Fans of the man and the era might want to pick up a copy of At the Birth of Bowie by Phil Lancaster.
Yes, this is all about David Bowie (or David Jones) in his pre-fame days. When he was a boy about town on the streets of Swinging London.
The hardback book is just out and isn’t based on a few stories here and there. Phil Lancaster was on the ground at the time, the drummer in Bowie’s band at the time, which was known as The Lower Third.
It is 1965, and the capital is indeed swinging and dominated by hipsters, mods and rockers, as well as playboys and good-time girls, all revelling in the ‘blossoming artistic, creative and cultural energies’ of the day.
According to the write-up:
Amid the colour and chaos is a boy sporting drainpipe jeans, an immaculately tailored sports coat and a half-inch wide tie. A devoted fan of The Who, he looks the part in his pristine mod gear. As the lead singer of the Lower Third, his talent is shaping itself into something truly special.
That boy was Davie Jones. A decade on, he will be both unrecognisable and one of the most famous faces on the planet. In just over fifty years, his death will be mourned by millions, his legacy the story of one of the greatest rock stars of all time.
Phil tells the full tale here, at a ‘critical crossroad’ of time and place in music history. The end result is described as an ‘intimate, personal and important perspective on the genesis of one of the most iconic musicians of the twentieth century’, giving you an insight into the man before the characters came into play.
Just on the shelves, the 281-page At The Birth Of Bowie is available in hardback for a discounted £17. If you want it even cheaper, there’s a Kindle version for £8.96.
