Who played the mellotron on David Bowie’s 1973 masterpiece ‘Life on Mars?’
Rick Wakeman played the mellotron on David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?”, helping create the song’s distinctive, otherworldly sound. The account highlights their long-running musical connection and Wakeman’s role in shaping a track that became one of Bowie’s best-known works.
Wakeman first worked with Bowie on “Space Oddity” in 1969, when producer Tony Visconti asked him to play the difficult-to-tune instrument. For “Life on Mars?”, recorded after Bowie’s breakthrough with *The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars*, Wakeman also played piano and was given freedom to develop his part. The single reached number three in the UK.
In short
- Rick Wakeman played mellotron on “Life on Mars?”
- He had first worked with Bowie on “Space Oddity”.
- The single peaked at number three in the UK.
Explained simply
David Bowie was a British singer and songwriter whose early 1970s records helped establish him as a major figure in popular music. “Life on Mars?” appeared on his 1971 album Hunky Dory, before his breakthrough as the character Ziggy Stardust.
Rick Wakeman was a keyboard player who worked with Bowie on several recordings, beginning with “Space Oddity” in 1969. On “Life on Mars?” he played piano as well as mellotron, an instrument that uses recorded sounds played from a keyboard.
The song became one of Bowie’s best-known works, and its single reached number three in the UK. Wakeman’s parts are part of the arrangement that gives the recording its distinctive sound.