Memory of a Free Festival

About Memory of a Free Festival

"Memory of a Free Festival" is a 1970 single by David Bowie. The song had originally been recorded in September 1969 as a seven-minute opus for Bowie's second self-titled album. It was reworked in March-April 1970 at the behest of Mercury Records, the label believing that the track had a better chance of success as a single than "The Prettiest Star", released earlier in the year. Bowie and Tony Visconti roughly split the track in half, re-recording it so both halves could function as individual songs. A more rock-oriented version than the earlier album cut, this rendition marked guitarist Mick Ronson's and drummer Mick Woodmansey's studio debut with Bowie's band, bringing together the line-up that would shortly record The Man Who Sold the World. Biographer David Buckley described "Memory of a Free Festival" as "a sort of trippy retake of the Stones' 'Sympathy for the Devil' but with a smiley lyric". The track was written as a homage to the Free Festival, organised by the Beckenham Arts Lab, which was held at Croydon Road Recreation Ground in Beckenham on 16 August 1969. Released in America in June 1970, the single was commercially unsuccessful; only a few hundred copies sold. It was also issued in the UK, but was similarly unsuccessful there.  more »

Year:

2000

3:19

55 Views

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The children of the summer's end
Gathered in the dampened grass,
We played Our songs and felt the London sky
Resting on our hands
It was God's land.
It was ragged and naive.
It was Heaven.

Touch, we touched the very soul
Of holding each and every life.
We claimed the very source of joy ran through.
It didn't, but it seemed that way.
I kissed a lot of people that day.

Oh, to capture just one drop of all the ecstasy that swept that afternoon,
To paint that love upon a white balloon,
And fly it from the toppest top of all the tops that man has pushed beyond his 
Brain.
Satoria must be something just the same.

We scanned the skies with rainbow eyes and saw machines of every shape and size.
We talked with tall Venusians passing through.
And Peter tried to climb aboard but the Captain shook his head
And away they soared,
Climbing through the ivory vibrant cloud.
Someone passed some bliss among the crowd.
And we walked back to the road, unchained.

"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."

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David Bowie

David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 - 10 January 2016), known by his stage name David Bowie ( /ˈboʊ.i/ BOH-ee), was an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. He is known for his distinctive voice as well as the intellectual depth and considerable eclecticism of his work. more »

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