Trivia / The Buddha of Suburbia

• Channel Hop: Since Savage Records went bust shortly after releasing Black Tie White Noise, The Buddha of Suburbia was put out through their parent label, Arista Records, with Bowie remaining there outside the US (where he eventually signed with Virgin Records) for the next several years.
• Creator-Driven Successor: Fans and analysts often describe the album as a successor to the Berlin Trilogy (Low, "Heroes", and Lodger), due to its emphasis on experimental, electronics-heavy art rock and the presence of several lengthy instrumental tracks.
• Creator's Favorite Episode: Bowie cited this album as one of his favorites in a 2003 interview.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes:
  • The album went out of print in both the U.K. and U.S. shortly after its initial release as a result of poor sales. It was eventually reissued in 2007 in both regions, but until then the only way to legally obtain it was through careful scouring on the secondhand market.
  • For the longest time, obtaining the album on vinyl was particularly difficult for fans of the format, as the only official LP release was a single print run in Brazil. Even after the Vinyl Revival took hold in 2007, when the album was reissued on CD for the first time since 1995, no other LP releases occurred until 2021, when the album was included as part of the Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) Boxed Set.
• Late Export for You: The album was originally released in 1993 in the UK, but wasn't released in the US until 1995, after 1. Outside.
• Popularity Redo: Partly because of this album's failure, "Strangers When We Meet" would later be re-recorded for inclusion on 1995's 1. Outside.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The announcement of the 2007 reissue stated that it would feature a new, full-color cover photo of Bowie taken from the photoshoots for the 1995 U.S. cover art. However, once the album finally returned to store shelves, it simply used a sepia-tinted version of the 1995 cover.
  • Bowie considered re-recording "Dead Against It" during the sessions for both 1. Outside and Earthling, similarly to how he had re-recorded "Strangers When We Meet" for the former, only to back out of the idea both times.

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