Life on Mars

About Life on Mars

"Life on Mars?", also known as "(Is There) Life on Mars?", is a song by David Bowie, first released in 1971 on his album Hunky Dory and also released as a single. The song has cryptic lyrics by Bowie and prominent piano by Rick Wakeman. When released as a single in 1973, "Life on Mars?" reached number three in the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for thirteen weeks. A music video was filmed by Mick Rock to promote the single release. In 2015 Neil McCormick, chief rock music critic of The Daily Telegraph, ranked the song as number one in his "100 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In 2016, Pitchfork named it the best song of the 1970s. A 2016 mix of "Life on Mars?" appeared on the compilation album Legacy (The Very Best of David Bowie) and was released as a single. The mix, by its original producer Ken Scott, is 'stripped down' and has only strings, piano and Bowie's vocals. A special music video to promote the compilation was also released, the original director Mick Rock re-cutting his 1973 video, using out-takes and other documentary sources to create a new version. more »