Clareville Grove Demos

7" BOX SET

2019 marks 50 years since David Bowie's first hit "Space Oddity" and, following the recent Spying Through A Keyhole collection, Parlophone is commemorating this 50th anniversary with a 7" vinyl singles boxed set of six home demos, four of which are previously unreleased recordings. This set further documents the earliest stages of Bowie's journey and development as an artist and songwriter.

Recorded in January of 1969 in Bowie's flat in Clareville Grove, London, this live to tape demo session features him performing as a duo with John "Hutch" Hutchinson following the end of the Feathers trio which featured Bowie's then girlfriend Hermione Farthingale.

The photography that adorns the box's cover and the print inside is by Bowie's then manager Ken Pitt and was taken in the Clareville Grove flat he had shared with Farthingale. Bowie's short haired look was due to him filming his role in the movie The Virgin Soldiers and is reminiscent of the "Berlin era" look 10 years later.

As with the Spying Through A Keyhole vinyl singles boxed set, the design of each single label is presented to reflect the way Bowie sent many of his demos to publishers and record companies, featuring his own handwritten song titles on EMIDISC acetate labels. The singles themselves are all mono and play at 45.