David Bowie Instagram – LULU’S MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD IS FIFTY TODAY “He said I was his friend…” Fifty years ago today on Friday 11th January 1974, a 25-year-old Lulu launched the first of a few career resurrections in the shape of the Bowie-penned 45, The Man Who Sold The World/Watch That Man. Produced and arranged by David Bowie and Mick Ronson the track reached #3 on the official UK singles chart, Lulu’s first top ten hit for five years. It’s a superb record with a cracking arrangement quite different to the original Bowie track first recorded for the album of the same name in 1970. Bowie provided backing vocals and a wonderful sax hook, while Ronno plays a solid riff throughout, all new to Lulu’s version which was recorded in France during the Pin Ups sessions. The unlikely coupling created lots of press around the release, the Daily Mirror article in our montage being just one such item. Apparently, David was more than a bit partial to the Lulu version himself, this from the Moonage Daydream book: “Lulu is such a bright, funny and talented little thing. When I first heard her version of ‘Shout’ I was initially gobsmacked that anybody British had the nerve to cover that Isley Brothers classic. Then I realised that she had actually done a great job with it. How the idea came up for having her do a version of ‘Man Who Sold The World’ I have no clue, but I’m so glad we did it. I used the Pin Ups line-up to back her, including Ronson and drummer Aynsley Dunbar, and played the sax section on overdubs. I still have a very soft spot for that version, though to have the same song covered by both Lulu and Nirvana still bemuses me to this day.” Lulu went on to record a couple more songs with David that ended up on his own Young Americans album after he decided to keep them for himself…but that’s another story. Check out Lulu singing The Man Who Sold The World here on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/LuluTMWSTW (Linktree in bio) 📸 Kent Gavin #BowieLulu50th #Bowie1974