10 Weirdest David Bowie Songs
4. Memory Of A Free Festival - Space Oddity (1969)
One of the earliest songs in the Bowie catalogue to feature such experimentation that would be interspersed throughout his career, Memory Of A Free Festival is a song in two distinct halves. The first half of the piece is centred around an electric organ and is a vocal-led song about a local music festival Bowie organised, before the bridge between parts one and two arrives. The electric organ, which is the main focus for much of the song, was actually a toy organ David had bought from a local Woolworths and loved the sound of.
Memory Of A Free Festival's bridge is built around a collection of chattering, strange distorted guitar and bass noises, and a host of other sound effects before the second half begins. This half is an interesting exercise in repetition, as for three minutes the song develops into a chant with a large crowd repeatedly chanting "The sun machine is coming down and we're gonna have a party."
A host of Bowie's famous friends also feature on the second half of the song, with the likes of Marc Bolan from T. Rex and famous DJ Bob Harris.