This incomplete section covers albums that have not been sanctioned. Albums marked with an * have also been released on vinyl. Some titles, like Santa Monica '72, are more or less official, but many are are semi-official at best. All titles, however, have been or still are available through the official distribution channels.

In more recent years, the number of unsanctioned has albums exploded, especially of live recordings pretending to be radio broadcasts. Although available through Amazon and the like, I consider these bootlegs and do not include them here. For a sample, check out the post 2015 section of Jens's Just Another Collection page. Also see Pirates and Counterfeits.


Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72Santa Monica '72 Santa Monica '72
(Golden Years GY 002), July 1994 (UK)

Hang On To Yourself/Ziggy Stardust/Changes/The Supermen/Life On Mars/Five Years/Space Oddity/Andy Warhol/My Death/The Width Of A Circle/Queen Bitch/Moonage Daydream/John I'm Only Dancing/Waiting For The Man/The Jean Genie/Suffragette City/Rock 'N' Roll Suicide.

This famous concert, recorded at Santa Monica, Civic Auditorium, 20-10-72, finally got a semi-official status in 1994 after being available on a sheer uncountable number of bootlegs. The famous 'Ode To Joy' intro, present on most bootlegs (i.e. on Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (Great Dane GDR CD 8909)), unfortunately is missing due to copyright issues.

Santa Monica '72 was first released in the UK. Initial copies of the CD (Golden Years GY 002) came with a concert ticket replica. This UK edition is also available as a 2LP (Golden Years GYLP 002; second), pressed on clear vinyl, which uses a different image for the sleeve. The regular US issue (Griffin Music GCD-392-2; third) was released in 1995, again with different artwork.

Furthermore, three limited edtions were issued. A digipack (Griffin Music GCD-357-1/2; fourth), limited to 15.000 copies, superfluously added a 7" single containing Ziggy Stardust/Waiting For The Man from the CD. The second limited edition, titled Live At Santa Monica Civic Hall '72, was limited to 1.000 copies and came special box (Mainman/Vinyl Experience GY BOX 002; fifth). This set includes the regular CD, a T-shirt and a 72-page photobook. The most exclusive edition (limited to 250 copies only; bottom) came in a small wooden box with Ziggy's image carved onto the lid, and a brass plate indicating the series number. The CD and booklet are identical to the regular US edition.

There are two other releases of this concert, Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars "Live" from Belgium and Live 1972 from Japan (see below). The Japanese edition of RarestOneBowie and the UK compilation Rarest Series also feature songs from the Santa Monica concert.

Finally released officially in 2008 as Live Santa Monica '72.

Live 1972 Live 1972
(Teichiku TECX-25754), August 1994 (Japan)

This Japanese release of Santa Monica '72 starts straight away with 'Hang On To Yourself', dropping the DJ announcement present on all the other releases. Reissued in July 1997 with changes in the artwork (e.g. no picture disc; Teichiku TECW-20509). Rarest Live (Dolphin BLCK-86060) is a Japanese compilation taken from the same concert.

Ziggy Stadust And The Spiders From Mars Live Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars "Live"
(Audiophile Legends APH 102.804), 1995 (Belgium)

This gold disc (comparable to the Rykodisc AU20 series) is the only release—except for Ziggy In Concert (Berkeley 1806/1807), the very first Bowie bootleg from 1973—that also has the DJ closing the radio broadcast.

rarestOneBowieRarestOneBowieRarestOneBowie RarestOneBowie Editions on vinyl
(Golden Years GY 014), May 1995 (UK)

All The Young Dudes/Queen Bitch (live1)/Sound And Vision (live2)/Time (live3)/Be My Wife (live2)/Footstompin' (live4)/Ziggy Stardust (live5)/My Death (live6)/I Feel Free (live7).

1 Uniondale, Nassau Coliseum, 23-03-76; 2 London, Earl's Court, 01-07-78; 3 1980 Floor Show, 18-20-10-73; 4 Dick Cavett Show, 04-12-74; 5 Santa Monica, Civic Auditorium, 20-10-72; 6 New York, Carnegie Hall, 28-09-72 and 7 Kingston, Polytechnic, 06-05-72. The CD features a Pin Ups ad as bonus track.

Also available as a 10" LP. A 1998 Japanese edition (Dolphin BLCK-86008; middle) drops the hidden Pin Ups ad, but adds Hang On To Yourself/Waiting For The Man/The Jean Genie/Suffragette City/Rock 'N' Roll Suicide from Santa Monica '72. This CD was reissued in 2001 (MF BLCY-1019) with different artwork (bottom).

Also see the UK compilation Rarest Series below.

Bowie At The Beeb Sampler BBC Sessions 1969-1972 [Sampler]
(NMC NMCD 0072), July 1996 (UK)

Hang On To Yourself 1/Ziggy Stardust 2/Space Oddity 3/Andy Warhol 4/Waiting For The Man 5/Interview-Let Me Sleep Beside You 6.

1 Sound Of The Seventies: Bob Harris (18-01-72), 2 Sound Of The Seventies: John Peel (16-05-72), 3 Johnnie Walker Lunchtime Show (22-05-72), 4 Sound Of The Seventies: Bob Harris (21-09-71), 5 Sound Of The Seventies: Andy Ferris (25-03-70) and 6 Dave Lee Travis Show (20-10-69).

Both 'Let Me Sleep Beside You' and 'Waiting For The Man' have been edited. The complete 3CD set, for which this album was supposed to be a teaser, has never materialized. Only in 2000, a different 2CD set, Bowie At The Beeb, saw the light of day. Note that this sampler has two tracks ('Andy Warhol' and 'Waiting For The Man') that are not included on Bowie At The Beeb.

Additional information can be found under Bowie At The Beeb and BBC Sessions.

Rarest Bowie Rarest Series
(Rarest Records SCET1100011), 1998 (UK).

Same as RarestOneBowie, plus The Jean Genie/John I'm Only Dancing/Suffragette City from Santa Monica '72 as a bonus.

Rarest LiveRarest Live Rarest Live
(Dolphin BLCK-86060), October 1999 (Japan).

Queen Bitch/Space Oddity/Five Years/Life On Mars/Andy Warhol/The Supermen/Moonage Daydream/Width of a Circle/John, I'm Only Dancing.

All tracks taken from Santa Monica '72. Reissued in 2001 (MF BLCY-1020) with a different cover (bottom).

Serious Moonlight Serious Moonlight
(Rajon CDR0510), [scheduled for September 2005; not distributed] (Australia)

Look Back In Anger/"Heroes"/What In The World/Golden Years/Fashion/Let's Dance/Breaking Glass/Life On Mars/Sorrow/China Girl/Scary Monsters/Rebel Rebel/White Light-White Heat/Station To Station/Ashes To Ashes/Space Oddity/Young Americans/Fame.

This CD was supposed to appear simultaneously with the semi-official Australian Serious Moonlight DVD, which also dropped 'Cat People'. The volume drop in the intro of 'Station To Station' indicates that this even is a straight rip. Thankfully, the release was cancelled and not distributed. Only very few copies have slipped through to collectors.

Glass Spider Live Glass Spider Live
(Immortal IMA 104212), October 2008 (Netherlands)

Glass Spider/Day In-Day Out/Bang Bang/Absolute Beginners/Loving The Alien/China Girl/Rebel Rebel/Fashion/Never Let Me Down/"Heroes"/Sons Of The Silent Age/Young Americans/The Jean Genie/Let’s Dance/Time/Fame/Blue Jean/I Wanna Be Your Dog/White Light-White Heat/Modern Love.

Contrary to the bonus disc that came with the official Glass Spider DVD, this release contains the music from the DVD recorded in Sydney. Also available as a 2LP on both black and red vinyl (Vinyl Passion VP 80105).

Birthday Celebration - Live In NYC Birthday Celebration - Live In NYC
(Immortal IMA 104250), April 2011 (Netherlands)

Little Wonder/The Hearts Filthy Lesson/Scary Monsters (with Frank Black)/Fashion (with Frank Black)/Telling Lies/Hallo Spaceboy (with Foo Fighters)/Seven Years In Tibet (with Dave Grohl)/The Man Who Sold The World/The Last Thing You Should Do (with Robert Smith)/Quicksand (with Robert Smith)/Battle For Britain/The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)/I'm Afraid Of Americans (with Sonic Youth)/Looking For Satellites/Under Pressure/"Heroes"/Queen Bitch (with Lou Reed)/Waiting For The Man (with Lou Reed)/Dirty Blvd. (with Lou Reed)/White Light-White Heat (with Lou Reed)/Moonage Daydream/All The Young Dudes (with Billy Corgan)/The Jean Genie (with Billy Corgan)/Space Oddity/I Can't Read/Repetition.

The two bonus tracks were recorded in the dressing room. Regarding sound quality, this release compares poorly to bootlegs such as 50th Birthday Bash (BPCD 973282-1/2). Also released on DVD and, in 2012, as a 3LP (Vinyl Passion VP80501).