one-time backing band for David Bowie, although he has played alongside a variety of musicians since the...
– bass, trumpet - Mick WoodmanseyMick WoodmanseyMick 'Woody' Woodmansey is an English rock drummer from Driffield, Yorkshire, best known for his work with David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars...
– drums
Technical personnel
- Ken ScottKen ScottKen Scott is an English record producer and recording engineer.-Career:Scott started at the age of 16 working in the tape library at Abbey Road Studios. He became a recording engineer working with such acts as The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Procol Harum...
– producer, recording engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixing engineerAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - David Bowie – producer
- Dr. Toby Mountain – remastering engineer (for Rykodisc release)
- Jonathan Wyner – assistant remastering engineer (for Rykodisc release)
- Peter MewPeter MewPeter Mew is a British music audio engineer at Abbey Road Studios where he is now senior mastering engineer. He came to Abbey Road in 1965 as a tape operator and has since worked with many artists at the studio...
– remastering engineer (for EMI release) - Nigel Reeve – assistant remastering engineer (for EMI release)
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
3 |
| 1975 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
93 |
| 1972 | Norwegian Album Chart | 33 |
| 1972 | Australian Album Chart | 39 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Changes" | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
66 |
| 1973 | "Life on Mars?" | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
3 |
| 1975 | "Changes" | Billboard Pop Singles | 41 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... – UK |
Gold | |
| BPI – UK | Platinum |