Says He Can Do A Better Job Of “Space Oddity” Than Hadfield

ANN’s April 1st “April Fool” Special Edition

Glam-pop legend David Bowie has moved to Russia to begin training as the next tourist to visit ISS, and he has a very specific reason for visiting the orbiting outpost.

“Hadfield got it all wrong,” Bowie said. “I know I gave him permission to record “Space Oddity” on the station, but nobody can do the song like the original.  The accent was all wrong … just so many things. I have to go do it myself.”

Bowie was referring to Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who recorded the song during his stay on ISS.

Bowie said royalties and sales from the new version of the song should more than pay for his trip, though he admits there are logistical problems. “I wanted to take an entire band, you know, but the Russians said there are only so many seats. So I’ll just have to karaoke it, I guess. I’m taking along an iPod so that I’ll have something to sing to … and I’ve gotten a lot of cooperation from NASA and the other ISS partners for the camera work. Space is kind of limited, so setting up shots shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Bowie said he was inspired by singer Sarah Brightman’s upcoming trip to the station, but said that his trip will have more commercial sales appeal.

In a related development, World View said in a news release April 1 that members of The 5th Dimension have signed up to be on one of the first flights of their near-space balloon to record a new version of their 1967 hit “Up, Up and Away.”

FMI: www.nasa.com/station