🔘 The Stars (Are Out Tonight) – Single: Apr. 2013

Released: April 20, 2013 (UK, Record Store Day)

Label: Columbia Records

Catalogue Number: 88883709237

Format: 7" White Vinyl, Limited Edition (2,500 copies), Picture Sleeve

Charting based solely on downloads.

A limited-edition white vinyl RSD exclusive pairing The Stars (Are Out Tonight) with Where Are We Now?, celebrating Bowie’s triumphant return with The Next Day.

🔘 Overview

Issued for Record Store Day 2013, this 7-inch white vinyl single presents two of Bowie’s most significant comeback tracks. The Stars (Are Out Tonight), a driving art‑rock piece with a surreal, celebrity‑haunted narrative, is paired with Where Are We Now?, the reflective lead single that announced Bowie’s unexpected return after a decade of silence.

Pressed in a strictly limited run of 2,500 copies, the single became an instant collector’s item. Despite the vinyl’s scarcity, the release charted in the UK based entirely on digital downloads — a testament to the cultural impact of Bowie’s re-emergence.

🔘 Track List

Side A

The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Written by: David Bowie

Produced by: David Bowie & Tony Visconti

Side B

Where Are We Now?

Written by: David Bowie

Produced by: David Bowie & Tony Visconti

🔘 Release Details

Label: Columbia Records

Format: 7-inch White Vinyl, Limited Edition (2,500 copies)

Country: UK

Year: 2013

Notes:

- Record Store Day exclusive

- White vinyl with picture sleeve

- Charted on downloads only

- Features two key tracks from The Next Day

- Highly sought-after modern-era Bowie collectible

🔘 Variants (Discogs‑Verified)

Variant 1

UK – Columbia – 88883709237 (2013)

Format: 7" White Vinyl, Limited Edition

Notes:

- Only confirmed edition

- RSD stickered sleeve

🔘 Context & Notes

Historical Notes

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) showcases Bowie’s late‑career sharpness — a propulsive, angular track exploring fame, identity, and voyeurism. Where Are We Now? stands in stark contrast: a fragile, nostalgic meditation on Berlin and memory.

Collector Notes

With only 2,500 copies pressed, this is one of the rarest physical singles of Bowie’s 2010s output. Clean copies with intact RSD stickers command strong collector interest.

Legacy

The single captures the duality of Bowie’s 2013 return — one track fierce and contemporary, the other introspective and elegiac.

🔘 Related Material

Previous Single

Where Are We Now? (Digital, 2013)

Next Single

The Next Day (2013)

🔘 Discography (Selected, Chronological)

Where Are We Now? — 2013

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) — 2013

The Next Day — 2013

🔘 Mini‑Timeline

Jan. 2013 — Where Are We Now? released

Feb. 2013 — The Stars (Are Out Tonight) released

Apr. 20, 2013 — RSD white vinyl issued

🔘 Glam Flashback

A modern‑era double vision — Bowie roaring forward while looking back with quiet, devastating clarity.