DAVID BOWIE’S “SPACE ODDITY” was originally released during the second half of 1969. Several original pressings are rather rare and valuable records. In some countries, the record included a picture sleeve, many of which are even rarer and more valuable. This article offers a nutshell history of the record with a gallery of Space Odditys.
Bowie finished recording the first version of Space Oddity on February 2, 1969. It was intended as the highlight of his short promotional film Love You Till Tuesday. By this time, he had been struggling to become a successful recording artist for almost four years. During that time, he had issued nine singles, none of which made a dent on any important chart anywhere.
With Space Oddity, David Bowie finally made the charts and looked like he might become a pop star!
The Love You Till Tuesday film was meant to break David into the big time through the magic of television exposure. It was yet another failure, finding no one interested in even showing it at the time.
This version of Space Oddity sat in a can for years, unheard by few but the most determined Bowie fans. Finally, it was officially released in 1984 on the Love You Till Tuesday soundtrack album to the videotape release of the film.
Ground control to Major Tom
In June 1969, Bowie began recording his second album, which would be self-titled as the first one had been. From the album sessions, a new version of Space Oddity was issued as a single in July 1969 backed by Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud.
Although it was ignored by most radio stations and record buyers, it was a substantial hit in the UK and Canada. Finally, David Bowie made the charts and it looked like he was on his way to stardom!
The album was released by Philips in the UK and most of the world but by Mercury in the US in late ’69. Unfortunately, the rest of the tracks on the album were nothing like the single and the album tanked.
Picture sleeve gallery
Here is a gallery of picture sleeves for the original release of Space Oddity in 1969 and 1970. Sleeves are listed in alphabetical order of the names of the country of origin. Note that all of the sleeves feature a photo of a folkie-looking Bowie with his guitar taken from the same photoshoot in mid-1969.
The Avid Record Collector’s Price Guide
The values below are for both the record and the picture sleeve or insert together. Fortunately, that seems to be how the two items have been sold and are most often found for sale on the internet. Keep in mind while considering the suggested values that follow:
• Almost all of these sleeves are difficult to find in near mint condition.
• Many of these sleeves are difficult to find in even VG+ condition.
Hence, most of the suggested values below are extrapolated—rather conservatively, I think—from sales of copies in VG to VG+ condition.
Belgium
Philips BF-304-201 (mono)
Suggested near mint value: $100-150
Philips BF-304-201 from Belgium is not a picture sleeve but a gatefold insert that opens like a book and wraps around the record. The back cover has liner notes about prerecorded cassette tapes (“musicassettes”) while the inside pages are blank.
Philips BW-704-201 (stereo)
Suggested near mint value: $150-200
Philips BW-704-201 from Belgium is not a picture sleeve but a gatefold insert that opens like a book and wraps around the record. The back cover has liner notes about prerecorded cassette tapes (“musicassettes”) while the inside pages are blank.
Opinion: While I’m not partial to the clunky lettering used for “Space Oddity” on the Belgium cover here, the contrast of the dull maroon and the bright green gives an eye-catching chiaroscuro effect to Bowie.
France
Suggested near mint value: $250-300
First printings of Philips BF-304-201 from France have pink squares on the back cover advertising other record companies. The sleeve erroneously lists the flip side as The Wild-Eyed Boy From Freedom.
Philips BF-304-201
Suggested near mint value: $150-200
Second printings of Philips BF-304-201 from France have blue squares on the back cover advertising other record companies. The sleeve erroneously lists the flip side as The Wild Eyed Boy From Freedom.
The French sleeve for Philips BF-304-201 was manufactured with a small blue tag attached to the front of the sleeve in the upper right corner. It had the record’s information on three lines: Philips ® B 304.201 F / David Bowie / Space Oddity. Apparently, these tags were removed along a perforated line and kept as the receipt of the sale. Add at least $100 to the sleeve if the tag has not been removed.
Opinion: The French sleeve has a cheesy but likable amateurish quality to it, which makes it one of my least favorite Space Oddity sleeves on this page. Still, I imagine it’s attractive to others.
Germany
Suggested near mint value: $75-100
First printings of Philips BW-704-201 from Germany have Jethro Tull’s Living In The Past in the upper left corner.
Philips BW-704-201
Suggested near mint value: $75-100
Second printings of Philips BW-704-201 from Germany have the Soulful Dynamics’ Madame Ninette in the upper left corner.
Opinion: The sleeves for Germany, Holland, Italy, and Norway are almost identical, using the same design and photo. The only difference is the choice of color for the text on the front cover and what appears on the back cover.
For the German sleeve, the orange text on the front cover is okay but it really doesn’t jump out at prospective buyers. The back cover features advertisements for nine singles from Philips Records and related imprints.
Holland (Netherlands)
Suggested near mint value: $100-150
Philips BW-704-201 from Holland is a normal picture sleeve with just the song titles and the artist’s name on the back cover.
Opinion: The sleeves for Germany, Holland, Italy, and Norway are almost identical, using the same design and photo. The only difference is the choice of color for the text on the front cover and what appears on the back cover.
For the Holland sleeve, the purple/lavender text on the front cover is okay but it really doesn’t jump out at prospective buyers. The back cover is basically a title cover.
Italy
Suggested near mint value: $200-300
Opinion: The sleeves for Germany, Holland, Italy, and Norway are almost identical, using the same design and photo. The only difference is the choice of color for the text on the front cover and what appears on the back cover.
For the Italian sleeve, the orange text on the front cover is okay but it really doesn’t jump out at prospective buyers. The back cover features advertisements for nine singles from Philips Records and related imprints.
I have no idea why three letters are upside down on the back cover.
Norway (Scandinavia)
Suggested near mint value: $500-700
Philips BF-304-201 from Norway is not a picture sleeve but a gatefold insert that opens like a book and wraps around the record.
Opinion: The sleeves for Germany, Holland, Italy, and Norway are almost identical, using the same design and photo. The only difference is the choice of color for the text on the front cover and what appears on the back cover.
For the Norwegian sleeve, the dull red text on the front cover is good and would probably jump out at prospective buyers if the Philips art department hadn’t included a gray screen with the text. The back cover and interior pages are blank.
Portugal
Suggested near mint value: $3,000-4,000
Philips BF-304-201 from Portugal is a normal picture sleeve with the same photo on both sides.
The Portuguese sleeve was issued with an insert approximately 7 x 7 inches with lyrics on both sides. Needless to say, this is rather rare and there are few sales upon which to hazard a guess as to its value.
This is one of the rarest and most valuable Bowie picture sleeves.
Opinion: Even though the Portuguese sleeve has yellow text against a purple background—which at least makes the title easy to read—it’s nonetheless a rather plain affair. The photo of a Bowie playing his guitar would be better if he looked contemplative instead of having his mouth opened widely pretending to sing for the camera.
Singapore
Suggested near mint value: $4,000-5,000
Philips BW-704-201 from Singapore is a normal picture sleeve with the same photo on both sides.
This is one of the rarest and most valuable Bowie picture sleeves.
Opinion: The Singapore sleeve is one of the stronger graphic efforts here, with yellow-orange text against a dark brown background. The photo of a Bowie playing his guitar is better than the photo used on the Portuguese sleeve (and David looks like Donovan here).
Spain
Suggested near mint value: $1,500-2,000
Philips 53-0-201 from Spain is a normal picture sleeve with song lyrics on the back.
Opinion: The Spanish sleeve has a different design than the others and the way that the photo of Bowie is cropped makes me see a young Jeff Beck every time I look at this sleeve.
The legendary UK picture sleeve
I came across “Space Oddity In All Time Top 10 Most Expensive Discs” on the davidbowie.com website that addressed the alleged existence of a UK picture sleeve for the 1969 release of Philips BF-1801, Space Oddity / Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud. The website quoted an article from the December 2004 issue of Record Collector magazine that listed this sleeve with a value of £3,000 (or $5,755).
The davidbowie.com editor noted that he approached the item with skepticism, wanting to keep an open mind until the day he actually had a copy to inspect:
“Another reason I haven’t been completely comfortable about this one is the fact that all the known copies seemed to emanate from one record dealer. The fact that a limited reissue version of the sleeve then became available at a much lower price from the same seller did nothing to convince me of the validity of the sleeve.”
I was unable to find a photo or scan of either the “real” sleeve or the reissue on the internet. Nor was I able to find any other evidence of its realness in this universe.
Buyer be wary
Unauthorized reproductions of some of the sleeves above exist. Be wary of who you buy your records from.
Space Oddity redux
In 1973, Space Oddity was re-released in the US, becoming his first hit by reaching the Top 20 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100. This record was released around the world with picture sleeves featuring photos of Bowie as Ziggy Stardust. While these are also collectible, they are nowhere near as rare and valuable as the Philips sleeves.
With ‘Space Oddity’ in 1969, David Bowie finally made the charts and looked like he might become a pop star! Click To Tweet
FEATURED IMAGE: The photo at the top of this page is an outtake from the photo sessions used on Bowie’s second album (Philips in the UK, Mercury in the US). It was used in some advertisements for the album.
Finally, to see more illustrations of the records and sleeves above and learn more about them, click here.
