Celebrating David Bowie

© Photo: Masayoshi Sukita

In celebration of what would have been David Bowie's 74th Birthday, Rhino Records have released two previously unheard covers from Bowie, 'Tryin' to Get to Heaven' by Bob Dylan and 'Mother' by John Lennon. Both of the recordings are being released as limited edition singles, limited to 8147 copies - a reference to the rock 'n' roll star's birthday.

His cover of Lennon's track, 'Mother', was recorded with producer Tony Visconti in 1998. As part of a special BBC radio series about Bowie, producer Tony Visconti describes the first meeting between Bowie and Lennon. After an initial period of silence, the pair were able to open up to each other through art:

'[John] finally said to David, 'Rip that pad in half and give me a few sheets. I want to draw you.' So David said, 'Oh, that's a good idea', and he finally opened up. So John started making caricatures of David, and David started doing the same of John and they kept swapping them and then they started laughing and that broke the ice.'

Fans eager to hear the result of Bowie's work, can now listen to the singles here.