I guess one could go back to St. Mary's Church Choir in Bromley, 1958, for David Jones' first concert
performance, but more legitimately (some would argue), Jones's first
real concert gigs were with The Konrads in 1962, The King Bees in January 1964,
or The Manish Boys in March 1964. We'll start there. The
Manish Boys were Davie Jones (vocals, sax), Johnny Flux (lead), John Watson (guitar,
vocals), Bob Solly (organ), Paul Rodriguez (bass, trumpet), Wolfe Byrne (bari
sax, harmonica) and Mike White (drums). Jones joined the band in '64 and for
the next year, until March 1965, The Manish Boys (changing their name to Davy
Jones and the Manish Boys in June) played a myriad of venues (in particular, a six-date tour opening for Gerry and the Pacemakers in December 1964. Also on the bill were The Kinks, Gene Pitney and Marianne Faithful.) and cut their
first and only record, "I Pity the Fool" b/w "Take My Tip" in March 1965. In April 1965, Jones joined established band The Lower Third, while
continuing to play with The Manish Boys. In August 1965, Davie Jones and The
Lower Third supported The Who in Bournemouth.
On September 16, 1965, Jones
officially and legally changed his name to David Bowie to avoid any conflict
with Oliver star (as The Artful Dodger) and Monkee Davy Jones. In February
1966, Bowie held auditions for his new band, tentatively called The Buzz; its
members included John Hutchinson on guitar, Derek Fearnley on bass, John Eager
on drums and Derrick Boyle on drums. Bowie, with backing from The Buzz would
start a sojourn at the Marquee club in June 1966.
This article does not
effectively portray the number of dates played by Bowie exerting what would
remain an unstoppable work ethic. Amidst gigs with The Lower Third and The
Buzz, Bowie soloed with The Bill Saville Orchestra, performed a number of mime
acts with a troupe called Turquoise and played with The Strawbs, where he
first met Rick Wakeman (Wakeman would go on to be instrumental on Hunky Dory,
of course, playing the piano on "Life on Mars").
Bowie's first album
originally released in June 1967 is a pretty cool little record. How’s that for
skirting the issue that while many debuts remain an artist's greatest effort
(think Rickie Lee Jones, The Killers, The Beastie Boys)? If you like quirky
mid-60's British pop, then you really can't go wrong here. "Join the
Gang" is a rip on "Swinging London" and a personal fave.
"Rubber Band" is a fun nostalgia trip on big bands during the Great
War. "Uncle Arthur" is a silly song about the ultimate mama's boy.
"When I Live My Dream" is generally considered the best song on the
disc; it definitely seems the most mature. Even "Sell Me Your Coat"
sounds cheerful though the poor guy is freezing to death. David will always be
one of rock's greatest songwriters and lyricists and David Bowie has its
fair share of hilarious stories of maids, transvestites, models in adverts,
megalomaniacs, childhood fantasists and psychotic gravediggers. Not essential
listening for 60's psychedelic enthusiasts but more for Bowie completists. In
1967 a 20-year-old genius was obviously having a blast giving commentary on
both Mod London and Twentieth-Century England in general.
It's quite easy, and
seemingly the accepted wisdom, to disregard the album, even pretend it doesn’t
exist, yet there is an obvious fondness for narratives and character sketches
that will blossom in years to come and define Bowie's ever-shifting persona. Not
exactly where one should start with Bowie, his debut album catches him with one
foot in the past and one in the future. On the one hand, you have songs in an
old-fashioned “easy listening” style with interesting, off-beat lyrics, and on
the other you have tracks tied in with the trends of the day - whether the
mild psych of "Join the Gang" or the orchestral-trippy "Silly Boy Blue" - with stilted, cliched lyrics.
David Bowie is s a pleasant enough listen; other favorites are probably the cross-dressing rock story "She's Got Medals" or the nostalgia-inducing "There Is a Happy Land" (though the latter's a guilty pleasure, considering how sappy it is), not to mention the gloomy poetry of "Please, Mr Gravedigger." It's just that Bowie's still trying to work out who he is and what he wants to do. His recording track record is similar to that of his extensive touring.
David Bowie is s a pleasant enough listen; other favorites are probably the cross-dressing rock story "She's Got Medals" or the nostalgia-inducing "There Is a Happy Land" (though the latter's a guilty pleasure, considering how sappy it is), not to mention the gloomy poetry of "Please, Mr Gravedigger." It's just that Bowie's still trying to work out who he is and what he wants to do. His recording track record is similar to that of his extensive touring.
Most of us will begin our journey
with Bowie on Space Oddity, where the alien truly finds his voice but also
reveals his chameleon-like nature, one that next would explore early heavy
metal with The Man Who Sold the World. Years after his debut release,
when Bowie became Ziggy and ruled the world, he may have been a bit embarrassed
by this record. However, fans of folky, campy rock will enjoy, if only once.
