Album
‘hours…’
'hours…' is David Bowie's twenty-second studio album, released in September 1999 on Virgin. It began life as music for the video game Omikron: The Nomad Soul, and it turned out to be his last collaboration with guitarist Reeves Gabrels, who had worked with him since 1988. It was recorded in Bermuda and New York City, and it was among the first albums by a major artist to be made available to download online, through Bowie's own BowieNet site. A fan even won a song contest there and ended up supplying lyrics and backing vocals for one track.
After the experimental restlessness of his other 1990s records, this one is a gentler, pop-rock set that recalls Hunky Dory. The lyrics are introspective, dwelling on broken relationships and angst, with Christian imagery running through them and reflected in the Pietà-inspired cover. It reached number five in the UK and produced several top 40 singles. Reviews were mixed, with individual songs praised more than the whole, so it rewards picking out favourites.
‘hours…’: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 47:04Tracklist
- 1Thursday’s ChildDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels5:23
- 2Something in the AirDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels5:46
- 3SurviveDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels4:11
- 4If I’m Dreaming My LifeDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels7:05
- 5SevenDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels4:05
- 6What’s Really Happening?Bowie, Gabrels, Grant4:10
- 7The Pretty Things Are Going to HellDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels4:41
- 8New Angels of PromiseDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels4:38
- 9Brilliant AdventureDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels1:52
- 10The DreamersDavid Bowie and Reeves Gabrels5:14
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, Mark Plati
- Recorded at
- Mute Records Studio, Looking Glass Studios (New York City), Chung King Studios (New York City), Seaview (Bermuda)
- Recorded
- April–June 1999
- Mixed by
- Mark Plati
- Mixed at
- Chung King Studios
- Engineered by
- Kevin Paul, Mark Plati
- Label
- Virgin
- Length
- 47:04
Line-up
- David Bowie · acoustic guitar, keyboard, lead vocals, background vocals, drum machine, 12 string guitar, koto
- Reeves Gabrels · acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer, guitar, keyboard, guitar synthesizer
- Mike Levesque · membranophone, drums (drum set), percussion, tambourine
- Mark Plati · acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, synthesizer, mellotron, keyboard
- Holly Palmer · background vocals · guest
- Chris Haskett · guitar · guest
- Everett Bradley · percussion · guest
- Sterling Campbell · drums (drum set), chimes
- Alex Grant · background vocals · guest
- Larry Tressler · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “Thursday's Child” · 20 September 1999
- “The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell” · September 1999 (Australia/Japan)
- “Survive” · 17 January 2000
- “Seven” · 17 July 2000
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1999 | 5 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1999 | 47 |
| Austrian Albums · 1999 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1999 | 2 |
| German Albums · 1999 | 4 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1999 | 4 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1999 | 7 |
| French Albums · 1999 | 7 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1999 | 12 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1999 | 12 |
All 18 charts
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1999 | 14 |
| Scottish Albums · 1999 | 14 |
| Swiss Albums · 1999 | 18 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1999 | 21 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1999 | 21 |
| Dutch Albums · 1999 | 31 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1999 | 33 |
| Finnish Albums · 1999 | 39 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| France · 1999 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2024 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
74.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
66k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.6k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 21 September
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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
Aladdin Sane
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
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
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![[untitled] by Korn, album cover](/img/4ee42fb0-056a-38bf-8a89-e4cf8e4a57ed/300)
[untitled]
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1999-09-21 vs 1999-10-05 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 5 October 1999 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 September 1999 | |
| Wikidata | 1999 | |
| US release | 5 October 1999 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | October 1999 | earliest UK or European date |
20 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | XW | Virgin | 724384815721 | other |
| 1999 | AU | — | other | |
| 1999 | FR | Virgin France S.A. | 724384871604 | other |
| 1999 | ZA | Virgin | 6002140913626 | other |
| 1999 | BR | Virgin Records America, Inc. | 724384815721 | other |
| October 1999 | XE | Virgin | 724384815820 | other |
| October 1999 | GB | — | other | |
| 5 October 1999 | CA | Virgin Music Canada | 724384815707 | original |
| 5 October 1999 | US | Virgin | 724384815707 | original |
| 2004 | XE | Columbia | 5099751193623 | other |
| 18 February 2004 | JP | 東芝EMI 株式会社 | 4988006774971 | other |
| 23 March 2004 | US | Columbia | 827969209929 | other |
| 27 September 2004 | FR | Columbia | 5099751193692 | other |
| 6 June 2007 | JP | Sony Records International | 4582192934616 | other |
| 27 March 2013 | JP | Sony Records International | 4547366192964 | other |
| 2015 | US | Friday Music | 829421481553 | other |
| 15 June 2015 | XE | Music on Vinyl | 8718469538898 | other |
| 15 June 2015 | XE | Music on Vinyl | 8718469538898 | other |
| 1 November 2015 | GB | Parlophone | 825646001637 | other |
| 10 May 2024 | — | Rhino | remaster |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 2835×2797 | cropped |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |