Starman

by Paul Trynka

  14 White Stains

  Main sources: Ava Cherry, Maggie Abbott, Cherry Vanilla, Geoff MacCormack, Glenn Hughes, Earl Slick, Iggy Pop, James Williamson, Carlos Alomar, Ben Edmonds. For this chapter, I owe a huge debt to writer Rob Hughes, who shared all the interview transcripts for his excellent Uncut article on The Man Who Fell to Earth. This helped give me a vital sense of the wider context behind the movie; it was vital, too, for Roeg and Litvinoff’s accounts of what happened to Bowie’s soundtrack for the movie. All the quotes from Candy Clark, Nicholas Roeg and Si Litvinoff come from Rob’s transcripts. Thanks also to Joel McIver, Glenn Hughes’ biographer, for sharing information and putting me in touch with Glenn. Slash quote is from Slash: The Autobiography (Harper, 2008). Paul Buckmaster quotes come from his interview with David Buckley in the MOJO Bowie birthday special, January 2007.

  Thanks to Gary Lachman for providing extensive background information on Bowie and the occult. The obvious influence of Trevor Ravenscroft’s The Spear of Destiny and other texts, and Bowie’s avowed interest in Gnosticism, has inspired a huge amount of sometimes hilarious background reading. The net is a good place to investigate these theories. One amusing fantasist, contacted by this author and quoted widely elsewhere, claimed to have intimate knowledge of Bowie’s early involvement with characters like Stephen Ward and other members of the Profumo circle. Disappointingly, such conspiracy theorists omit facts that could shore up their batty fantasies. Some of Bowie’s key works are in fact intimately connected with a line of occult power running across London – mapped by Nazi theorists – which led to Omphalos, the spiritual centre of the British Empire, according to the London Psychogeographical Society. ‘Space Oddity’ was first recorded in Deptford Creek, on this line of power – where Christopher Marlowe was allegedly sacrificed by dark forces involving the magician John Dee – and Ziggy Stardust was rehearsed nearby in Greenwich, or Omphalos, itself. The line of power also bisects Bromley Road. I hope an expert will investigate this subject more deeply.

  More seriously, there is a brilliant analysis of the concepts invoked in Station to Station by the late Ian MacDonald, reprinted in The People’s Music (Pimlico, 2003). Gary Lachman explores the 1960s history of the occult in Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2002).

  Information on David’s involvement with Wally Elmlark comes from Cherry Vanilla, who goes on to say that after writing down the telephone number, David promised he’d produce Cherry’s next album. ‘Bowie said, “I’ll be in New York in a week I’ll see you then.” I was floating around on cloud nine – Bowie’s going to produce my record! The next week I’m at Norman Fisher’s and Norman gave this party for Bowie … the top of the fireplace was all white with coke. I walked up to David and said, “When are we going to talk about the record?” He said something to me in German, turned away and I didn’t see him again for years.’

  Deep Purple live dates come from http://www.deeppurpleliveindex.com/.

  15 Ghosts in the Echo Chambers

  Main interviews: Andrew Kent, Iggy Pop, Carlos Alomar, Laurent Thibault, Pierre Calamel, Marc Zermati, Philippe Auliac, Roy Young, Tony Visconti, Angie Bowie, Kuelan Nguyen, Phil Palmer, Eduard Meyer. David’s intention to record with Iggy at Musicland was first mentioned in Iggy’s interview with Punk Magazine in March 1976. My thanks to Christophe Geudin, who interviewed Laurent Thibault for Recording Musicien magazine, exchanged ideas with me and helped me make several breakthroughs in understanding The Idiot. Bowie’s confused communications with Michael Rother were first revealed in Tobias Rüther’s Helden: David Bowie und Berlin (Rogner und Bernhard, 2008). Brian Eno quotes are from Stephen Dalton’s Uncut interview, more background on Eno comes from On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno by David Sheppard and Eno’s insightful interview with Ian MacDonald, NME, November 1977.

  16 Helden

  Opening section is based on an interview with Tony Visconti; the description of a typical day in Berlin comes from Iggy Pop, augmented by the recollections of Edu Meyer, one of the recipients of Bowie and Iggy’s surprise visits. Main interviews: Angie Bowie, Edu Meyer, Hunt Sales, Tony Sales, Esther Friedmann, Ricky Gardiner, Kris Needs, Carlos Alomar. David’s quotes on ‘the sense of yearning for a future we knew would never come to pass’ are from Uncut. Thanks to David Sheppard for sharing his thoughts on this period in Eno’s artistic life; Eno’s quotes are from Ian MacDonald’s NME interview. The section covering Bowie’s appearance on Marc derives from interviews with Keith Altham, Jeff Dexter, Chris Welch and Cliff Wright. Information on Marc’s fatal car crash comes from Mark Paytress’s research.

  17 I Am Not a Freak

  Main sources for David’s later days in Berlin are Edu Meyer, Esther Friedmann and Klaus Krüger. Stage and Lodger sources: Adrian Belew, Carlos Alomar, Simon House and Tony Visconti, augmented by Sean Mayes’ We Can Be Heroes: Life On Tour with David Bowie. Just a Gigolo background was aided by Michael Watt’s feature for Melody Maker, February 1978. The Lou Reed encounter is based primarily on Chuck Hammer’s recollections. Other interviewees: Barry Andrews, Steve Strange. Primary Elephant Man interviews: Ken Ruta, Jeanette Landis. The description of David’s reaction to John Lennon’s murder comes primarily from May Pang.

  18 Snapshot of a Brain

  Duncan Jones talked about his front-room viewing sessions of Star Wars in the New York Times, 3 June, 2009. David’s bodyguard and stalker-avoiding routine were described by Kevin Armstrong and others. David’s ‘I’ve gotten closer to her’ quote about Peggy comes from his interview with Timothy White, Musician, May 1983. Figures for Mitchelson’s divorce settlement for Angie come Ladies’ Man: The Life and Trials of Marvin Mitchelson by John A. Jenkins (St Martin’s Press, 1992); Angie’s comment that David ‘used his millions to poison Zowie against me’ comes from the Daily Mail, which has featured Angie many times over the years; David’s ‘As much insight into the human condition as a walnut’ quote comes from the same source. Brian May’s ‘It was hard because you had four very precocious boys’ quote comes from Mark Blake’s interview for the MOJO Special of 2008. The Baal section derives from interviews with Louis Marks and Dominic Muldowney, plus John Willett’s fascinating essay, ‘Brecht for the Media’, 1982. Jeremy Thomas and Ryuichi Sakamoto quotes come from the ‘Making of …’ documentary on the special edition of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. Other interviews: Esther Friedmann, Carol Clerk, Tommy Shannon, Gary Lachman, Nile Rodgers, Gary Gersh, Hugh Stanley-Clarke.

  19 On the Other Side

  Principal interviews: Tommy Shannon, Frank Simms, Earl Slick, Charles Shaar Murray, Hugh Padgham, Julien Temple, Kevin Armstrong, Matthew Seligman, Clare Hirst, Thomas Dolby, Iggy Pop, Nancy Jeffries, Erdal Kizilcay, Edu Meyer, Tony Horkins. Bowiedownunder.com had a fascinating, useful account of the filming of the ‘Let’s Dance’ and ‘China Girl’ videos. Thanks to David Buckley, who put me in touch with Hugh Padgham and whose Bowie biography, Strange Fascination (Virgin, 1999), gives a superb account of the making of Tonight. For Open Up and Bleed, I believed the assurances of Iggy’s management that David’s tale of Iggy stamping on a fan’s head was apocryphal; now, thanks to Ed Hunter and Noel Tepper, we know the fan was Lucille Reed of Poughkeepsie, who won a settlement from Iggy’s lawyers. Most of the quotes from Pat Antoniou come from pieces in the Sun and the Daily Mirror, throughout spring 1985, accessed via the British Library at Colindale. Records of David’s plans to set up his own production stable with Bill Laswell came from paperwork in the possession of Les Conn.

  20 It’s My Life – So Fuck Off

  Principal interviews: Kevin Armstrong, Reeves Gabrels, Tony Sales, Hunt Sales, Eric Schermerhorn, Adrian Belew, Erdal Kizilcay, Emma Bannister, Nile Rodgers. Much of the information on David and Iman’s first meeting comes from (where else?) Hello! magazine. The story of David’s trip to Wales first appeared in the South Wales Echo, September 1992. David’s quote, ‘the truth is I was not convinced by the motivations behind
this event’, comes from Rock Et Folk magazine, December 1998. Interviews around the Mick Ronson tribute include Suzi Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Ken Scott. Ronson’s quote comes from an interview I did with him for International Musician magazine in February 1989, in which it was obvious he was a little sniffy about Bowie – but had no complaints. In the same interview, Ronson and I discussed whether David’s switch to a deeper, more baritone voice was influenced by Iggy. Ronson’s conclusion was ‘Sound like Iggy? He wanted to be Iggy!’ Hanif Kureishi tells his own story of The Buddha of Suburbia at hanifkureishi.com. His site also contains his 1999 story, ‘Strangers When We Meet’.

  21 The Heart’s Filthy Lesson

  This chapter would not have been possible without the inspiration, help and persistence of Kris Needs, who did the bulk of the research on the Outside sessions, and conducted the detailed, insightful interviews with Reeves Gabrels, Mike Garson and Mark Plati. Other sources for this chapter: Kevin Armstrong, Erdal Kizilcay, Tony Visconti (augmented with material from The Brooklyn Boy), Carlos Alomar, Thomas Dolby, Mark Cooper, Max Glenn. The background on Bowie Bonds is sourced primarily from court records and judgements in the Pullman v. Prudential and Zysblat case, decided in favour of the latter by Supreme Court judge Ira Gammerman in judgement 600772/01, July 2003. Duncan Jones’ career was summarised in, among others, the New York Times, June 2009. Over the period in question, David’s webchats at wwww.davidbowie.com provide consistent, often hilarious insights into his family life and music. Bowie’s account of the making of Heathen comes from his excellent interview for Livewire, 16 June, 2002.

  22 The Houdini Principle

  The title of this chapter, and much of the reasoning, derives from Julien Temple’s conversations with David early in 1985. Bowie fans will also recognise a resonance with his intriguing performance as Nikolai Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige – a movie whose title and plot revolve around the notion of making a magnificent exit. Fan quotes are posted on the YouTube video of the Fashion Rocks Show, 8 September, 2005. The ‘pregnant pause’ theory was advanced by, among others, Nicholas Pegg in the MOJO Special of 2007; the announcement both of Bowie’s appearance at Highline, and his cancellation, appeared on david-bowie.com. David confided his estrangement from Iggy to Robert Phoenix on gettingit.com, October 1999. Details of Defries’ disastrous investment in the Cayman Islands was reported on wikileaks, 3 March, 2008. Information on Defries’ planned autobiography Gods and Gangsters, come from his press release of 2008. Duncan Jones’ quote about his relationship with his father comes from the Daily Telegraph, 14 July, 2009. Ian McCulloch quote from MOJO, issue 100. Other interviews: Julien Temple, Mike Garson, Ian Gittins, George Underwood, Momus, Charles Francis, Nicolas Godin.

  General Sources

  UK chart positions are sourced throughout from The Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars; US positions from Billboard. I also used the index of UK chart runs at polyhex.com. My invaluable source for the various brands of cigarettes favoured by Bowie over the years was Jarvis Cocker’s interview with David for The Big Issue, December 1997. Bowienet.com, bowiewonderworld.com, 5years.com, bowiegoldenyears.com, teenagewildlife.com and www.illustrated-db-discography.nl were invaluable throughout.

  Background Reading

  All written sources used in the book are cited within the notes. The following books made for invaluable Bowie background reading and reference.

  Alias David Bowie, Peter and Leni Gillman (Hodder & Stoughton, 1986)

  Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side With David Bowie, Angie Bowie with Patrick

  Carr (Orion, 1993)

  Bowie, Jerry Hopkins (Macmillan, 1985)

  Bowie: The Pitt Report, Ken Pitt (Omnibus, 1985)

  The Complete David Bowie, Nicholas Pegg (Reynolds & Hearn, 2000)

  The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music 1972–1993, Nick Kent (Penguin, 1994)

  David Bowie: A Chronology, Kevin Cann (Vermilion, 1983)

  David Bowie: Moonage Daydream, David Thompson (Plexus, 1989)

  Diary of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, Ian Hunter (IMP, 1996)

  Free Spirit, Angie Bowie (Mushroom, 1981)

  Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood, Nina Antonia (Jungle, 1997)

  The Life and Death of Andy Warhol, Victor Bockris (Bantam, 1989)

  Lou Reed: The Biography, Victor Bockris (Hutchinson, 1994)

  Low, Hugo Wilcken (Continuum, 2005)

  Mick Ronson: The Spider with the Platinum Hair, Weird and Gilly (IMP, 2003)

  New York Rocker, Gary Valentine (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2002)

  On Some Faraway Beach: The Life and Times of Brian Eno, David Sheppard (Orion, 2008)

  The Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars (Dorling Kindersley, 1996)

  Rebel Heart, Bebe Buell (St Martin’s Press, 2001)

  Strange Fascination: David Bowie The Definitive Story, David Buckley (Virgin, 1999)

  We Can be Heroes: Life on Tour with David Bowie, Sean Mayes (IMP, 1999)

  Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess, Danny Sugerman (William Morrow & Co, 1989)

  All magazines and periodicals quoted within the text are detailed in the notes. The principal magazines used for background reading include Billboard, Circus, Creem, Disc, East Village Other, Denim Delinquent, End Times, Entertainment World, Evo, Fifth Estate, Fusion, Gay Power, Goldmine, GQ, Guitarist, International Musician, Jazz & Pop, Q, Melody Maker, MOJO, Motorbooty, Motor City Rock and Roll News, NME, Pavilion, Phonograph Record Magazine, Record Mirror, Record World, Rock Scene, Rolling Stone, Sounds, Stereo Review, Strange Things, The Guitar Magazine, Trouser Press, Variety, Village Voice, Wire, Zig Zag. Copies of The Times, The Sunday Times, the Sun and the Daily Mirror were all accessed courtesy of the British Library reading rooms. Thanks to Q, MOJO, Johnny Black, Fred Dellar and Richard Morton Jack for use of their archives.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  As ever, my deepest thanks go to Julian Alexander, an oasis of calm and good sense in a changing world, as well as a rigorous commentator in the earliest days of this project. Thanks also to my US agent, Sarah Lazin, for her acumen and encouragement.

  I also count myself very lucky to work with Antonia Hodgson and John Parsley, of Little, Brown UK and US respectively. Both of them shared complementary, multiple, sustained insights, without which this would not have been the same book. They were also good company, and I look forward to another Bowie tour into the nether regions of Soho (and his personal life) soon.

  Others deserving of thanks are probably too many to mention, but a brief list would include Martin Aston, Louis Barfe, Mark Blake, Tony Beasty, Kenny Bell, Johnny Black, Romain Blondel, Billy Bragg, Anne Bourgeois-Vignon, Dave Burrluck, Chris Charlesworth, Fred Dellar, Peter Doggett, Roger Dopson, Richard England, Miles Evans, Eve Fegyveres, Carl Ferris, Marcus Fuhrmann, Ken Garner, Debra Geddes, Pat Gilbert, Marcus Gray, Paul Guimaraes, Sue Harris, Paulo Hewitt, Graham Marsh, Martin Hopewell, Laurie Hornsby, Dorothy Howes, Jim Irvin, Leonora Jackaman, Graham Johnson, Kieron Jones, Ashley Kahn, Terry King, Colin MacKenzie, Spencer Leigh, Ian Muir, John Myer, Kris Needs, Mark Paytress, Christopher Porter, John Reed, Carlton Sandercock, Josh Saunders, Joe Smith, Mat Snow, Bob Solly, Dave Thompson, Geoff Travis, Gerald Wallis, Dorian Wathen, Cliff Watkins, David Wells, Marc Zermati. Thanks also to all the staff at MOJO magazine, especially Mark Blake, Jenny Bulley, Danny Eccleston, Phil Alexander, Ian Harrison and Andrew Male for their help and forbearance. Not to forget Chris Ingham – MOJO’s ‘Doctor Rock’ – for sharing thoughts on Bowie’s songwriting.

  People who offered help with the Iggy book, which also proved pivotal in this book, include Christophe Geudin, who helped me locate Laurent Thibault, and Tony Zanetta, whose patience seemed inexhaustible. Thanks, once more, to my schoolmate Nick Hunter, the only fifteen-year-old kid I knew who had a copy of Bowie’s Santa Monica bootleg, from which we worked out our own (dreadful) version of ‘Waiting for the Man’. David Buckley was a confidant on my Iggy book, who should have been a rival on this book, but was as helpful and
generous with his insights as ever. Kat Johnson, both on this book and Open Up and Bleed, did a heroic job of helping with transcription. Most profoundly, my everlasting thanks and appreciation to Lucy and Curtis; as mentioned at the Trafalgar Tavern, in the last ditch I will always think of you.

  Thanks to all my interviewees for sharing their time and insights. They are: Maggie Abbott, Carlos Alomar, Keith Altham, Keith Andrew, Barry Andrews, Bernie Andrews, Annie Apple, Kevin Armstrong, Ron Asheton, Hugh Attwooll, Philippe Auliac, Jim Avery, Emma Bannister, Wayne Bardell, John Barrance, Mike Bassett, Max Batten, David Bebbington, Kenny Bell, Adrian Belew, Mike Berry, Rodney Bingenheimer, Roger Bolden, Trevor Bolder, Angie Bowie, Stephen Braine, Chris Britton, Nick Brooks, Bebe Buell, Rodney Burbeck, George Butcher, Woolf Byrne, Pierre Calamel, John Cale, John Cambridge, Steve Chapman, Keith Cheesman, Ava Cherry, Leee Childers, Keith Christmas, Carol Clerk, Richard Comben, Les Conn, Mark Cooper, Jayne County, Terry Cox, Sydney Curtis, Peter Davidson, Dai Davies, Vernon Dewhurst, Jeff Dexter, Wolfgang Diebeling, Thomas Dolby, Bryan Drew, Greg D’Souza, Gus Dudgeon, Ben Edmonds, John Edmonds, John Edward (Johnny Flux), Robin Eggar, Mick Farren, Derek ‘Dek’ Fearnley, Danny Fields, Matthew Fisher, Bob Flag, Herbie Flowers, Kim Fowley, Charles Francis, Esther Friedmann, Reeves Gabrels, Michael Garrett, Mike Garson, Gary Gersh, Mick Gillah, Dana Gillespie, Ian Gittins, Max Glenn, Nicolas Godin, Suzanne Goldschmitt, Aubrey and Chris Goodchild, Bob Grace, Cary Granger, Shaun Greenfield, Barbara Gray, Jeff Griffin, Tony Hall, David Hadfield, Bill Harry, Tony Hatch, Simon Hayes, Kathy Heller, Keith Herd, Susan Hill, Clare Hirst, Gill Hymas, Chuck Hammer, Tony Horkins, Simon House, Glenn Hughes, John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, Norman Ingram, Nancy Jeffries, Kenney Jones, Graham Kelly, Lindsay Kemp, John Kendall, Robert Kensell, Andrew Kent, Terry King, Erdal Kizilcay, Eddie Kramer, Klaus Krüger, Harvey Kubernick, Gary Lachman, Jeanette Landis, Sue Larner, Calvin Mark Lee, Suzanne Liritis, Dorothy Bass Macedo, Lori Madox, Alan Mair, Louis Marks, Dave Marsh, Glenn Max, Linda McCartney, Nancy McCrado, Geoff MacCormack, Robin McBride, Robin Mayhew, John Mendelssohn, Hugh Mendl, Eduard Meyer, Momus, Dominic Muldowney, Charles Shaar Murray, Laurence Myers, Kuelan Nguyen, Kris Needs, Ron Oberman, Len Outridge, Colin Ovenden, Hugh Padgham, Will Palin, Phil Palmer, May Pang, Alan Parker, Tom Parker, Brian Payne, Les Payne, Howard Phillips, Ken Pitt, Mark Plati, Simon Platz, Iggy Pop, Jan Powling, Peter Prickett, Mark Pritchett, Alan Reader, Tim Renwick, Scott Richardson, Graham Rivens, Lisa Robinson, Nile Rodgers, Paul Rodriguez, Derek ‘Del’ Roll, Suzi Ronson, Gordon Rose, Ken Ruta, Hunt Sales, Tony Sales, Carlton Sandercock, Eric Schermerhorn, Ken Scott, Matthew Seligman, Tommy Shannon, Harry Shapiro, Frank Simms, John Singer, Neil Slaven, Earl Slick, Bob Solly, Henry Spinetti, Linda Stagg, Hugh Stanley-Clarke, Ray Stevenson, David Stopps, Steve Strange, Shel Talmy, Denis Taylor, Dick Taylor, Julien Temple, Laurent Thibault, Dave Thompson, Andy Twiner, Diana Udall, George Underwood, Mike Vernon, Tony Visconti, Chris Welch, David West, Adrian White, Simon White, Mick Whitehead, Keith Wilkinson, James Williamson, Val Wilmer, Anya Wilson, Jonathan Wingate, Cliff Wright, Olav Wyper, Roy Young, Tony Zanetta, Marc Zermati.