David Bowie: The Man Who Sold The World Album (1970)

David Bowie
Nov 3, 1970
5 min read

Bowie's US Cartoon Cover Classic

David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World LP was released in the US on 12" vinyl and 8-Track Cartridge on November 4, 1970, on Mercury Records (catalogue: SR-61325 and MC8 61325, respectively)..

This 9-track proto-glam rock album, Bowie’s third, featured heavy riffs and sci-fi lyrics, marking his shift from folk to hard rock. Produced by Tony Visconti, it peaked at No. 105 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape . Issued in a cartoon cover sleeve (five months before the UK “dress” version), it’s the first of three original Mercury sleeves, with a fourth Ziggy-era RCA reissue in 1972.

Album Overview

Release Details:

Label: Mercury Records (US).

Formats: 12-inch vinyl LP;

℗ & ©: 1970 Mercury Records. Recorded at Trident and Advision Studios, London, April–May 1970. Matrix numbers (e.g., SR-61325 A-1) confirm authenticity.

US Release Formats and Track Listings

The Man Who Sold The World was released in the US in 1970 as a 12-inch vinyl LP, and 8-Track Cartridge.

12-Inch Vinyl LP (Commercial):

Label: Mercury – SR 61325, Mercury – SR-61325

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Stamped Matrix, PR - Philips Pressing

Side A:

The Width Of A Circle (8:07, David Bowie)

All The Madmen (5:38, David Bowie)

Black Country Rock (3:33, David Bowie)

After All (3:52, David Bowie)

Side B:

Running Gun Blues (3:12, David Bowie)

Saviour Machine (4:27, David Bowie)

She Shook Me Cold (4:13, David Bowie)

The Man Who Sold The World (3:58, David Bowie)

The Supermen (3:40, David Bowie)

Notes:

Packaging: 33⅓ RPM, stereo, in a cartoon cover sleeve by Michael J. Weller

Record Company – Mercury Record Corporation

Manufactured By – Mercury Record Productions, Inc.

Distributed By – Mercury Record Productions, Inc.

Recorded At – Trident Studios

Recorded At – Advision Studios

Remixed At – Trident Studios

Pressed By – Philips Recording Company, Inc.

Drums – Mick Woodmansey

Electric Bass, Piano, Guitar – Tony Visconti

Engineer – Ken*

Executive-Producer – Robin McBride

Guitar – Mick Ronson

Guitar, Vocals – David Bowie

Producer – Tony Visconti

Synthesizer [Moog] – Ralph Mace

Written-By – David Bowie

This release has stamped matrix numbers in the dead wax. All other versions with this cover are counterfeits (with etched matrix numbers) and should not be listed here.

"PR/P.R." in the runouts, and a 2.75" pressing ring denotes a Philips Recording Company, Inc. pressing.

This US release is the first release on LP of The Man Who Sold the World. It was only released in two countries - US and Japan (SFX-7345) - with this original cover. The building in the background is the Cane Hill Hospital where David Bowie's half-brother Terry was a patient.

The album was released in a further three countries on the Mercury label - Germany (David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World) in a large circular fold-out cover and the United Kingdom and Australia with a picture of David reclining in a dress. This latter cover is the one used on contemporary releases.

The US Mercury album was counterfeited (see David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World) in the early 1970s after Bowie became popular. It was possible for a potential buyer to choose between the official RCA reissue (in yet another cover, see David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World) and the widely distributed counterfeit.

The following visual indicators can be used to confirm an original US Mercury LP:

• The matrices in the runout (the space between the label and the grooves) are machine stamped (the counterfeits are hand etched).

• The space between the final lyric line of The Supermen and the cartoon bubble "Oh By Jingo" on the back cover is approximately the height of a line of text, while on the counterfeits the space is notably wider.

There are other differences, though these can be more easily seen and described in a side-by-side comparison.

SR 61325 on covers & spine, SR-61325 on labels.

Runouts are stamped except '1-11, 1-1, +, PR, P.R.' are etched.

Rights Society: ASCAP

Rights Society: PRS

Pressing Plant ID (In runouts): PR, P.R.

Matrix / Runout (Side A runout): SR 61325-A- M2 1-11 + PR

Matrix / Runout (Side B runout): SR 61325-B- M1 1-1 P.R

12-Inch Vinyl LP (Promotional):

Label: Mercury – SR-61325

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Promo, Stereo

Side A:

The Width Of A Circle (8:07, David Bowie)

All The Madmen (5:38, David Bowie)

Black Country Rock (3:33, David Bowie)

After All (3:52, David Bowie)

Side B:

Running Gun Blues (3:12, David Bowie)

Saviour Machine (4:27, David Bowie)

She Shook Me Cold (4:13, David Bowie)

The Man Who Sold The World (3:58, David Bowie)

The Supermen (3:40, David Bowie)

Notes:

Record Company – Mercury Record Corporation

Manufactured By – Mercury Record Productions, Inc.

Distributed By – Mercury Record Productions, Inc.

Bass – Tony Visconti

Drums – Mick Woodmansey

Guitar – Mick Ronson

Producer – Tony Visconti

Synthesizer – Ralph Mace

Vocals, Guitar – David Bowie

Written-By – David Bowie

White promotional labels with black print and additional "Promotional Copy · Not For Sale" text.

Issued in the same sleeve as the commercial release. (A widely distributed counterfeit of the commercial edition exists; see The Man Who Sold The World for images and descriptions of the main differences.)

Matrix / Runout (A side runout, stamped, inverted ["PR + 1-11" is etched]): SR 61325-A- M2 PR + 1-11

Matrix / Runout (B side runout, stamped, inverted ["P.R. 1-1" is etched]): SR 61325-B- M1 P.R. 1-1

8-Track Cartridge (Catalogue: MC8 61325):

The Width Of A Circle (David Bowie)

Saviour Machine (Part 1) (David Bowie)

Saviour Machine (Conclusion) (David Bowie)

Black Country Rock (David Bowie)

She Shook Me Cold (David Bowie)

After All (David Bowie)

The Supermen (David Bowie)

All The Madmen (Part 1) (David Bowie)

All The Madmen (Conclusion) (David Bowie)

Running Gun Blues (David Bowie)

The Man Who Sold The World (David Bowie)

Notes:

Producer – Ton Visconti*

White shell.

Catalog number if MC8 61325 on spine, MC8-61325 on rear, and 61325 on top.

Production and Context

Recording for "The Man Who Sold the World" commenced on April 17, 1970 at Advision Studios in London, starting with the track "All the Madmen". The following day, Ralph Mace was brought in to play a Moog synthesiser after contributing to the single version of "Memory of a Free Festival". At that time, Mace was a 40-year-old concert pianist and the head of the classical music department at Mercury Records. During this period, Bowie ended his contract with Pitt and met his future manager, Tony Defries, who helped with the termination. Recording sessions shifted to Trident Studios in London on 21 April and continued there until mid-May. On 4 May, the band recorded "Running Gun Blues" and "Saviour Machine"; the latter was initially the working title for the album's title track before Bowie altered it into a different melody to create the final version of "Saviour Machine". Recording and mixing returned to Advision on 12 May and concluded ten days later, with Bowie recording his vocals for the title track on the last day.

Singles Released and Chart Performance

Personnel

David Bowie – lead vocals, backing vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, Stylophone

Mick Ronson – lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, recorder, piano

Tony Visconti – bass, backing vocals, recorder

Mick Woodmansey – drums, timpani, percussion

Ralph Mace – Moog synthesiser

Technical

Tony Visconti – producer

Ken Scott – engineer

Gerald Chevin – engineer

Robin McBride – executive producer