He said in some interview that on one of those sessions I showed him these chords, which he used in 'Space Oddity' - but he said, 'Don't tell Jim, he might sue me.' Ha ha!'. 'I can think of two individual sessions that I did with him. Talking to Uncut magazine in 2008, Page said: 'I played on his records, did you know that? His very early records when he was Davy Jones & The Lower Third. QUIZ: How well do you know David Bowie's lyrics?Īlthough Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page later disputed the origins of Bowie's song, claiming to have invented the chord progression himself. ' Fanny (Be Tender with My Love) ' is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees for their Main Course album in 1975.Apollo 11 at 50: A history of David Bowie's Major Tom character.'Under Pressure' by Queen & David Bowie: The making of the ultimate rock duet.David Bowie's producer Tony Visconti says Harry Styles is 'not worthy of shining his shoes' How Deep Is Your Love - The Bee Dpuggs99 said: said: 05-13-2015 01:50 PM Last edited by pdxdjazz 12-17-2015 Dpuggs99 said: 04-20-2016 01:22 PM.

'Space Oddity' would prove to be his breakthrough song, which saw him pick up the coveted Ivor Novello Award in 1969, and became a huge transatlantic hit several years later having been re-released after his Ziggy Stardust fame.ĭavid Bowie was a chameleonic musician who cherry-picked influences from all facets of music, art, and history, so it's no surprise how the Bee Gees would influence his work somewhere along the line. He'd later revisit Major Tom in three subsequent hits: 1980's 'Ashes To Ashes', 1995's 'Hallo Spaceboy', and his spectacular epitaph 'Blackstar'. With the help of producer Gus Dudgeon, 'Space Oddity' transformed into an intergalactic epic which spawned one of Bowie's most enduring lyrical creations: Major Tom. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images). 'Space Oddity' was David Bowie's breakthrough song. The Gibb brothers used their lyrical prowess and unique harmonisation to write some of the era's most memorable psychedelic folk hits, and they inspired David to transform the simple guitar song into a far more grandiose composition. The Bee Gees were arguably the biggest folk group in the country during the late 1960s, and were experts in creating complex songs that seemed effortless, and Bowie wanted 'Space Oddity' to have a similar feel. (Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns).Īfter seeing Stanley Kubrick's ground-breaking masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, David used the theme of isolation in outer space as the theme for the song's lyrics - 'Space Oddity' is a riff on the film's title you may've guessed.Īt the time, 'Space Oddity' was the most intricate and comprehensive song David had written, and took a completely different path to his previous work. The Bee Gees wrote some of the biggest psychedelic folk hits of the 1960s.

'I remember David playing me ‘Space Oddity’ in his room and I loved it and he said he needed a sound like the Bee Gees, who were very big then' he recalled. Rex's frontman and later David's glam rock rival Marc Bolan also mirrored the sentiment in a later interview.

David knew it, and he said so at the time, the way he sang it, it’s a Bee Gees thing.' ''Space Oddity' was a Bee Gees-type song.

Love bee gees