Editing Space Oddity (section)

==Background and writing==
Following a string of unsuccessful [[Single (music)|singles]], David Bowie released his [[music hall]]-influenced [[David Bowie (1967 album)|self-titled debut studio album]] through [[Deram Records]] in 1967. The album was a commercial failure and did little to gain Bowie notice, leading to his departure from Deram in May 1968 and becoming his last release for two years.{{sfn|Cann|2010|pp=106–107}}{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=41–42}}{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=328–333}} After its commercial failure, Bowie's new manager [[Kenneth Pitt]] authorised the production of a promotional film in an attempt to introduce Bowie to a larger audience. The film, ''[[Love You till Tuesday (film)|Love You till Tuesday]]'', went unreleased until 1984; it marked the end of Pitt's mentorship of Bowie.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=636–638}}{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=334}}

{{quote box|quote=The publicity image of a spaceman at work is of an automaton rather than a human being{{nbsp}}... and my Major Tom is nothing if not a human being. It came from a feeling of sadness about this aspect of the space thing, it has been dehumanized, so I wrote a song-farce about it, to try and relate science and human emotion. I suppose it's an antidote to space fever, really.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=255}}|source=—David Bowie discussing the writing of "Space Oddity", 1969|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}

By the end of 1968, Bowie had begun to feel alienation from his career. Knowing ''Love You till Tuesday'' did not have a guaranteed audience and would not feature any new material, Pitt asked Bowie to write something new to "demonstrate David's remarkable inventiveness".{{sfn|Doggett|2012|p=60}}{{sfn|O'Leary|2015|loc=chap. 3}} Bowie wrote "Space Oddity", a tale about a fictional astronaut named [[Major Tom]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=255}} Its title and subject matter were influenced by [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'',{{sfn|Doggett|2012|p=59}}<ref name="mtv-rosenfield">{{cite web |last=Rosenfield |first=Kat |title=David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' Was The Perfect Soundtrack Song |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2727071/hollywood-moments-space-oddity/ |website=[[MTV News]] |access-date=1 May 2020 |date=23 September 2018 |archive-date=4 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704113546/http://www.mtv.com/news/2727071/hollywood-moments-space-oddity/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> which premiered in May 1968.{{sfn|O'Leary|2015|loc=chap. 3}} Bowie said, "I went stoned out of my mind to see the movie and it really freaked me out, especially the trip passage".{{sfn|Trynka|2011|p=104}} Other events in Bowie's life influenced the writing of "Space Oddity", including seeing the [[Apollo 8]] ''[[Earthrise]]'' photograph in January 1969{{sfn|Clerc|2021|p=80}} and his break-up with the dancer Hermione Farthingale the following month.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=255}} He later said, "It was Hermione who got me writing for and on a specific person".{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=104}} The biographer [[Marc Spitz]] stated Bowie's feelings of loneliness and heartache following the break-up inspired "Space Oddity".{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=104}}

One of the first people to hear "Space Oddity" was Calvin Mark Lee, the head of [[Artists and repertoire|A&R]] at [[Mercury Records]] in London.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=334}} Lee considered the song "otherworldly" and knew it was Bowie's ticket to be signed by the label.{{sfn|Trynka|2011|pp=110–111}} The head of Mercury, [[Lou Reizner]], was unimpressed with Bowie's output and was unwilling to sign him.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=334}}{{sfn|Trynka|2011|pp=111–112}} Eager to sign Bowie, Lee, without Reizner's knowledge, financed a demo session for "Space Oddity". Lee later told Spitz: "We had to do it all behind Lou's back. But it was such a good record."{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=106}}