This week in 1975
1 Space Oddity David Bowie
2 Love Is The Drug Roxy Music
3 I Only Have Eyes For You Art Garfunkel 4 Rhinestone Cowboy Glen Campbell
5 Hold Back The Night The Trammps
6 What A Difference A Day Makes Esther Phillips 7 SOS Abba
8 Feelings Morris Albert
9 D.I.V.O.R.C.E. Billy Connolly
10 Blue Guitar Justin Hayward and John Lodge
The late David Bowie’s seminal ‘Space Oddity’ was first released in 1969, just days before the moon landing. Sensitive to unfolding events, the BBC did not play the single until after the Apollo 11 astronauts had safely returned home. That first release gave Bowie a No. 5 hit in the UK but a lowly 124 in the US charts. A 1973 re-release fared much better across the Atlantic, giving the English singer his first hit in the US where it reached number 15 in the Billboard charts. ‘Space Oddity’ finally made the top of the UK charts as a re-issue in 1975. It peaked at No. 3 in the Irish charts in 1975 as Glen Campbell’s ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ and Brendan Shine’s ‘Combine Harvester’ enjoyed spells at the top. The estate of David Bowie, who died in January 2016, continues to generate huge incomes: Forbes estimates $9.5 million in earnings in the past year, placing Bowie just outside the top ten in their annual ‘dead celebrities’ list below.