The Man Who Sold the World (song)

[3][4] Chris O'Leary writes that Bowie wrote the lyrics in the reception area of the studio while Visconti waited at the mixing console.

Once he finished, he quickly recorded his vocal, Visconti added a "flange" effect and mixed the track in a few hours, sending the tapes to the label later that night.

"[6] This frustration was mostly due in part to his dissatisfaction with the recording sessions: he was mostly in charge of budget and production, as well as maintaining Bowie's interest in the project.

[4] The tracks ends with a coda, described by Doggett as a "haunting chorale"[9] and by O'Leary as "ominous"; it contains wordless vocals and is primarily in D minor.

Pegg suggests that the title partly reflects an element of "self-disgust" Bowie has over the thought of "losing control" and "selling" his private life via profoundly personal music.

[4] Bowie once stated that the song was a sequel to "Space Oddity" which, in Doggett's words, is "an explanation designed to distract rather than enlighten", quoting the lyrics "Who knows?

[16] Beyond this, the episode is unexplained: as James E. Perone wrote, Bowie encounters the title character, but it is not clear just what the phrase means, or exactly who this man is. ...

"[15] Pegg writes that the "defacement of the individual" and "dread of mortality" provide "grim counterparts" to the "immortal anguish" of fellow album track "The Supermen" and the meditations on "impermanence" and "rebirth" in "After All".

[15] "The Man Who Sold the World" was released as the eighth and penultimate track on Bowie's third studio album of the same name in November 1970 in the US and in April 1971 in the UK by Mercury Records.

He appeared on the American television programme Saturday Night Live in December 1979, performing the song with Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias.

Scottish singer Lulu recorded a version in 1974 that was produced by Bowie and Ronson and later became a top ten hit on the UK singles chart.

"[15] AllMusic's Dave Thompson argues that the Lulu, Midge Ure and Nirvana recordings have managed to "establish the song at the very forefront of Bowie's canon.

[43] According to Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone, this version has "a lighter touch, with that famous serpentine guitar riff slinking around a steady acoustic strum and slowly swelling synths.

"[43] It features Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and vocals, Reeves Gabrels (whom Bowie collaborated with in the band Tin Machine) on guitar, and Mark Plati on keyboards and programming.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for Pitchfork, described the re-recording as "a nod to Nirvana popularising the song a few years earlier".

The song was covered by the Scottish singer Lulu in 1974, who, according to biographer David Buckley, performed it in "a sleazy, almost Berlin cabaret style".

"[49] Lulu would recall David Bowie inviting her to a concert he gave after which he met her in his hotel room saying: "I want to make a MF of a record with you [because] you're a great singer."

"[15] Bowie produced Lulu's recording of "The Man Who Sold the World" with Mick Ronson during the July 1973 Pin Ups sessions at the Château d'Hérouville in Hérouville, France and also contributed saxophone and backing vocals.

[15] The remainder of the band included Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, Mike Garson on piano, and Aynsley Dunbar on drums.

[51] Bowie added saxophone overdubs and oversaw the final mix at Olympic Studios in London during the Diamond Dogs sessions.

[52] She promoted her version with an appearance on the British television programme Top of the Pops on 10 January, in which she performed in a charcoal suit and gangster hat.

According to Nicholas Pegg, this outfit bore a "remarkable resemblance" to the wardrobe of Bowie's future persona The Thin White Duke.

[49] Jack Whatley of Far Out magazine writes that while Nirvana's cover is "the stuff of legend", it is Lulu's version of the song that "has us spellbound from its first sleazy moments.

"[57] He further calls her first Top of the Pops performance "stunning, arresting, and a silky smooth affair, filled with enough sleaze to make your weekend feel naughty it remains the best version of Bowie’s iconic song.

[59] Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic were introduced to The Man Who Sold the World by one of their drummers Chad Channing, who bought a used LP version and converted it to cassette.

[The presence of the Meat Puppets' Cris and Curt Kirkwood], along with Cobain's lyrical phrasing and gritty yet humbling resonance, left the audience spellbound.

"[69] In the wake of its release, Bowie bemoaned the fact that when he performed the number himself, he would encounter "kids that come up afterwards and say, 'It's cool you're doing a Nirvana song.'

[70] At a pre–Grammy Awards party on 14 February 2016 for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, surviving Nirvana band members Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, and Pat Smear teamed up with contemporary Beck to perform "The Man Who Sold the World" in tribute to Bowie–who had died the month before—with Beck performing vocals.

[71] To mark what would have been Kurt Cobain's 50th birthday, in 2017 the Phonographic Performance Limited released a list of the twenty most-played Nirvana songs on TV and radio in the UK; "The Man Who Sold the World" ranked at number six.

[74] On 4 January 2020, the surviving members of Nirvana again teamed up with Beck on vocals and St. Vincent on guitar to perform the song at a charity event for The Art of Elysium's annual Heaven gala.