Space Oddity Was Perfectly Timed
On July 11, 1969, Bowie released the single Space Oddity. It turns out that the timing was nothing short of perfect. And that’s because nine days after its release, the BBC ran the hit song over its coverage of Apollo 11’s lunar landing. The single also ended up being Bowie’s first big hit in the UK.
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The song, inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, is about a fictional astronaut, Major Tom, and his launch into space. In 2013, the song saw renewed popularity when Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield performed the song (with revised lyrics) aboard the International Space Station. It became the first music video shot in space.