Bowie at the Beeb

Bowie at the Beeb
Compilation album by David Bowie
Released	26 September 2000 (2000-09-26) (original release) 2 April 2002 (2002-04-02)
Recorded	13 May 1968 (1968-05-13) – 23 May 1972 (1972-05-23), various BBC Radio studios, London 27 June 2000 (2000-06-27), London (3 CD version)
Genre	Rock
Length	141:18 (2 CD version) 215:31 (3 CD version)
Label	EMI/Virgin
Producer	Bernie Andrews, Paul Williams, Jeff Griffin, Pete Ritzema, John F. Muir, Roger Pusey
David Bowie chronology
Hours (1999) Bowie at the Beeb (2000) All Saints (2001)
David Bowie compilation chronology
The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979 (1998) Bowie at the Beeb (2000) All Saints (2001)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[4]
Q	[5]
Record Collector	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Spin	[9]
Uncut	8/10[10]
Wall of Sound	90/100[11][1]

Bowie at the Beeb is a compilation album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three-CD set, the third, bonus CD being a live recording made on 27 June 2000 (2000-06-27) at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre, part of his Mini Tour. Later editions contain only the first two CDs.

Releases

The first pressing mistakenly included the second (disc 2, track 13) version of the song "Ziggy Stardust" twice on disc two, missing the first (disc 2, track 5) version. EMI declined to issue corrected replacement discs to customers, instead mailing out one-song CDs of the first version.

This compilation also features a previously unreleased song, "Looking for a Friend" (disc 1, track 15), which John Peel said would be released as a single by Arnold Corns. The single was later cancelled.

The live tracks recorded in June 2000, included in this set on the bonus disc, were re-mastered and re-released in 2021 in the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001), and was also expanded to include the full live set list on 2 CDs; the original release was a single disc and represented an edited recording of the show.^[12]

Track listing

All tracks written by David Bowie except as noted.

Disc One (May 1968 - June 1971)

All tracks are written by David Bowie except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording Date, supporting album	Length
1.	"In the Heat of the Morning"		13 May 1968, David Bowie	3:01
2.	"London Bye Ta Ta"		13 May 1968, David Bowie	2:34
3.	"Karma Man"		13 May 1968, David Bowie	2:59
4.	"Silly Boy Blue"		13 May 1968, David Bowie	4:36
5.	"Let Me Sleep Beside You"		20 October 1969, David Bowie	3:16
6.	"Janine"		20 October 1969, Space Oddity	3:01
7.	"Amsterdam"	Jacques Brel & Mort Shuman	5 February 1970	2:56
8.	"God Knows I'm Good"		5 February 1970, Space Oddity	3:10
9.	"The Width of a Circle"		5 February 1970, The Man Who Sold the World	4:50
10.	"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed"		5 February 1970, Space Oddity	4:54
11.	"Cygnet Committee"		5 February 1970, Space Oddity	8:16
12.	"Memory of a Free Festival"		5 February 1970, Space Oddity	3:17
13.	"Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud"		25 March 1970, Space Oddity	4:42
14.	"Bombers"		3 June 1971, Hunky Dory	2:53
15.	"Looking for a Friend"		3 June 1971, The Man Who Sold the World	3:08
16.	"Almost Grown"	Chuck Berry	3 June 1971, The Man Who Sold the World	2:16
17.	"Kooks"		3 June 1971, Hunky Dory	3:02
18.	"It Ain't Easy"	Ron Davies	3 June 1971, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	2:51

Disc Two (September 1971 - May 1972)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recording Date, Supporting Album	Length
19.	"The Supermen"		21 September 1971, The Man Who Sold the World	2:50
20.	"Eight Line Poem"		21 September 1971, Hunky Dory	2:52
21.	"Hang On to Yourself"		18 January 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	2:48
22.	"Ziggy Stardust"		18 January 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	3:23
23.	"Queen Bitch"		18 January 1972, Hunky Dory	2:57
24.	"I'm Waiting for the Man"	Lou Reed	18 January 1972	5:22
25.	"Five Years"		18 January 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	4:21
26.	"White Light / White Heat"	Reed	16 May 1972, Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture	3:46
27.	"Moonage Daydream"		16 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	4:58
28.	"Hang On to Yourself"		16 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	2:48
29.	"Suffragette City"		16 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	3:25
30.	"Ziggy Stardust"		16 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	3:22
31.	"Starman"		22 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	4:03
32.	"Space Oddity"		22 May 1972, Space Oddity	4:13
33.	"Changes"		22 May 1972, Hunky Dory	3:28
34.	"Oh! You Pretty Things"		22 May 1972, Hunky Dory	2:55
35.	"Andy Warhol"		23 May 1972, Hunky Dory	3:12
36.	"Lady Stardust"		23 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	3:19
37.	"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"		23 May 1972, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars	3:08

Disc Three (27 June 2000, 'Hours')

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
38.	"Wild Is the Wind"	Dimitri Tiomkin & Ned Washington	6:21
39.	"Ashes to Ashes"		5:03
40.	"Seven"	Bowie & Reeves Gabrels	4:12
41.	"This Is Not America"	Bowie, Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays	3:43
42.	"Absolute Beginners"		6:31
43.	"Always Crashing in the Same Car"		4:06
44.	"Survive"	Bowie/Gabrels	4:54
45.	"Little Wonder"	Bowie, Gabrels & Mark Plati	3:48
46.	"The Man Who Sold the World"		3:57
47.	"Fame"	Bowie, Carlos Alomar & John Lennon	4:11
48.	"Stay"		5:43
49.	"Hallo Spaceboy"	Bowie & Brian Eno	5:21
50.	"Cracked Actor"		4:09
51.	"I'm Afraid of Americans"	Bowie/Eno	5:29
52.	"Let's Dance"		6:20

Notes

Disc One

• Tracks 1 to 4 recorded for John Peel in Top Gear as "David Bowie and the Tony Visconti Orchestra", tracks 1–3 broadcast 26 May 1968 (1968-05-26).
• Tracks 5 and 6 recorded for D.L.T. (Dave Lee Travis Show) as "David Bowie and Junior's Eyes", cut from 26 October 1969 (1969-10-26) broadcast.
• Tracks 7 to 12 recorded for The Sunday Show introduced by John Peel as "David Bowie and the Tony Visconti Trio (aka The Hype)", broadcast date 8 February 1970 (1970-02-08).
• Track 13 recorded for Sounds of the 70s: Andy Ferris as "David Bowie and the Tony Visconti Trio", broadcast date 6 April 1970 (1970-04-06).
• Tracks 14 to 18 recorded for In Concert: John Peel as "David Bowie and friends", broadcast date 20 June 1971 (1971-06-20).

Disc Two

Track numbers below refer to the Japanese CD version of this album, which contains an exclusive track.

• Tracks 1, 2 (Japan-only exclusive track), and 3 recorded for Sounds of the 70s: Bob Harris by David Bowie with Mick Ronson, broadcast date 4 October 1971 (1971-10-04).
• Tracks 4 to 8 recorded for Sounds of the 70s: Bob Harris as "David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars", broadcast date 7 February 1972 (1972-02-07).
• Tracks 9 to 13 recorded for Sounds of the 70s: John Peel as "David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars", broadcast date 23 May 1972 (1972-05-23).
• Tracks 14 to 17 recorded for Johnnie Walker Lunchtime Show as "David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars", broadcast date 5 June 1972 (1972-06-05)–9 June 1972 (1972-06-09).
• Tracks 18 to 20 recorded for Sounds of the 70s: Bob Harris as "David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars", broadcast date 19 June 1972 (1972-06-19).

Disc Three

Recorded on 27 June 2000 at the BBC Radio Theatre, two days after headlining the closing night the Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage, which itself was released later as Glastonbury 2000 (2018).

Personnel

Track numbers below refer to the Japanese CD version of this album, which contains an exclusive track.

• David Bowie – vocals, guitar, keyboard
• The Tony Visconti Orchestra:
  • Herbie Flowers – bass
  • Barry Morgan – drums
  • John McLaughlin – guitar
  • Alan Hawkshaw – keyboards
  • Tony Visconti – backing vocals
  • Steve Peregrin Took – backing vocals
• Junior's Eyes:
  • Mick Wayne – guitar
  • Tim Renwick – rhythm guitar
  • John "Honk" Lodge – bass
  • John Cambridge – drums
• The Tony Visconti Trio aka The Hype:
  • Tony Visconti – bass
  • Mick Ronson – guitar
  • John Cambridge – drums
• David Bowie and friends:
  • David Bowie – vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Mick Ronson – guitar, vocal
  • Trevor Bolder – bass
  • Mick Woodmansey – drums
  • Mark Carr-Pritchard – guitar
  • George Underwood – vocal
  • Dana Gillespie – vocal
  • Geoffrey Alexander – vocal
• David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars (disc 2, tracks 4–20):
  • David Bowie – vocals, guitar
  • Mick Ronson – guitar, vocal
  • Trevor Bolder – bass
  • Woody Woodmansey – drums
• Disc 3, 27 June 2000:
  • David Bowie – Vocals
  • Earl Slick – guitar
  • Mark Plati - Guitar & Bass
  • Gail Ann Dorsey - Bass, Guitar & Vocals
  • Sterling Campbell - Drums
  • Mike Garson - Piano & Keyboards
  • Holly Palmer - Backing vocals & Percussion
  • Emm Gryner - Backing vocals & Keyboard

Additional personnel

• Nicky Graham – piano on disc 2, tracks 9–20

Production personnel

• Bernie Andrews – producer, disc 1 tracks 1–4, 13
• Pete Ritzema – engineer, disc 1 tracks 1–6, producer disc 2 tracks 9–13
• Alan Harris – engineer, disc 1 tracks 1–4
• Paul Williams – recording producer, disc 1 tracks 5–6
• Jeff Griffin – recording producer, disc 1 tracks 7–12, 14–18, disc 2 tracks 4–8, 18–20
• Tony Wilson – sound balance, disc 1 tracks 7–12
• Chris Lycett – assistant, disc 1 tracks 7–12, sound balance disc 1 tracks 14–18, disc 2 tracks 4–8, 18–20
• Nick Gomm – engineer, disc 1 track 13, disc 2 tracks 9–13
• John Etchells – assistant, disc 1 tracks 14–18, disc 2 tracks 4–8, 18–20
• John F. Muir – recording producer, disc 2 tracks 1–3
• John White – engineer, disc 2 tracks 1–3
• Bill Aitken – engineer, disc 2 tracks 1–3
• Roger Pusey – producer disc 2 tracks 14–17

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2000-2016)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	14
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15]	56
French Albums (SNEP)[16]	27
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17]	69
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[18]	22
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19]	45
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20]	22
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[21]	42
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22]	7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23]	37
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	88
UK Albums (OCC)[25]	7
US Billboard 200[26]	181

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
UK Albums (OCC)[27]	146

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]	Gold	100,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. "Bowie at the Beeb by David Bowie". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "David Bowie — Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Sessions 68-72". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
3. Snapes, Laura (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press.
4. Dombal, Ryan (2 March 2016). "David Bowie: Bowie at the Beep". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
5. "David Bowie: Bowie at the Beep". Q. p. 123.
6. Atkins, Jamie. "David Bowie: Bowie at the Beep". Record Collector. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
7. "David Bowie Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Sessions '68-'72". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 30 June 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
8. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 97–98.
9. Dolan, Jon (July 2006). "Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of The BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Spin. p. 84. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
10. Pinnock, Tom (23 March 2016). "David Bowie - Bowie At The Beeb". Uncut. Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
11. "David Bowie — Bowie At The Beeb". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 8 December 2000.
12. Sinclair, Paul (29 September 2021). "David Bowie / Brilliant Adventure [1992–2001]". SuperDeluxeEdition. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
13. "Ultratop.be – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
14. "Ultratop.be – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
16. "Lescharts.com – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
17. "Offiziellecharts.de – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
18. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 9. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
19. "Italiancharts.com – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
20. "Norwegiancharts.com – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
21. "Portuguesecharts.com – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
24. "Swisscharts.com – David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb - The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
26. "David Bowie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
27. "The Top 200 Artist Albums of 2000" (PDF). Chartwatch: 2000 Chart Booklet. Zobbel.de. pp. 39–40. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
28. "British album certifications – David Bowie". British Phonographic Industry.