The Last Supper or How Two Madmen Made a Film

"The Man Who Sold the World" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his third studio album of the same name. Produced by Tony Visconti, the track was recorded at Trident and Advision Studios in London in May 1970, towards the end of the album's recording sessions. Bowie recorded his vocal on the final day of mixing for the album, reflecting his generally dismissive attitude during the sessions. Musically, it is based around a "circular" guitar riff from Mick Ronson. A psychedelic rock and hard rock song, its lyrics are cryptic and evocative, being inspired by numerous poems, including the 1899 "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns. Bowie's vocals are heavily "phased" throughout and have been described as "haunting". "The Man Who Sold the World" was released in November 1970 in the United States and in April 1971 in the United Kingdom by Mercury Records. It was not released as a single by Bowie, though it appeared as a B-side on the 1973 reissues of "Space Oddity" in the US and "Life on Mars?" in the UK by RCA Records. It was not until it was covered by the Scottish singer Lulu, whose 1974 recording, produced by Bowie and Ronson, peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, that the song gained mainstream attention. In subsequent decades, the song has been covered by Scottish musician Midge Ure in 1982, and in 1993 by Nirvana. Retrospectively, Bowie's original recording has been named one of his best songs, with reviewers praising its haunting and unsettling atmosphere. Later in his career, Bowie's live performances would include notable differences from original recording. This included a markedly darker style during 1995's Outside Tour; a studio recording of the tour's arrangement appeared as a B-side of "Strangers When We Meet" in 1995. He again rerecorded the song in an acoustic arrangement in 1996 for the documentary ChangesNowBowie; which was released in 2020 on the digital version of the EP Is It Any Wonder? and on the album ChangesNowBowie. The original recording has appeared on multiple compilation albums and has been remastered multiple times, including in 2015 as part of the box set Five Years (1969–1973).