“Space Oddity” is one of the greatest David Bowie songs, but this choir just brought it to the next level! The Barcelona English Choir went viral for not only their amazing vocals on the 1969 hit, but also for creating a really beautiful moment with the help of the audience. Before performing “Space Oddity,” the conductor gave the audience a crash course on how to sing the song, and then had them participate in the performance.
The full performance with the choir and audience together starts at 4:39 in the video. The arrangement with just a single guitar and hundreds of people is incredibly moving. After all, there’s something about a crowd of people singing together like this that touches something primal in us. The readers are surely familiar with the Bowie version, but this choir version is a must-watch for fans of the great man’s music!
Barcelona English Choir’s take on “Space Oddity” drew 3.9 million views on YouTube, becoming by far the choir’s biggest song on the platform. Music lovers listening at home were mighty impressed and added comments such as “When a crowd of humans sing it always sounds beautiful. The imperfections in our individual voices blend into perfection” and “Very, very moving. The conductor has a real understanding about Bowie’s music. A lot of talent here.”
The Barcelona English Choir credited Choir! Choir! Choir! with coming up with the concept they used in the viral “Space Oddity” video. Choir! Choir! Choir! has several live choir performances of Bowie classics on their channel, with one of their most popular videos featuring David Byrne providing lead vocals. The New York City performance features vocals from the audience members in a similar format to the “Space Oddity” video.
We all love a bit of Bowie and there’s no doubt that “Space Oddity” is one of the Duke’s finest hours. Bowie released “Space Oddity” as a seven-inch single on July 11, 1969. The English star, who is the sole credited songwriter, later included the song as the opening track of his eponymously titled second studio album. Bowie recorded the song on June 20, 1969, and his label rushed to release the song ahead of the Apollo 11 spaceflight and moon landing, which took place from July 16 to July 24. This strategy proved to be successful, as it reached number five on the UK Singles chart and went on to gain a Platinum certification in the UK.
