top of page
Search

🔘 Memory Of A Free Festival – Single: Jun. 1970

  • Writer: David Bowie
    David Bowie
  • Jun 12, 1970
  • 3 min read

Label: Mercury

Country: Norway

Catalogue: 6052 026

Melody Maker August 1, 1970

In the summer of 1970, David Bowie was still finding his voice as a solo artist. Fresh from the release of his second album *David Bowie* (also known as *Space Oddity* in the US), he issued a two-part single that captured both the optimism and melancholy of the fading hippie dream.


Released on June 12, 1970, the single appeared on Mercury Records under catalogue number MF 1135. Presented as “Memory Of A Free Festival Part 1” backed with “Part 2,” this 7-inch release commemorated the free festival Bowie had organised in Beckenham the previous year.


Label: Mercury Records

Catalogue Number: MF 1135

Format: 7" Vinyl Single (Push-Out/Solid Centre)

Released: June 12, 1970 (UK)


🔘 Track List

UK 7" Single — Mercury – MF 1135 — 1970

A. Memory Of A Free Festival Part 1

B. Memory Of A Free Festival Part 2


Written by: David Bowie

Produced by: Tony Visconti

Recorded: 1969–1970


🔘 Key Highlights

• Released June 12, 1970

• A two-part single based on Bowie’s experience organising the Beckenham Free Festival in 1969

• Featured a gospel-style singalong chorus and reflective lyrics

• Marked one of Bowie’s final releases on Mercury Records before moving to RCA

• Did not chart in the UK


🔘 The Story

“Memory Of A Free Festival” was inspired by the free concert Bowie helped stage in Beckenham in August 1969, shortly after the death of his father. Part 1 opens with a gentle, nostalgic verse before building into a joyful, communal chorus (“The Sun Machine is coming down, and we’re gonna have a party”). Part 2 shifts into a more experimental and atmospheric coda.


Although the single failed to make the charts at the time, it remains a fascinating transitional piece — bridging Bowie’s late-1960s folk-rock period with the more theatrical and confident sound he would develop in the glam era. It also marked the end of his association with Mercury Records.


🔘 Variants (UK)

• 7", 45 RPM, Push-Out Centre — Mercury – MF 1135 — UK — 1970

• 7", 45 RPM, Solid Centre — Mercury – MF 1135 — UK — 1970

• Issued in standard Mercury company sleeve


🔘 Chart Performance

UK — Official Singles Chart

Did not chart.


Total Weeks: 0


🔘 Context & Notes

• A-side: “Memory Of A Free Festival Part 1” – uplifting, gospel-tinged anthem with a memorable singalong chorus.

• B-side: “Memory Of A Free Festival Part 2” – more experimental and atmospheric continuation.

• Production: Tony Visconti – early collaboration that would continue into Bowie’s glam years.

• Sleeve notes: Standard Mercury company sleeve.

• Historical placement: Released during Bowie’s pre-glam transitional phase, just before the artistic leap that would produce *Hunky Dory* and *Ziggy Stardust*.

• Reissues / compilation appearances: Frequently included on Bowie rarities compilations and reissues of his early Mercury-era material.


🔘 Related Material

• Space Oddity (1969)

• The Man Who Sold the World (1970)

• Holy Holy (1971)

• Changes (1972)


🔘 Discography

Space Oddity – Single: 1969

Memory Of A Free Festival – Single: 1970

Holy Holy – Single: 1971

Changes – Single: 1972


🔘 Mini‑Timeline

✦ 1969–1970 — Recorded following the Beckenham Free Festival

✦ June 12, 1970 — UK single released

✦ Did not enter UK Singles Chart


🔘 Glam Flashback

Before the lightning bolt and Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie was already dreaming of sun machines and free festivals, quietly preparing the ground for the glam explosion to come.



🔘 Sources

Primary reference sources: Mercury Records, Discogs, Official Charts Company, contemporary music-press documentation, archival references.





 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page