Early Works covers the material that has been recorded between 1964 and early 1969. This introductory page chronologically lists the albums considered "landmarks" at the time of their release. Only the original editions of these albums are featured, please continue to the rest of this section for reissues. Those pages cover the incredible number of pointless reissues that are the reason these Deram and Pye reissues are listed separately and not under Compilations.

The history of the 1964-1969 recordings is comprehensively covered in the liner notes of the three compilation CDs, Early On, The Deram Anthology and the Deluxe Edition of the debut album David Bowie. The first and the latter should be the starting point for anybody interested in Bowie's early work. Completists should also purchase the Manish Boys/Lower Third CD for the original versions of 'I Pity The Fool' and 'Take My Tip'. The Love You Till Tuesday CD features the full-length original 'Space Oddity' and 'Ching-A-Ling'.



David Bowie David Bowie Editions on vinyl
(Deram DML/SML 1007), June 1967 (UK)

Uncle Arthur/Sell Me A Coat/Rubber Band/Love You Till Tuesday/There Is A Happy Land/We Are Hungry Men/When I Live My Dream/Little Bombardier/Silly Boy Blue/Come And Buy My Toys/Join The Gang/She's Got Medals/Maid Of Bond Street/Please Mr. Gravedigger.

Besides the songs on his debut album (itself extensively covered under Albums), David released three contemporary singles: Rubber Band/The London Boys (Deram DM 107), The Laughing Gnome/The Gospel According To Tony Day (Deram DM 123) and Love You Till Tuesday/Did You Ever Have A Dream (Deram DM 135). The single versions of 'Rubber Band' and 'Love You Till Tuesday' were new recordings and differed from the album versions (see their entries in the song section). Together with a trio of previously unreleased songs on The World Of David Bowie, the Vocalion/Parlophone/Pye singles from 1964-66 and a handful of songs recorded in 1968-69, they form the material that has been recycled over and over again.

World Of David Bowie The World Of David Bowie Editions on vinyl
(Decca SPA 58), 1970 (UK)

Uncle Arthur/Love You Till Tuesday/There Is A Happy Land/Little Bombardier/Sell Me A Coat/Silly Boy Blue/The London Boys/Karma Man/Rubber Band/Let Me Sleep Beside You/Come And Buy My Toys/She's Got Medals/In The Heat Of The Morning/When I Live My Dream.

The very first David Bowie compilation album, premiering 'Karma Man', 'Let Me Sleep Beside You' and 'In The Heat Of The Morning'. For a 1973 reissue in updated sleeve and plenty of re-releases under different titles, see Early Works: LPs.

images Images 1966-1967 Editions on vinyl
(London BP 61829), 1973 (US)

Rubber Band/Maid Of Bond Street/Sell Me A Coat/Love You Till Tuesday/There Is A Happy Land/The Laughing Gnome/The Gospel According To Tony Day/Did You Ever Have A Dream/Uncle Arthur/We Are Hungry Men/When I Live My Dream/Join The Gang/Little Bombardier/Come And Buy My Toys/Silly Boy Blue/She's Got Medals/Please Mr. Gravedigger/The London Boys/Karma Man/Let Me Sleep Beside You/In The Heat Of The Morning.

A worthwhile compilation album with Deram-era material, including single B-sides. From a collector's point of view, only the single versions of 'Love You Till Tuesday' and 'Rubber Band' were absent. For a 1975 UK release and many reissues under alternative titles, see Early Works: LPs.

Another Face Another Face Editions on vinyl
(Decca TAB 17), 1981 (UK)

Rubber Band/The London Boys/The Gospel According To Tony Day/There Is A Happy Land/Maid Of Bond Street/When I Live My Dream/Liza Jane/The Laughing Gnome/In The Heat Of The Morning/Did You Ever Have A Dream/Please Mr. Gravedigger/Join The Gang/Love You Till Tuesday/Louie Louie Go Home.

David's 1964 debut single Liza Jane/Louie Louie Go Home (Vocalion V.9221) had been reissued in 1978 (Decca F 13807), but it was not until this compilation that both sides appeared on an album. Additionally, it features Bowie's three Deram singles, effectively premiering the single versions of 'Rubber Band' and 'Love You Till Tuesday'.

Don't Be Fooled By The Name
Don't Be Fooled By The Name Editions on vinyl
(PRT DOW1), UK (1981)

I'm Not Losing Sleep/I Dig Everything/Can't Help Thinking About Me/Do Anything You Say/Good Morning Girl/And I Say To Myself.

These songs were released as singles on Pye in 1966: Can't Help Thinking About Me/And I Say To Myself (Pye 7N.17020), Do Anything You Say/Good Morning Girl (Pye 7N.17079) and I Dig Everything/I'm Not Losing Sleep (Pye 7N.17157). Four out of the six songs had been released on the For The Collector EP (Pye 7NX.8002) in 1972, but this 10" was the first to compile Bowie's complete Pye material. This must rank as one of the most often reissued titles in the Bowie catalogue.

manish Boys/Lower Third The Manish Boys/Davy Jones & The Lower 3rd
(See For Miles CYM 1), UK (1982)

I Pity The Fool/Take My Tip/You've Got A Habit Of Leaving/Baby Loves That Way.

This attractive 10" couples the two 1965 Parlophone singles: I Pity The Fool/Take My Tip (Parlophone R 5250) and You've Got A Habit Of Leaving/Baby Loves That Way (Parlophone R 5315). The 10" itself is a reissue of a 1979 EP (EMI 2925). These, plus the reissues on 12" and CD, are the only compilations featuring the original versions of 'I Pity The Fool' and 'Take My Tip'.

Love You Till TuesdayLove You Till Tuesday Love You Till Tuesday Editions on vinyl
(Deram BOWIE 1), 1984 (UK)

Love You Till Tuesday/The London Boys/Ching-A-Ling/The Laughing Gnome/Liza Jane/When I'm Five/Space Oddity/Sell Me A Coat/Rubber Band/Let Me Sleep Beside You/When I Live My Dream.

When the 1969 Love You Till Tuesday promotional film was finally released in 1984, this compilation served as its soundtrack. The LP premiered 'Ching-A-Ling', 'When I'm Five', the original version of 'Space Oddity', a remixed version of 'Sell Me A Coat' and a re-recorded version of 'When I Live My Dream'. Unfortunately, 'Ching-A-Ling' and 'Space Oddity' had been edited, the first even excising David's contribution to the song for whatever reason. The 1992 CD release (Pickwick PWKS 4131 P; bottom) included the full length versions.

Early On Early On (1964-1966)
(Rhino R2 70526), 1991 (US)

Liza Jane/Louie Louie Go Home/I Pity The Fool/Take My Tip/That's Where My Heart Is/I Want My Baby Back/Bars Of The County Jail/You've Got A Habit Of Leaving/Baby Loves That Way/I'll Follow You/Glad I've Got Nobody/Can't Help Thinking About Me/And I Say To Myself/Do Anything You Say/Good Morning Girl/I Dig Everything/I'm Not Losing Sleep.

The ultimate early Bowie collection, featuring five previously unreleased 1965 demos, plus alternate takes of 'I Pity The Fool' and 'Take My Tip'.

Deram Anthology The Deram Anthology 1966-1968
(Deram 844 784-2), 1997 (UK)

Rubber Band (single version)/The London Boys/The Laughing Gnome/The Gospel According To Tony Day/Uncle Arthur/Sell Me A Coat/Rubber Band/Love You Till Tuesday/There Is A Happy Land/We Are Hungry Men/When I Live My Dream/Little Bombardier/Silly Boy Blue/Come And Buy My Toys/Join The Gang/She's Got Medals/Maid Of Bond Street/Please Mr. Gravedigger/Love You Till Tuesday (single version)/Did You Ever Have A Dream/Karma Man/Let Me Sleep Beside You/In The Heat Of The Morning/Ching-A-Ling/Sell Me A Coat/When I Live My Dream/Space Oddity.

An interesting effort to present the 1966-69 catalogue in chronological order, but unfortunately the edited versions of 'Ching-A-Ling' and 'Space Oddity' were used again. This compilation was more or less made redundant by the next entry...

Deram Anthology David Bowie - Deluxe Edition
(Deram 531 79-5), 2010 (EC)

CD1: the original album in stereo and mono; CD2: Rubber Band (Mono)/The London Boys (Mono)/The Laughing Gnome (Mono)/The Gospel According To Tony Day (Mono)/Love You Till Tuesday (Mono)/Did You Ever Have A Dream (Mono)/When I Live My Dream (Mono)/Let Me Sleep Beside You (Mono)/Karma Man (Mono)/London Bye Ta Ta (Mono)/In The Heat Of The Morning (Mono)/The Laughing Gnome (Stereo)/The Gospel According To Tony Day (Stereo)/Did You Ever Have A Dream (Stereo)/Let Me Sleep Beside You (Stereo)/Karma Man (Stereo)/In The Heat Of The Morning (Stereo)/When I'm Five/Ching-A-Ling (Stereo)/Sell Me A Coat (1969)/Love You Till Tuesday (BBC)/When I Live My Dream (BBC)/Little Bombardier (BBC)/Silly Boy Blue (BBC)/In The Heat of the Morning (BBC).

The 2010 Deluxe Edition featured both the stereo and mono editions, plus a bonus disc full of extra tracks. Besides the contemporary single A- and B-sides, it included an original 1968 version of 'London Bye Ta-Ta', stereo mixes of several tracks, as well as the previously unreleased 18-12-67 Top Gear BBC session. Contrary to previous efforts, a lot of attention went into the sound quality.

Conversation Piece

Conversation Piece
(Parlophone DBCP 6869), November 2019 (EC).

The Early Works period runs up to and including the recording of the original 'Space Oddity' in early February 1969 (as this was featured on the Love You Till Tuesday soundtrack). This 5CD set has some overlap, featuring post-debut album demo's and alternative versions. Of particular interest are CD1 and 3:

Home Demos: April's Tooth Of Gold/The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends The Garden FĂȘte On Thatchwick Green)/When I'm Five/Mother Grey/In The Heat Of The Morning/Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe/Love All Around/London Bye Ta-Ta/Angel Angel Grubby Face (Version 1)/Angel Angel Grubby Face (Version 2)/Animal Farm/Space Oddity (Solo Demo Fragment)/Space Oddity (Version 1)/Space Oddity (Version 2)/Space Oddity (Version 3)/Lover To The Dawn/Ching-A-Ling/An Occasional Dream/Let Me Sleep Beside You/Life Is A Circus/Conversation Piece/Jerusalem/Hole In The Ground.

Conversation Pieces: In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca Mono Version)/London Bye Ta-Ta (Decca Alternative Version)/In The Heat Of The Morning (BBC)/London Bye Ta-Ta (BBC)/Karma Man (BBC)/When I'm Five (BBC)/Silly Boy Blue (BBC)/Ching-A-Ling/Space Oddity (Morgan Studios Version; Alternative Take)/Space Oddity (UK Single Edit)/Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Single B-side; Mono Version)/Janine (Mono Version)/Conversation Piece (Mono Version)/Let Me Sleep Beside You (BBC)/Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed (BBC)/Janine (BBC).

For more information and the complete tracklisting, please see Compilations.