David Bowie Cover of the Week: Declan McKenna covers “Valentine’s Day” and “Oh! You Pretty Things.”

This video documents a live in-studio performance by Declan McKenna for Radio Nova’s program “Nova le soir,” broadcast from London. McKenna performs acoustic covers of “Valentine’s Day” and “Oh! You Pretty Things,” as part of a special marking the tenth anniversary of Bowie’s death. The same broadcast also featured appearances by Paul Smith of Maxïmo Park and Suzy Eddie Izzard. After the songs, the video goes on to include a French-language interview with McKenna.

I like this performance and also like the song selection, in part because I have had “Oh! You Pretty Things” on my mind and in part because the choices reflect both the span of Bowie’s career and a contrast in his lyrical style. “Pretty Things” is an early song, first released (with slightly altered lyrics) by Peter Noone before Bowie included it on Hunky Dory in 1971. “Valentine’s Day” comes from Bowie’s penultimate album, The Next Day, released in 2013. “Pretty Things” is cryptic, filled with obscure references and open to wide interpretation. “Valentine’s Day” is about as straightforward as Bowie gets—the song addresses a school shooter and clearly laments a modern societal problem. The only deception in the song is its title, which has nothing to do with the holiday for lovers. Neither song typically appears on lists of Bowie’s greatest hits, but both tend to be favorites among devoted Bowie fans. So, good selection, Declan.

Radio Nova is a Paris-based public-facing radio station known for eclectic music programming, cultural coverage, and live sessions, with a long-standing reputation for spotlighting alternative, independent, and international artists alongside curated tributes and themed broadcasts.

Declan McKenna is an English singer-songwriter who first came to prominence in 2015 after winning the Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition. Later that year, he self-released his debut single, “Brazil,” a protest song criticizing FIFA and the 2014 World Cup, which went on to top SiriusXM’s Alt Nation Alt 18 Countdown and chart on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs chart. He released his debut album, What Do You Think About the Car?, in 2017, followed by Zeros in 2020 and his third album, What Happened to the Beach?, in 2024. Sadly, Zeroes does not include a cover of Bowie’s song by the same name.