The Width Of A Circle 2 CD :2020

A 50th Anniversary Companion to Metrobolist

Released in the UK on April 17, 2020, by Parlophone Records (catalogue: DB 2020 001), David Bowie’s The Width Of A Circle is a two-CD companion piece to the 2020 reissue of The Man Who Sold The World (restored as Metrobolist). The set celebrates the 50th anniversary of the original 1970 album with 21 previously unreleased or rare tracks, including BBC sessions, TV play music, non-album singles, and fresh 2020 remixes by Tony Visconti.

The title comes from the opening track of the original album. The release also includes a limited 10" vinyl single and high-resolution (96kHz/24bit) digital EP featuring four newly remixed non-album singles.

Track Listing

CD 1 – The Sunday Show Introduced by John Peel

Recorded February 5, 1970, broadcast February 8, 1970

Performed by David Bowie and The Tony Visconti Trio (aka The Hype)

Amsterdam

God Knows I’m Good

Buzz The Fuzz

Karma Man

London Bye, Ta-Ta

An Occasional Dream

The Width Of A Circle

Janine

Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud

Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed

Fill Your Heart

The Prettiest Star

Cygnet Committee

Memory Of A Free Festival

CD 2

The Looking Glass Murders aka Pierrot In Turquoise

When I Live My Dream

Columbine

The Mirror

Threepenny Pierrot

When I Live My Dream (Reprise)

Singles

The Prettiest Star (Alternative Mix) – single mix for US promo (Mercury MF 1135, March 6, 1970)

London Bye, Ta-Ta – mono mix (final B-side rejected, later on Sound & Vision 1989)

London Bye, Ta-Ta (1970 Stereo Mix) – later on reformatted Sound & Vision 2003

Memory Of A Free Festival (Single Version Part 1 & 2) – re-recorded electric version (Mercury 6052 026, June 26, 1970)

Holy Holy – non-album A-side (Mercury 6052 049, January 15, 1971)

Sounds Of The 70’s: Andy Ferris Show

Recorded March 25, 1970, broadcast April 6, 1970

Waiting For The Man

The Width Of A Circle

The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud

The Supermen (Bowie At The Beeb vinyl only)

Performed by David Bowie and The Hype

2020 Mixes

The Prettiest Star (2020 Mix)

London Bye, Ta-Ta (2020 Mix)

Memory Of A Free Festival (Single Version - 2020 Mix)

All The Madmen (Single Edit 2020 Mix)

Holy Holy (2020 Mix)

Legacy

The Width Of A Circle is a definitive deep dive into Bowie’s 1970 recordings — bridging the psychedelic folk of Tyrannosaurus Rex to the electric glam of Hunky Dory.

The 2020 remixes and unreleased tracks make this a must-have for Bowie completists.

Do you have The Width Of A Circle in your collection? Ready for the circle? Share in the comments!

Sources

Information is drawn from my personal knowledge and supplemented by web sources, including davidbowie.com, Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia and BBC Official Charts Company

Whilst every effort is made to provide accurate information, mistakes do happen. Simply leave a comment and the post will be updated. Thank you.