David Bowie’s ‘Hunky Dory’ to receive deluxe reissue containing dozens of unreleased tracks and demos

'Divine Symmetry (An Alternate Journey Through Hunky Dory)' will arrive in November

David Bowie‘s fourth studio album, ‘Hunky Dory’, will be released as a deluxe reissue that will include unreleased home demos, live recordings and other rarities from that era.

‘Divine Symmetry (An Alternate Journey Through Hunky Dory)’ is set to arrive on November 25 via Parlophone and will, across four CDs, feature 48 previously unreleased  tracks and demos taken from the 12 months leading up to the release of ‘Hunky Dory’ in 1971.

The first CD of the collection contains home and hotel room demos of songs that would end up on ‘Hunky Dory’, along with unreleased songs like ‘King Of The City’, ‘Right On Mother’, ‘How Lucky You Are (Miss Peculiar)’ and ‘Tired Of My Life’.

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Other discs include Bowie’s 1971 John Peel live session, BBC radio recordings, live cuts, the ‘BOWPROMO’ EP, B-sides, alternate versions of ‘Hunky Dory’ tracks and more. Coinciding with the reissue’s announcement, Parlophone have shared Bowie’s previously unreleased rendition of ‘Hunky Dory’ album track ‘Kooks’, taken from BBC’s Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris radio show. Listen to that below:

Also included as part of the box set is a Blu-ray disc that features the 2015 remastered edition of ‘Hunky Dory’, and the titular “alternate journey through ‘Hunky Dory” which reimagines the album by replacing each song on the album’s tracklist with a previously-unreleased version. That will also be available as a standalone vinyl edition in February next year.

Additionally, the deluxe reissue contains a 100-page hardcover book with exclusive photos and memorabilia, as well as a 60-page replica of Bowie’s notes from that era, such as handwritten lyrics, costume drawings, and other notes. The collection also contains liner notes contributed by ‘Hunky Dory’ co-producer Ken Scott and others close to Bowie. Pre-order it here through Bowie’s website, where you can also find the full tracklist.

The forthcoming reissue follows a 50th anniversary picture disc vinyl edition of ‘Hunky Dory’ that arrived early this year, and was announced alongside an alternate mix of lead single ‘Changes’.

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Earlier this month, Brett Morgen’s Bowie documentary film Moonage Daydream arrived in cinemas, along with an accompanying companion album featuring previously unheard material, unique mixes created for the film, and dialogue from Bowie.

In a five-star review of Moonage Daydream, NME wrote: “Morgen’s film isn’t a greatest hits set. It’s much better than that. It’s an avant garde portrait of an artist that scratches away at the surface paint to reveal the many layers beneath. You should seek it out, immediately.”

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