12 June 2025

The late musical genius DAVID BOWIE (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016)
released a single, called MEMORY OF A FREE FESTIVAL on 12 June 1970,
today 55 years ago.

It featured on his 2nd self-titled LP.

The single featured Marc Bolan
on lead guitar and backing vocals.

Originally recorded as a 7-minute opus in 1969, it was reworked in 1970. His label
Mercury Records, believed that the track had a better chance of success as a single
than the LP’s track ‘The Prettiest Star’, released earlier in the year. Bowie and producer
Tony Visconti roughly split the track in half, re-recording it so both halves could
function as individual songs.

Biographer David Buckley described the song 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 (UK) on 16 August 1969.

Sounds like a hippie hymn turning, midway, into a gospel choir song.

DAVID BOWIE: Facebook