Interestingly, if you have a look at the data for 2021 Bowie’s sales only land him in 3^rd place with 53,181, right behind Taylor Swift in second with 56,917, and then The Beatles rounding out the list with 58,567. But as for the ’20s as a whole, Bowie comes out on top; more than likely due to the massive reissue campaign that has been put in place now Warner Chappell Music own the publishing rights to all of Bowie’s back catalogue. A 50th-anniversary limited-edition picture disc version of the seminal album Hunky Dory proved to be a massive success that allowed the album to re-enter the vinyl charts at no.31. Bowie’s posthumous release Toy also proved to be a commercial success after its Box-set and standard edition vinyl release launched it up to 5^th position. The last release to make big waves for Bowie since the release of Blackstar and his untimely death in 2016 is the compilation album Legacy, the 75^th birthday celebrations have led to a spike in sales allowing the album to sit at 19^th for the duration of the celebrations.

This news comes not long after the announcement that vinyl sales in the UK are experiencing a new high that comes from 14 consecutive years of growth for the format. 2021 was the first year since 1991 to have more than 5 million vinyl records sold in the UK. This feat may have been helped along by record-breaking releases from ABBA, Adele, and other mammoth rollouts like that from Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift last year.

Bowie’s official merch store is currently still shifting copies of a series of releases in association with Bowie’s 75th birthday celebrations. If you want some reasonably limited pressings, picture disc reissues, or one of the few remaining Toy box-sets, then now is your time to get in there quickly.

The first single entitled “Shadow Man (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix” was recorded in 2000 and is a bare-bones mix of a re-recording which Bowie made in 1970. Acclaimed producer Mark Plati has provided the following description concerning the track, “While we were recording the basic tracks Earl Slick suggested that he and I overdub acoustic guitars on all the songs. He said this was Keith Richards’ trick: sometimes these guitars would be a featured part of the track, and at other times they’d be more subliminal. Later, while mixing, David heard one of the songs broken down to just vocals and acoustic guitars; this gave him the idea that we ought to do some stripped-down mixes like that and that maybe one day they’d be useful.”

The second recording of “Shadow Man” to be released is a studio demo version; the early recording was made during the end of 1970. Bowie’s official website confirms that the track was “not recorded during the Ziggy Stardust album sessions as often stated, and is exclusive to this single”

The original recording of “Shadow Man” took place within the end months of 1970. The single was then revisited by Bowie in the Autumn of 1971, another re-working of the track occurred thirty years later. The song would then be included within the singer’s ‘lost’ album Toy, the legendary album which until recently was mainly left unreleased. “Shadow Man” was finally made available to fans in 2002 on the album Heathen and again on the 2014 compilation album Nothing has Changed.

Bowie’s official site provides the following description concerning the making of Toy, “TOY was recorded following David’s triumphant Glastonbury 2000 performance. Bowie entered the studio with his band, Mark Plati, Sterling Campbell, Gail Ann Dorsey, Earl Slick, Mike Garson, Holly Palmer and Emm Gryner, to record new interpretations of songs he’d first recorded from 1964-1971. David planned to record the album ‘old school’ with the band playing live, choose the best takes and then release it as soon as humanly possible in a remarkably prescient manner. “

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The recently released box set of Toy boasts a tracklist of 13 unplugged recordings from the ‘lost’ album. The special edition also includes previously unseen photographs snapped by Frank Ockenfels, alternative mixes and un-released B-Sides. Music fans will be treated to re-visited versions of the singer’s early material including “You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving”, “Silly Boy Blue” and Bowie’s debut single “Liza Jane”

The box set has been made available in 3CD or 6×10” Vinyl configurations. The energy and spirit accumulated during the album’s process also extend to the box set’s packaging. The sleeve artwork has been designed by the “Starman” singer and depicts Bowie as a baby with his adult facial features.

Click here to purchase Toy (Toy: Box).

Speaking about the release of Tutti’s remix, TOY said: “We’re honoured and a little humbled to have Cosey remix one of our songs. We love what she’s done, how she affected the vocals on Strangulation Day and transformed it into her own.”

TOY’s original track appeared on their most recent album “Happy in the Hollow” which was released last month via Tough Love. The remix featured on a bonus 12 inch that came with a limited pressing of the album.

Cosy Fanni Tutti , real name Christine Carol Newby is a performance artist, musician and writer who as well as performing in Throbbing Gristle has also performed in Chris and Cosey. She came up with her stage name in 1973, before which she was using the name Cosmosis. The name was apparently suggested by her mail artist Robin Klassnick and it comes from an opera titled “Cosi fan Tutte” which means “Thus Do They All”.

She started performing with COUM Transmissions which she was a founding member of in 1969. During this time she worked on the project “Prostitution” which was a revealing exhibition about porn and the sex industry, which she was at one time involved with herself.

Throbbing Gristle was formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1981. Chris and Cosey was formed with fellow former TG member Chris Carter.Gristle got back together in 2009 and in 2010 began a European tour but in 2010 , frontman Genesis P-orridge announced that he was no longer preforming with the band leaving Tutti, Carter and other member Peter Christopherson to finish the tour under the name X-TG.

She continues to perform as a solo artist and as a performance artist. In 2017, she released her autobiography titled “Art, Sex, Music.”