Album
Aladdin Sane
Aladdin Sane is David Bowie's sixth studio album, released on 13 April 1973 by RCA Victor. It followed The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and was the first record he wrote after becoming a global star. Bowie and Ken Scott co-produced it, with Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey of the Spiders from Mars joining pianist Mike Garson. It was the last album to feature the full Spiders line-up.
Most of the songs were written on the road in America, and it shows. The sound leans harder than his earlier glam rock, with lyrics about urban decay, drugs, sex and violence, plus a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together". Bowie called it "Ziggy Stardust goes to America". "The Jean Genie" and "Drive-In Saturday" both reached the UK top five, and the album went to number one there. Brian Duffy's lightning-bolt cover portrait is one of Bowie's best-known images.
In the battle
The daily album battle →- Lost against Who’s Next 0% of 2 votes · 21 October 2026
Aladdin Sane: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 41:39Tracklist
- 1Watch That ManDavid Bowie4:30
- 2Aladdin Sane (1913–1938–197?)David Bowie5:08
- 3Drive‐In SaturdayDavid Bowie4:36
- 4Panic in DetroitDavid Bowie4:28
- 5Cracked ActorDavid Bowie3:02
- 6TimeDavid Bowie5:15
- 7The Prettiest StarDavid Bowie3:31
- 8Let’s Spend the Night TogetherMick Jagger and Keith Richards3:10
- 9The Jean GenieDavid Bowie4:07
- 10Lady Grinning SoulDavid Bowie3:52
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Ken Scott
- Recorded at
- Trident Studios (London), RCA Victor Studios, RCA Studios (New York City)
- Recorded
- 6 October, December 1972 – January 1973
- Mixed by
- Mick Ronson, Ken Scott
- Engineered by
- Mike Moran, Ken Scott
- Label
- RCA Victor
- Length
- 41:39
Line-up
- Juanita Franklin · background vocals
- Linda Lewis · background vocals · guest
- Warren Peace · background vocals, percussion · guest
- Trevor Bolder · bass
- David Bowie · harmonica, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar
- Mike Garson · piano
- Mick Ronson · electric guitar, background vocals, guitar
- Mick Woodmansey · drums (drum set)
- Ken Fordham · saxophone · guest
Singles
- “The Jean Genie” · 24 November 1972
- “Drive-In Saturday” · 6 April 1973
- “Time” · April 1973
- “Let's Spend the Night Together” · July 1973
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1973 | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2023 | 8 |
| German Albums · 2023 | 65 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| France · 1981 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2019 | Platinum |
| United States | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
92.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
7.1k
ListenBrainz listeners
214k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
45k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 13 April
Every year →
More from David Bowie
Full discography →
David Bowie
1967
David Bowie
1969
The World of David Bowie
1970
The Man Who Sold the World
1970
Hunky Dory
1971
Do Anything You Say
1972
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
1972
Rebel Rebel / Queen Bitch / Sorrow / Amsterdam
1973
Images 1966–1967
1973
Pin Ups
1973
Diamond Dogs
1974
David Live
1974
Young Americans
1975
Station to Station
1976
ChangesOneBowie
1976
Low
1977
“Heroes”
1977
David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf
1978
Stage
1978
Lodger
1979
David Bowie
1980
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps
1980
The Best of Bowie
1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
1981
ChangesTwoBowie
1981
In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal
1982
Rare
1982
Supergroups
1983
Serious Moonlight
1983
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1983
Let’s Dance
1983
Golden Years
1983
Fame and Fashion (David Bowie’s All Time Greatest Hits)
1984
Love You Till Tuesday
1984
Tonight
1984
Labyrinth: From the Original Soundtrack of the Jim Henson Film
1986
Never Let Me Down
1987
Glass Spider
1988
Sound + Vision
1989
Changesbowie
1990
Early On (1964–1966)
1991
Black Tie White Noise
1993
The Singles Collection
1993
The Buddha of Suburbia
1993
Live Santa Monica ’72
1994
RarestOneBowie
1995
1.Outside: The Nathan Adler Diaries: A Hyper Cycle
1995
Earthling
1997
The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974
1997
The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979
1998
‘hours…’
1999
Liveandwell.com
2000
Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68–72
2000
All Saints (Collected Instrumentals 1977–1999)
2001
Heathen
2002
Best of Bowie
2002
Reality
2003
Club Bowie: Rare and Unreleased 12″ Mixes
2003
Live EP (live at Fashion Rocks)
2005
The Collection
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Bowie 1965!
2006
The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
2007
Outside / Earthling / Hours / Heathen / Reality
2007
iSELECT
2008
VH1 Storytellers
2009
Space Oddity
2009
A Reality Tour
2010
The Next Day
2013
Pin-Ups Radio Show
2013
The Next Day Extra EP
2013
Nothing has changed.
2014
Five Years 1969–1973
2015
★
2016
Who Can I Be Now? 1974–1976
2016
Lazarus
2016
Legacy
2016
No Plan
2017
Live Nassau Coliseum ’76
2017
Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74)
2017
A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
2017
Welcome to the Blackout (live London ’78)
2018
Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
2018
Glastonbury 2000
2018
Conversation Piece
2019
Is It Any Wonder?
2020
ChangesNowBowie
2020
I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
2020
The Width of a Circle
2021
Toy
2021
Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
2021
Brilliant Adventure EP
2022
Toy E.P.
2022
Fun Mix
2022
Moonage Daydream: A Film by Brett Morgen
2022
Divine Symmetry
2022
Rock ’n’ Roll Star!
2024
Ready, Set, Go! (live, Riverside Studios ’03)
2025
I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002–2016)
2025
The Shel Talmy Recordings
2026
The best of 1973
All of 1973 →
The Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd · 1973
Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin · 1973
Goat's Head Soup
The Rolling Stones · 1973
The Million Sellers
The Rolling Stones · 1973
Vol. 3
The Rolling Stones · 1973
The Rolling Stones Extended Play
The Rolling Stones · 1973
Devil’s Disciples
The Rolling Stones · 1973
Mythology of Stones
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The Rolling Stones Vol. 2 1973
Vol. 2
The Rolling Stones · 1973
Stones Storms in America
The Rolling Stones · 1973
Super Session
The Rolling Stones · 1973
Salute to the Old Rockers
The Rolling Stones · 1973
More on RCA Victor
The label →The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
David Bowie · 1972
Station to Station
David Bowie · 1976
Taken by Force
Scorpions · 1977
In Trance
Scorpions · 1975
Fly to the Rainbow
Scorpions · 1974
Stage
David Bowie · 1978
ChangesOneBowie
David Bowie · 1976
David Bowie
David Bowie · 1980
Christiane F.: Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
David Bowie · 1981
All Bright Electric
Feeder · 2016
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1973-04-19 (musicbrainz)
Wikipedia's note: Print sources had previously reported as 13April 1973. In 2018, Bowie's official website stated that new evidence indicated the official release date was 20April, but that because this was Good Friday (a public holiday in the UK), the album was made available one day earlier. In 2023, the website stated the "made available" date of 19April was the original release date. According to Benoît Clerc's book David Bowie All the Songs (2022), the US release date was 13April and the UK release date was
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 19 April 1973 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 13 April 1973 | see Wikipedia note |
| Wikidata | 13 April 1973 | |
| US release | 19 April 1973 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 19 April 1973 | earliest UK or European date |
32 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | US | RCA Victor | other | |
| 1973 | DE | RCA Victor | other | |
| April 1973 | JP | RCA | other | |
| 19 April 1973 | US | RCA | original | |
| 19 April 1973 | GB | RCA Victor | original | |
| 1984 | XE | RCA | 0035628389022 | other |
| May 1984 | GB | RCA | other | |
| October 1984 | US | RCA Victor | 078635485226 | other |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | remaster | |
| 1990 | US | Rykodisc | 014431013522 | remaster |
| July 1990 | XE | EMI | 0077779476824 | other |
| 22 March 1999 | GB | EMI | 724349946316 | other |
| 6 September 1999 | XE | EMI | 724352190201 | other |
| 28 September 1999 | US | Virgin | 724352190201 | other |
| 29 September 1999 | JP | EMI | 4988006775107 | other |
| 2001 | GB | Simply Vinyl | other | |
| 2003 | XE | EMI | 724358312027 | deluxe |
| 24 June 2003 | US | EMI | 724358301229 | deluxe |
| 10 January 2007 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006849815 | other |
| 28 October 2009 | JP | EMI Music Japan Inc. | 4988006876002 | other |
| 2013 | XW | Parlophone | 825646288236 | remaster |
| 16 April 2013 | US | EMI | 5099993447423 | deluxe |
| 17 April 2013 | JP | Universal | 4988006553422 | deluxe |
| 17 April 2013 | XW | Parlophone | 825646283996 | other |
| 2014 | US | Parlophone | 724352190201 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Parlophone | other | |
| 25 September 2015 | XE | Parlophone | 825646283392 | remaster |
| 25 September 2015 | US | Parlophone | 825646283392 | remaster |
| 25 September 2015 | JP | Parlophone | 4943674219698 | other |
| 20 April 2018 | GB | — | 0190295679804 | deluxe |
| 2023 | XE | Parlophone | 5054197591785 | other |
| 14 April 2023 | — | — | 5054197183140 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |