by Wendy Leigh
David Bowie is now the grand old man of rock, the epitome of a free-spirited, all-powerful, ever sexually charismatic rock god; yet he has never been dogged by paternity suits, or embroiled in any late-in-life scandals of any sort. Instead, he remains both elusive and reclusive.
The Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition David Bowie opened on March 23, 2013, ran until August 11, 2013, and attracted more than three hundred thousand visitors. The exhibit featured three hundred objects from his archive, including costumes, fashion photographs, handwritten lyrics, film, music videos, set designs, and David’s own musical instruments.
Although David had opened up his archives (which he had housed in Switzerland for many years) to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s curators, he never once met them. During the run of the exhibition there was constant speculation that David might attend the closing of the exhibition, which was the most successful ever mounted by the Victoria and Albert, but he did not.
Or did he? What if, on some chilly London night in March, with Coco by his side, David, in his flat cap and dark glasses, was smuggled into the exhibition after closing? And if he was, surveying the memorabilia of a career that has endured for over fifty years, would he not have felt like a drowning man, watching his entire life float in front of him?
A series of pictures of him as a ten-month-old child, glittering with personality, a different expression for every frame; the song sheet for “Liza Jane,” with him grinning at the camera, fresh-faced, brash, confident; a picture of him as Pierrot, his turquoise leather boots; the lyrics of “Ziggy,” scrawled in blue ballpoint pen in a school textbook, his writing full of loops, all attesting to his tendency toward fantasy; fashion dummies dressed in the Ziggy quilted costume; a picture of him and Angie at Haddon Hall, the epitome of la jeunesse dorée, yet with a waxwork quality about them—the potpourri of his life and career as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Among the museum exhibits was a page from the performers’ directory Spotlight that read “David Bowie, 5 ft 10 and a half inches. Kenneth Pitt Management, 35, Curzon Street.”
But while there is no evidence that David Bowie ever once set foot in the exhibition dedicated to his life, his art, his times, late one evening, when the Victoria and Albert Museum had closed, a frail and emaciated ninety-year-old gentleman, David’s former manager, Ken Pitt, was escorted into the exhibition.
And as he gazed at the memorabilia of David’s life, the incontrovertible evidence of his kaleidoscopic creativity, his talent, and his glory, Ken Pitt’s thoughts may well have strayed to an April afternoon in 1966 when he looked up at the stage of the Marquee Club and first set eyes upon the nineteen-year-old David Bowie, brimming over with talent, sex appeal, and charisma, never dreaming that one day in the near future, this glittering boy would become the man who changed the world.
Star quality: Davie Jones at about seven years old. Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
The pouty Prince Charming of Pop. Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
The newly minted David Bowie with Phil Lancaster and The Lower Third. Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
A cool looking Norman Bowie, whose last name David may well have borrowed. Barnardo’s
David and his teenage love, Dana Gillespie. Getty Images
Angie and David at their wedding, with uninvited guest—David’s mother Peggy—1970. Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
Pretty Thing: David in a dress and posing outside his and Angie’s then home, Haddon Hall. Mirrorpix
David (or is it Ziggy?) pays oral tribute to Mick Ronson’s guitar. Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
Modern family: David, Angie, and Zowie, 1974. Pictorial Press Ltd/ Alamy
Ziggy Stardust in all his glory. Photofest
Elizabeth Taylor paying court to David. EPA/Kote Rodrigo/Alamy
David with his fabled crown jewels accentuated in a scene from The Man Who Fell to Earth. Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy
David’s mug shot after his 1976 arrest for the possession of pot, which was never his favorite drug . . . Mug shot/Alamy
The Thin White Duke on the town with glamorous transsexual Romy Haag in 1976. Getty Images
Only Just a Gigolo. Photofest
David as “The Elephant Man,” on Broadway. Photofest
David with Elvis’s ex-paramour Monique van Vooren, one of the only women who ever rejected his courtly approaches. Photofest
David and the former Mrs. Mick Jagger, Bianca, at the 1983 U.S. Festival. Corbis
David and Mick Jagger after a birthday party, the best of friends, and—according to David—nothing else. Mirrorpix
David in a scene from The Hunger in which he plays a vampire, with his costar Ann Magnuson. Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
David stars in Jim Henson’s film Labyrinth. Photofest
David triumphs over his old nemesis Andy Warhol by playing him in Basquiat. Photofest
David at Live Aid in 1985 with his best friend, confidant, and gatekeeper, Corinne “Coco” Schwab, his left hand and more for more than forty years. Aidan Sullivan/Associated Ne/Rex
David and Iman, together, now and always. Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMA Press/Alamy
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Steven Gaines; Vicki Hodge; Angela Bowie (whom I first interviewed in 1976 at Oakley Street); Mandy Rice-Davies; Meg Mathews; Claudia Skoda; John Eddowes; Lesley Joseph; Leslie Thomas; Maggie Abbott; Reverend Alan Dodds; Kim Fowley; Billy Sloane; Dana Gillespie; Betty Ann Grund; Bob Gruen; Mick Garbutt; Jonathan King; John Bloom; Ann Bloom; Noreen Taylor Greenslade; Ron Ross; Chris Charlesworth; Shirley Dunmall; Andy Peebles; Monique van Vooren; Asha Puthli; Jeff Griffin; Simon Napier-Bell; Si Litvinoff; May Routh; Laurence Myers; Steve Dube; Peter Gillman; Leni Gillman; Nicholas Defries; Stuart Lyons; Don Short; Joe Stevens; Tony Perry; Tony Zanetta; Leee Black Childers; Cherry Vanilla; Josette Caruso; Martin Samuels; Winona Williams; Glenn Hughes; Kenny Bell; Phil Lancaster; Suzi Ronson; Tony Hatch; June Millington; Jean Millington; Nick Dudman; Malcolm Diplock; George Tremlett; Dai Davies; Michael Armstrong; Arthur Stockwin; Audrey Stockwin; Nita Bowes; Yvonne Sewall; Eugene Chaplin; Tim Rice; Nic Roeg; Jean Rose (Random House); the Kensington and Chelsea Library; Clyde 1 radio station; Nick Pyke of the Mail on Sunday; Trudy Southern from the British Library; John Chittenden of Capital FM; Robin James from BBC/Getty Images; my thanks to Alexis Schumacher for her work, enthusiasm, and commitment to this book; Carole Mallett of Ravensbourne College; Melanie Aldridge from Alamy; Alison Stacey of the Birmingham Mail; Faye Rawlinson of Tim Rice’s office; Jess Morris of Jess Morris PR; Kelly DiNardo; Brenda Evans; Lionel Bart Archive; IMDB; Christine Phillips of Barnardo’s; Millie Seaward (Random House); the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society; Sunday Mail Glasgow; Campbell Thompson; Jayne Marsden of the Yorkshire Post; Bene Factum Publishing; Annette Witheridge; Sharon Churcher; Allan Hall; Patrick Goldstein of the Berliner Morgenpost; Casian Sala of Legastat; Grace Robbins; Daniel Knight from Q; Marion Charles Pigache; Dwina Murphy-Gibb; Roger Alton, executive editor of The Times; Chris Bott; Eddie Mulholland; Justine Hodgkinson; Ken McReddie Associates; Rebecca Michael; Maggie Abbott, who has written her memoirs, Total Recoil, and a novel, The Acid King, and whose second novel, The Bimbo Syndicate, is published as an e-book; Alessandro Nasini of the Royal Collection; Anthony Marotto of the APA Agency; Loraine Budge, Simone Harris, and Arthur Holden at the Bromley Central Library; Buddy at Photofest NYC; Charlotte Russell of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society; Cheryl Minnis of Infomart; Diana Thomas; Emily Stillwell of the Royal Agricultural Society of England; Fiona Hamalton; Isaida Miranda from City of Rochester, NY; Jayne Marsden; Kirsten Foster of Curtis Brown Group; Laura Gibbons of CDA London; Laura Wagg of the Press Association; Lori Di Costanzo from Clare Best; Melanie Aldridge of Alamy; Melissa Tagoe of Laura Ashley; Nicole Hormuth of Agentur Aussicht; Paul Kasler from the Pleasure Home; Reinhard Keck from Axel Springer; Ryan Chambers of Bauer Media; Sally Wall of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society; Todd Ifft of Photofest NYC; Theresa Dellegrazie, Corbis, Starr Hack
welder, Alamy, Princess Pratt, Alamy, Simon Flavin, Mirrorpix, Stephen Atkinson, Rex Features, Michelle Butnick-Press, Getty Images.
Tom Freeman of Freeman News Service; Tom McCartney; Martine King, archive manager at Barnardo’s. Barnardo’s, where David’s father was press officer, works with more than 200,000 children, young people, and their families each year, and runs more than 900 services across the UK. “We believe in children and we believe every young person has a right to thrive. Our vision is to realize Thomas Barnardo’s dream of a world where no child is turned away from the help that they need. We work to transform the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and every year we help thousands of families to build a better future. But we cannot do it without you. Visit www.barnardos.org.uk to find out how you can get involved and show you believe in children.”
With my thanks and admiration to my brilliant, cool, and perceptive publisher, Jen Bergstrom, and to Trish Boczkowski, editor extraordinaire, whose creativity and insight is unparalleled. And to the great team at Gallery Books: copy editor Polly Watson, production editor John Paul Jones, editorial assistants Elana Cohen and Paige Cohen. And to my agent, Daniel Strone, Chief Executive of Trident Media Group, always and forever the best agent on the planet, bar none.
WENDY LEIGH is the New York Times bestselling author whose books include Prince Charming: The JFK Jr. Story; True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess; and Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance. She is the coauthor of the memoir Shirley Jones, and, with Christopher Ciccone, Life with My Sister Madonna.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR: authors.simonandschuster.com/Wendy-Leigh
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SOURCE NOTES: AN OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Monique van Vooren
Dana Gillespie
Angela Bowie
Claudia Skoda
Tony Zanetta
Leni and Peter Gillman
Joe Stevens
Asha Puthli
Kim Fowley
Andy Peebles
Mick Garbutt
Jean Millington
CHAPTER ONE: ABSOLUTE BEGINNING
Kim Fowley
Leni and Peter Gillman
Winona Williams
Suzi Ronson
CHAPTER TWO: STARBOY
Leni and Peter Gillman
Winona Williams
Suzi Ronson
CHAPTER THREE: SELLING HIMSELF TO THE WORLD
John Bloom
Ann Bloom
Leslie Thomas
Dana Gillespie
Simon Napier-Bell
Kenny Bell
Phil Lancaster
CHAPTER FOUR: SEXUAL LABYRINTH
Leni and Peter Gillman
Jonathan King
Caroline Stafford
Mandy Rice-Davies
George Tremlett
John Eddowes
Stuart Lyons
Leslie Thomas
Phil Lancaster
Kenny Bell
Michael Armstrong
Malcolm Diplock confirmed that his fateful meeting with David Bowie, which inspired David to write “The Laughing Gnome,” was “a long time ago.”
CHAPTER FIVE: MODERN LOVE
Steve Dube
Lesley Joseph
Nita Bowes
Dana Gillespie
Angela Bowie
Michael Armstrong
Nicholas Defries provided the anecdote about orange crates.
CHAPTER SIX: ON THE WILD SIDE
Tony Zanetta
Michael Armstrong
Cherry Vanilla
Russell Juby
Nita Bowes
Dai Davies
Dana Gillespie
Nicholas Defries
Laurence Myers
Maggie Abbott
Jonathan King
CHAPTER SEVEN: STARMAN
Maggie Abbott
Suzi Ronson
Angela Bowie
Dana Gillespie
Kim Fowley
Dai Davies
Stuart Lyons
Tony Zanetta
Cherry Vanilla
Peter Gillman
Leee Black Childers
CHAPTER EIGHT: ZIGGY
Dai Davies
Laurence Myers
Chris Charlesworth
Nita Bowes
Angela Bowie
Ron Ross
Kim Fowley
Dana Gillespie
Cherry Vanilla
Tony Zanetta
Leee Black Childers
Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin
Suzi Ronson
June Millington
Jean Millington
CHAPTER NINE: SUPERSTARMAN
Tony Zanetta
Leee Black Childers
Josette Caruso
Suzi Ronson
Kim Fowley
Dai Davies
Nicholas Defries
Joe Stevens
Jeff Griffin
Angela Bowie
Vicki Hodge
Dana Gillespie
Russell Juby
Bob Gruen
Maggie Abbott
Chris Charlesworth
Jean Millington
June Millington
CHAPTER TEN: CHANGED
Steven Gaines
Maggie Abbott
Tony Zanetta
Suzi Ronson
Winona Williams
Jeff Griffin
Joe Stevens
Vicki Hodge
Jean Millington
CHAPTER ELEVEN: YOUNG AMERICAN
Dana Gillespie
Tony Zanetta
Winona Williams
Suzi Ronson
Cherry Vanilla
Jean Millington
Leee Black Childers
Maggie Abbott
Bob Gruen
Chris Charlesworth
CHAPTER TWELVE: FALLING
Steven Gaines
Maggie Abbott
Tony Zanetta
Winona Williams
Glenn Hughes
Cherry Vanilla
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CRACKING ACTOR
Maggie Abbott
Si Litvinoff
Nick Dudman
Winona Williams
Glenn Hughes
May Routh
Chris Charlesworth
Nic Roeg
CHAPTER 14: BERLIN
Claudia Skoda
Winona Williams
Allan Hall
Don Short
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: JUST A GIGOLO
Winona Williams
Eugene Chaplin
Chris Charlesworth
Monique van Vooren
Andy Peebles
Nick Dudman
Jonathan King
Mandy Rice-Davies
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: ASHES
Leni and Peter Gillman
Melissa Hurley checked facts.
Winona Williams
Noreen Taylor-Greenslade
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: HEROINE FOR MORE THAN JUST ONE DAY
Betty Ann Grund
Billy Sloane
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: GOLDEN YEARS
Mick Garbutt
Chris Charlesworth
Meg Mathews
CHAPTER NINETEEN: WHERE HE IS NOW
Mick Garbutt
Chris Charlesworth
Tony Zanetta
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