Song · David Bowie
“Oh! You Pretty Thing” by David Bowie
“Oh! You Pretty Thing” by David Bowie appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2002 and 2022. Its best result is #179 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,774 alternative song of all time.
David Bowie gave "Oh! You Pretty Things" away before he kept it. He cut a demo and handed the song to Herman's Hermits singer Peter Noone, whose single became Bowie's biggest success as a songwriter since "Space Oddity", then recorded his own take between June and July 1971 for Hunky Dory, co-producing with Ken Scott.
The band on it would soon be known as the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, Mick Woodmansey on drums. Underneath, the song is pitch dark, steeped in Aleister Crowley and Friedrich Nietzsche, with nods to Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The Coming Race. Critics rank it among the best on Hunky Dory, some among Bowie's best. He took it to the BBC several times in 1971 and 1972 and played it once on the Ziggy Stardust Tour in 1973.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1695 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2022 | 179 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
Also listed as: Oh! You Pretty Things.
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