Bumping this thread because I stumbled across this intriguing (and superb) curiosity.
I’m a bit of a Bowie fan, so of course I know that The Prettiest Star appears on Aladdin Sane. What I only just found out was that the original version was Bowie’s follow-up to Space Oddity - and it bombed.
From the wiki page:
In January 1970, Bowie re-recorded an old Deram track, “London Bye Ta-Ta”, intended as a follow-up single to “Space Oddity”. However, the same sessions spawned a new composition named “The Prettiest Star”, which Bowie had written for Angela Barnett, reputedly playing it down the telephone as part of his proposal to her. The song is in the style of the Greek hasapiko dance as a tribute to Angie’s Cypriot ethnic origin. He also chose it as his next single, to the displeasure of manager Kenneth Pitt, who favoured “London Bye Ta-Ta”.
The track featured Marc Bolan on guitar …. A more glam-influenced version was recorded in December 1972 or January 1973 for the album Aladdin Sane, with Mick Ronson recreating Bolan’s original guitar part almost note-for-note.
And man, was Bolan good. It’s a great record - far better than the Aladdin Sane version - and it’s a crime that it wasn’t a huge hit.
j