Memory of a Free Festival
"Memory of a Free Festival" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. Originally recorded in September 1969 as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album, it was reworked in March–April 1970 at the behest of Mercury Records, the label believing that the track had a better chance of success as a single than "The Prettiest Star", released earlier in the year. Bowie and Tony Visconti roughly split the track in half, re-recording it so both halves could function as individual songs. A more rock-oriented version than the earlier album cut, this rendition featured guitarist Mick Ronson.
| "Memory of a Free Festival" | |
|---|---|
| Song by David Bowie | |
| from the album David Bowie (Space Oddity) | |
| Released | 14 November 1969 |
| Recorded | Late August – 16 September 1969 |
| Studio | Trident, London |
| Length | 6:13 |
| Label | Philips |
| Songwriter(s) | David Bowie |
| Producer(s) | Tony Visconti |
| David Bowie (Space Oddity) track listing | |
10 tracks
| |
| "Memory of a Free Festival" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by David Bowie | ||||
| A-side | "Memory of a Free Festival Part 1" | |||
| B-side | "Memory of a Free Festival Part 2" | |||
| Released | 12 June 1970 | |||
| Recorded |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Bowie | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Visconti | |||
| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
Biographer David Buckley described "Memory of a Free Festival" as "a sort of trippy retake of the Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil' but with a smiley lyric". The track was written as a homage to the Free Festival, organised by the Beckenham Arts Lab, which was held at Croydon Road Recreation Ground in Beckenham on 16 August 1969.
Released in America in June 1970, the single was commercially unsuccessful; only a few hundred copies sold. It was also issued in the UK, but was similarly unsuccessful there.
The two-part single version was subsequently released on CD on the EMI/Rykodisc reissue of Bowie's 1969 self-titled album (in 1990), on a 2-CD special edition of that album (in 2009), and on Re:Call 1, part of the Five Years (1969–1973) compilation (in 2015).