Memory of a Free Festival
Encyclopedia
"Memory of a Free Festival" is a 1970 single by David Bowie
. The song had originally been recorded as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album (reissued as Space Oddity
in 1972). It was reworked at the behest of Mercury Records
, the label believing that the track had a better chance of success as a single than "The Prettiest Star
", released earlier in the year.
Bowie and Tony Visconti
roughly split the track in half, re-recording it so both halves could function as individual songs. A more rock-orientated version than the earlier album cut, this rendition marked drummer Mick Woodmansey
's studio debut with Bowie's band, bringing together the line-up that would shortly record The Man Who Sold the World
.
Biographer David Buckley described "Memory of a Free Festival" as "a sort of trippy retake of the Stones
' 'Sympathy For The Devil
' but with a smiley lyric". The track was written as a homage to the Free Festival, organised by the Beckenham
Arts Lab, which was held at Croydon Road Recreational Ground in Beckenham on August 16, 1969.
The single was a commercial disaster on release in America
in June 1970, with only a few hundred copies selling. It was also issued in the UK, but was similarly unsuccessful.
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...
. The song had originally been recorded as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album (reissued as 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...
in 1972). It was reworked at the behest of Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, the label believing that the track had a better chance of success as a single than "The Prettiest Star
The Prettiest Star
"The Prettiest Star" is a song by David Bowie, originally released as a single in 1970.Bowie had recently re-recorded an old Deram track, "London Bye Ta Ta", intended as a follow-up single to "Space Oddity" in early 1970. However, the same sessions had also spawned a new composition named "The...
", released earlier in the year.
Bowie and Tony Visconti
Tony 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...
roughly split the track in half, re-recording it so both halves could function as individual songs. A more rock-orientated version than the earlier album cut, this rendition marked drummer Mick Woodmansey
Mick Woodmansey
Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey is an English rock drummer from Driffield, Yorkshire, best known for his work with David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars...
's studio debut with Bowie's band, bringing together the line-up that would shortly record The Man Who Sold the World
The Man Who Sold the World
The Man Who Sold the World is the third studio album by David Bowie. It was originally released on Mercury Records in November 1970 in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. The album was Bowie's first with the nucleus of what would become the "Spiders from Mars", the backing band made...
.
Biographer David Buckley described "Memory of a Free Festival" as "a sort of trippy retake of the Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' 'Sympathy For The Devil
Sympathy for the Devil
"Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by The Rolling Stones which first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1968 album Beggars Banquet. It was written by Mick Jagger credited to Jagger/Richards...
' but with a smiley lyric". The track was written as a homage to the Free Festival, organised by the Beckenham
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
Arts Lab, which was held at Croydon Road Recreational Ground in Beckenham on August 16, 1969.
The single was a commercial disaster on release in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in June 1970, with only a few hundred copies selling. It was also issued in the UK, but was similarly unsuccessful.
Track listing
- "Memory of a Free Festival Part 1" (Bowie) – 3:59
- "Memory of a Free Festival Part 2" (Bowie) – 3:31
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, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - 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 - Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony 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...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - 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...
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony 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...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Other versions
- Bowie performed the show during a session for radio's The Sunday Show on 8 February 1970. An edited take of this performance was included on the 2000 compilation, 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...
. - Bowie also performed the song during the 1973 Ziggy StardustThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from MarsThe 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...
tour, as the third part of a medley which began with "QuicksandQuicksand (song)"Quicksand" is a 1963 dance single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Built under almost the same gospel-inspired delivery of their previous hit " Heat Wave", this time lead singer Martha Reeves explains how her loved one brings her "closer" to him explaining that his love was like...
" and "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,...
" (one such performance, from the Glasgow ApolloThe Apollo (Glasgow)The Apollo was a music venue in Glasgow, Scotland, operating from 1973-1985. It was opened by Unicorn Leisure, in September 1973, after acquiring a lease from the owners George Green Ltd. The venue's debut live performance was by Johnny Cash on 5 September 1973. While in operation, it hosted the...
on 15 May 1973, has appeared on several bootleg albums). - The Mike GarsonMike GarsonMike Garson is an American pianist, most notable for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Billy Corgan, Free Flight, and The Smashing Pumpkins.- Early career :...
Band, the name given to Bowie's backing group on his Philly DogsDiamond DogsDiamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
tour, closed their supporting set with a soulSoul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
-influenced version of the song on Bowie's 1974 US tour. The performance from the Radio City Music HallRadio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 28 October 1974 was included on the bootleg album Infected with Soul Love.
Cover versions
- E-Zee Posse released a dance song in 1990, called "The Sun Machine" which mentions Bowie in their credits. It was a minor house-rave success, released in many formats on Boy George's dance label called More Protein.
- Dario GDario GDario G is the name of a dance music trio from Crewe, Cheshire, England. Despite popular belief the group are not named after the manager of Crewe Alexandra, Dario Gradi but changed their name from Dario to Dario G after being threatened with legal action from an artist of the same name...
sampled Bowie in 1998 for their UK #17 hit single "Sunmachine" - Mercury RevMercury RevMercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...
played a cover of the song on their 2006 compilation Stillness Breathes - The Gene Ween Band has been known to include Memory Of A Free Festival as part of their live performances.
- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros cover it on Manimal VinylManimal VinylManimal Vinyl is a Los Angeles based record label founded in 2006 by fashion stylist, Paul Beahan. They are known for releasing underground and experimental pop music. They were originally known as a folk label that makes annual tribute records for worldwide charities, having eventually switched to...
's tribute to 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...
out in September 2010 - Danish Band KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
covered it live in Holland, 2006