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Written by: Bowie
Produced by: Ken Scott
Released: Dec. '71 on RCA
Charts: 11 weeks
Top Spot: No. 41
The keynote from Bowie's Hunky Dory, this song challenged rock audiences to "turn and face the strange." But it originally stalled on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and it didn't really take off until after the commercial success of Ziggy Stardust, when Bowie fans adopted it as the theme song for the man who'd already given them Hippie Bowie, Mod Bowie and Bluesy Bowie. As it turned out, he had barely begun to show the world his wardrobe of disguises. The poignant sax solo at the end is played by Bowie himself.
Appears on: Hunky Dory (Virgin)