David Bowie’s Decades-Old Single Suddenly Becomes A Top 10 On Several Charts

David Bowie posthumously hits the top 10 on two U.K. rankings as “Hallo Spaceboy,” which was re-released for Record Store Day 2026, becomes a bestseller. English singer David Bowie performs on the set of his music video ‘Jump They Say’ in Los Angeles, California, March 1993. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images)

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Of the dozens of well-known musical acts that took part in Record Store Day, which sees artists releasing projects on physical formats that can only be purchased at record stores around the world, very few delivered multiple products for fans to buy. The late David Bowie is one of them, as both an album and a single arrived in time to be a part of the semi-annual event.

Both Excerpts from Outside as well as his tune “Hallo Spaceboy” become strong sellers in the United Kingdom, where he remains a musical superhero. “Hallo Spaceboy” manages to soar straight into the top 10 on every roster where it launches, and it even finds its way to a new high on one additional list.

David Bowie’s “Hallo Spaceboy” Debuts Inside the Top 10

Bowie scores two new top 10s this week on different charts. “Hallo Spaceboy” kicks off its time at No. 4 on the Official Vinyl Singles list, a detailed look at the bestselling individual tunes on wax, and at No. 5 on the Official Singles Sales rundown. That latter register is focused on the top-selling songs of any style, and purchases on CD, cassette, and vinyl, as well as digital downloads, play into its compiling.

David Bowie Posthumously Earns His Seventh Top 10

Bowie posthumously scores his seventh top 10 on the Official Singles Sales chart, the busiest and most competitive of all the songs rankings in the U.K. built entirely around purchases. He has pushed a total of 35 tracks to the 100-space ranking, beginning his run in 2014, not long before his passing.

Bowie has proved significantly more successful when it comes to selling smashes on wax. Out of 37 total wins on the Official Vinyl Singles chart, only a few pieces of music by Bowie have failed to crack the top 10.

“Hallo Spaceboy” Reaches the Top 10 on Several Lists

At the same time that “Hallo Spaceboy” makes a home on both the Official Singles Sales and Official Vinyl Singles charts, for the first time since its release in the mid-’90s, the tune also becomes a top 10 smash on one other roster, the Official Physical Singles list. “Hallo Spaceboy” debuted just beneath the top 10, at No. 12, on the ranking of the top-selling cuts on CD, cassette, or vinyl in March 1996. It would go on to live on the tally for four frames before disappearing, and until this week, “Hallo Spaceboy” has not ranked as a top performer on any physical format since then.

Bowie collects his forty-fourth top 10 on the Official Physical Singles chart – essentially as many top 10s as he’s snagged on both the Official Singles Sales and Official Vinyl Singles rosters combined.

David Bowie’s “Hallo Spaceboy” Originated on Outside

Bowie wrote and recorded “Hallo Spaceboy” for his twentieth album Outside, which arrived in 1995. “Hallo Spaceboy” was chosen as the third and final single from the set and released the following February.

To make the cut more palatable to the public and to lean further into the album’s electronic influences, U.K. duo Pet Shop Boys remixed the song, and that is the version that much of the public knows. That is also the take that was made available on vinyl for Record Store Day in a thirtieth anniversary celebration.

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