David Bowie – Space Oddity album art
Original album cover, here from the UK release on RCA Victor, 1972
In 1972, shortly after the commercial breakthrough of David Bowie’s fifth album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, RCA Records decided to reissue Bowie’s 1969 self-titled debut album. Retitled Space Oddity, the album was repackaged, with the cover and sleeve featuring new photographs of Bowie by Mick Rock. In 2020, Space Oddity was re-released in a vinyl picture disc format with an enclosed poster.
The album titling “David Bowie Space Oddity” is typeset in Magnetic Ink. The sticker reading “David Bowie poster enclosed” combines a star-spangled Chwast Blimp with Cooper Black.
Note: Some of the images shown below are from the promotion of the 2020 vinyl picture disc re-release, which are of higher quality but otherwise a reproduction of the original 1972 album cover design with only minor changes. Additional copy typeset in Data 70 not included in the original 1972 release.
Sticker
Cover of the 2020 reissue
Advert for the 2020 reissue, with copy added in Data 70
The geometric caps on the poster are either from Burko or the virtually identical Blippo. See the poster from the original 1972 release on Discogs.
