WEBVTT - Chapter Four: Pretty Thing (1969–1971) 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.640 Off the Record is a production of I Heart Radio. September, 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:10.000 twenty year old David Bowie receives his very first American 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:13.600 fan letter. It comes as quite a surprise. His career 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.120 is hardly flourishing. He'd released his debut album a few 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.960 months prior in June, but hardly anyone in his native 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.239 England took any notice. Learning that his music and made 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:25.200 it all the way to America was like finding out 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.360 your message in a bottle made it to Antarctica. He's 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.800 so shocked by the note that he immediately sits down 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:34.040 and manager Ken Pitt's office and writes a friendly response 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:36.720 to the fourteen year old from New Mexico named Sandra. 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.120 Dear Sandra. A few moments ago, I was handed my 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:44.040 very first American fan letter, and it was from you. 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:47.200 I was so pleased that I had to sit down 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.559 and type an immediate reply. I've been waiting for some 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:54.440 reaction to the album from American listeners. There were, but 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:57.200 they were by professional critics and they rarely reflect the 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.600 opinions of the public. And answer to your questions. My 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.160 real name is David Jones, my birthday is January eighth, 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.160 and I guess I'm five ft ten. There is a 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.319 fan club here in England, but if things go well 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.360 on the States then we'll have one there. I suppose 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.880 it's a little early to even think about it. I 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:18.080 hope one day to get to America. My manager tells 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:20.240 me lots about it, as he's been there many times 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.480 with other acts. He manages. Thank you for being so 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:25.560 kind as the right to me and do please write 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:29.080 again and let me know some more about yourself. Yours, sincerely, 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:40.959 David Bowie. January David Bowie takes his first step on 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:46.119 US soil. He arrived solo at Dallas International Airport in Washington, 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.200 d C. There's no crowd to meet him, just a 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:53.280 lone pr rep from his record label. Despite the light reception, 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:58.480 David is dressed like a star, specifically Lauren Bacall. He 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:02.160 regally sasch eate off the plane, long locks spilling past 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:06.480 his shoulders in soft golden tendrils. He's wearing a dress. 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.600 Technically it was a blue maxicoat crafted by oh Koran 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.520 London designer Michael Fish, topped off with a white chiffon scarf, 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:18.320 but these finer points were lost on the American immigration officials. 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.520 To them, it was just a strange man in a dress, 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:26.040 which is always grounds for suspicion. They detained this soft spoken, 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:29.639 exceedingly polite cross dresser for more than an hour, interrogating 0:02:29.680 --> 0:02:34.359 him about his attire and fay mannerisms. Finding nothing technically illegal, 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:38.480 they let him go, mothering various homophobic slurs as he went. 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:42.639 David's pr contact greased him warmly before asking about the 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:46.600 lengthy delay. Oh, they held me on the plane, David replied, 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.120 for some reason. They seemed to think I looked strange. 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.000 David Bowie was certainly ready for America, but was it 0:02:54.120 --> 0:03:04.080 ready for him? Hello, and welcome to Off the Record, 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.480 the show that goes beyond the songs and into the 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.960 hearts and minds of rock's greatest legends. I'm your host, 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:17.080 Jordan Runt. This season explores the life, or should I 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:21.359 say lives, of David Bowie. In this episode, we're gonna 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.400 talk about Bowie at the dawn of the seventies, shedding 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.079 his hippie skin for something a little rougher and more raw. 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:30.800 The new decade saw him become the godfather of glam 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:34.280 but also a father and a husband more than any other. 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:41.840 It was an era of changes for David Bowie. David 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:44.160 Bowie needed a new pad in the summer of nineteen 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:47.840 He and his girlfriend Angie had worn out They're welcome 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.880 staying with David's increasingly fed up ex girlfriend Mary. The 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.760 final straw came when Angie attempted to seduce Mary, who 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:59.440 had never signed up from Nagati. So they were out. Aggressive. 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:01.560 Angie on a new home, and soon she found the 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:03.960 perfect place just a short distance away in the town 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:08.120 of Beckenham. Elvis Presley had Grace Land. David Bowie, with 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:12.080 whom he shared a birthday, had Hadden Hall. The imposing, 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:14.720 thirty room Victorian mansion had lost some of its grandeur 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:17.680 since being converted into suburban apartments, but the air of 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:21.479 faded glamor only added to the distinctly funky vibe. The 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.200 red brick turrets and wrought iron weather vans loomed over 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.440 a rambling English garden choked with weeds and barren trees. 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:30.119 It looked, for all the world like a haunted house, 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:33.480 and with good reason. Bowie and many of his housemates 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:35.600 claimed they saw the ghost of a young woman strolling 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:39.640 the property. Their ground floor apartment There's for just seven 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:43.400 pounds a week included access to the cavernous formal entrance hall, 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.920 featuring a massive staircase illuminated by a forty foot stained 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:51.120 glass window. Some friends called the Gothic pile Beckenham Palace, 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:57.320 others called a Dracula's living room. Both descriptions are apt, outrageous, 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.400 and ostentatious. Hadden Hall was the ideal place for David 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:04.440 and Angie to live out the eventful years ahead. At first, 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.360 they couldn't afford much in the way of decoration, furnishing 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.479 the flat with some old orange crate stolen from a 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.640 local market, But with some help from Angie's parents, the 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:16.000 young couple began to add their own touches. They painted 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:19.400 the walls and ceilings vibrant shades of green, pink, and silver. 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:23.279 David took a more personal approach in the bathroom, where 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.840 he pasted handmade collages of nude women cut from men's magazines. 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.599 Once David's space addity royalty started to roll in, the 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.560 pair began frequenting local antique shops, acquiring elegant art deco 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:40.320 lamps and a huge seven foot wide regency bed. After 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.520 doing up their living quarters, David began building a workspace, 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.680 He converted a small cupboard under the stairwell into a 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:51.359 makeshift rehearsal studio with rudimentary recording equipment. There he demo 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:53.920 many of his best known songs over the next three years, 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:57.000 often with the help of his friend and producer Tony Bisconti, 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.159 who was so taken with the place that he rented 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.400 the flat next door. Hadden Hall became the center of 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.360 gravity for David and his entourage, serving as a home, 0:06:05.680 --> 0:06:09.200 an office, and a creative incubator. This was where music 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:13.280 was made, photo shoots were held, costumes were sold, journalists 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:19.279 were wined and dined, and grand plans were conceived. David 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.479 was in low spirits as summer turned to fall. The 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.400 single Space Oddity had been his first bona fide success 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.279 on the charts earlier that year, but the accompanying LP 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.920 did dismal numbers, selling barely five thousand copies in the UK. 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:34.920 The public who had known him for the dramatic sci 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.359 fi operetta were confused by the meandering folk of Unwashed 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.800 and Somewhat Slightly Dazed and the dystopian proto prog rock 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:44.719 of Signet Committee. And then there was the full on 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.520 psych freak out that concluded memory of a free festival. 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.400 If he sounded lost and unfocused, it's because he was. 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.200 David hoped at least for critical acclaim, yet that too 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:59.599 eluded him. This was mostly due to a major managerial 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:04.359 over ight. In November nine, David stage the showcase to 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:08.000 promote his album rather loftily dubbed an Evening with David Bowie. 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:11.560 David rose to the occasion, delivering one of his finest 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.760 and most passionate performances to date, But when he arrived 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:17.400 backstage after his triumphant set to charm the v I 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.840 P S, he was told there were none. The great 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.160 efforts have been made to invite friends and label reps, 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:25.680 they had completely forgotten to invite members of the press. 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.800 David's friend Calvin Mark Lee, the man who had introduced 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:31.560 him to Angie and got them his record deal in 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:34.400 the first place, took the heat for the snaffoo. He 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:38.600 was duly banned from David's circle. Still, the damage was done. 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:43.280 David felt like Major Tom, drifting further into the commercial abyss. 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:46.480 I was in the depths of despair, he later said. 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.800 I became disillusioned. I used to have periods weeks on end, 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:54.239 when I just couldn't cope anymore, I'd slump into myself. 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.960 I felt so depressed, I really felt so aimless, and 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:04.200 this torrential feeling of what's it all? War? Anyway, Angie 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:05.920 did what she could to lift him out of his funk. 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:10.160 She played an increasingly active partners career, falling somewhere between 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.920 an artistic collaborator and manager. Much to his actual manager, 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:19.000 Ken Pitts chagrin, Ken viewed is an opportunistic egomaniac, leaching 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.640 onto his talented client and disrupting his meticulously crafted promotional 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:26.640 strategy with ill advised stunts. Angie viewed Ken as, in 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:30.320 her own words, a deadweight albatross, one who's hopelessly out 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:32.840 of touch. Supper Club tactics weren't doing her avant garde 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:38.280 boyfriend any favors. They were both right and wrong. The 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.880 degree to which Angie shaped Bowie's music and persona has 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:44.280 has been exaggerated over the years, usually by Angie herself, 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.760 but her role as an organizer and hustler is undeniable. 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:51.640 In many ways, she inherited the advisor role formerly held 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:54.840 by David's father, John, a one time pr executive who 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:59.120 died of pneumonia in August nine sixty nine. David trusted 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.080 his father more than anyone and valued his creative instincts 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:06.520 and expertise. Now Angie, this big, dreaming, big talking American 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.760 with little formal training, became his most vital sounding board. 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.240 In addition to helping him land small gigs at local clubs, 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:17.120 she steered David down daring and sometimes outlandish, creative avenues. 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:21.840 There were partners, though some might say codependent ones. It 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:24.280 was difficult to see where David ended and Angie began, 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:29.720 and vice versa. That wasn't the only blurry line in 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:34.200 their relationship. Gender roles and sexual identities were exchanged at will. 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.560 Andie encouraged David to grow out as hippie perm into 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.680 long feminine waves, while she opted for a short crew cut. 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.280 She regularly bought women's clothing that she knew David would like. 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.400 Sure enough, he would rate her closet and borrow one 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.240 of her Mr Fish gowns. They were quite a site. 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.840 Walking down Beckenham High Street, he freshly made up an address, 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.480 and she with her close crop and pinstriped power suit. 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:59.920 In the literal and metaphorical sense, Andie wore the pan 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.800 in the relationship. She was prone to throwing tantrums designed 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:07.640 to manipulate, confuse, and sometimes even seduce. They'd come on 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:11.240 fast and sudden. David once said living with Angie was 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.760 like living with a blowtorch. Many would find themselves burned. 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.080 It was Angie's idea to install a phone line at 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:23.240 Hadden Hall, the better to handle David's business. Unfortunately, the 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.720 line was often jammed with pitiful calls from David's mother, Peggy. 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:29.880 Though she'd been a cold and remote figure all throughout 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:33.360 David's childhood, Peggy had grown increasingly needy since the death 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.640 of David's father. This added to the tension between mother 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:41.920 and son that had been brewing for years. Peggy's constant 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:44.760 accusations that the couple were living in sin took their 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.520 toll on Angie, who finally fled to her parents home 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:51.240 on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus that November. David had 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.720 been so preoccupied with his own affairs, business and otherwise 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.120 that she doubted he'd even noticed her departure. Much like 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:00.400 his mother, he always demurred when it came to outward 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.400 displays of affection. He couldn't even bring himself to say 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.240 the words I love you, preferring instead to whisper his 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:10.960 own code phrase in your ear. So imagine or surprise 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:13.800 when she received the postcard from David just before Christmas 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:17.640 that read, this year I promise we'll marry. This was 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:21.319 all so romantic and unlike David. Andie returned to Haddon 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:27.120 Hall soon after. David had posed a question early on 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:29.960 in their relationship, could she deal with the fact that 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:33.280 he didn't love her? He warned Angie not to expect 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:37.560 anything that even slightly resembled traditional monogamy. I'm not made 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:39.920 like that. I do things that other people might not 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.760 subscribe to. I think it's only fair that you should 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.560 know that before we set out. The suited Angie just fine. 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.280 She was no stranger to deviating from the sexual norm. 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:52.560 She had, after all, been expelled from school for having 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.800 an affair with a female student, Hadn't She and David 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.280 first met because they were both sleeping with the same man. 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.440 Clearly their relationship it was wide open from the start 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.679 and that's how it continued to be. And she had 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:09.520 no problem sharing David at first. Anyway, boys girls didn't matter. 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:11.800 If and you could get in on it even better. 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:15.160 That was the ethos of the age. If it feels good, 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.400 do it, as long as it's not hurting anybody. They 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:22.040 even had threesomes with David's old girlfriend, Danna Gilepsie, who 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.320 described them as less like boyfriend and girlfriend and more 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:28.280 like brother and sister and sometimes mother and son. For 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:31.040 such a renegade, and You took a surprisingly old fashioned 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:34.200 stance on housework, cooking and cleaning for David, and even 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:38.600 drawing his bath. Sometimes he called her mother Ma, and 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:42.760 even peg. And You would never fully shake the sense 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:46.120 that David stayed with her purely for practical reasons. She 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:50.280 was an all in one secretary, pr rep manager, creative partner, 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.640 maid and lover who had the added bonus of finding 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:57.200 him additional sex partners. Though they were obviously compatible. Immigration 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.360 issues played a key role in their decision to tie 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:03.240 the knot. Angie's visa was due to expire. A marriage 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:07.400 would prevent her from being deported. David's no fool, She claimed. 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:10.280 We got married because I was an American who needed 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:12.360 to stay in London, and he was a weak brit 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:14.600 who needed me to help break down doors and turn 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.439 him into a star. I was wild and he needed 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:21.280 me to help him be wild. It worked. Bowie himself 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:23.480 would admit that they probably wouldn't have gotten married if 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:25.720 it wasn't for her visa problems. Yet that didn't mean 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:29.199 he didn't care well. The marriage ceremony never mattered much 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:34.319 to him, Angie resolutely did. They married at the Bromley 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:38.120 Register Office in March nineteen seventy. The bride wore a 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:41.160 pink and purple silk dress from the nineteen twenties, purchased 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:43.120 the day before from one of the vintage stalls at 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:47.160 Kensington Market. The groom wore an oversize sheer ling afghan 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.199 and an ascot. Instead of rings, they exchanged two Peruvian 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.839 silver bracelets. They'd said farewell to single them the night 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.200 before by staging an impromptu threesome with a female artist friend. 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:01.040 As a result, they got a start that morning and 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.079 nearly missed their own wedding. The trio arrived at the 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.880 registry office only to find David's mother, Peggy, waiting on 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.160 the steps. This was unexpected, as David hadn't invited her. 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.000 There were only a handful of friends on hand to 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:16.800 watch the couple take their vows. Manager KEM Pitt the 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:18.480 man had been as much of a father to David 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.160 over the last few years as his own dad wasn't 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.480 among them. David hadn't invited him either, and you had 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:29.480 already supplanted him as David's ultimate confidant. Now it was official, 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:33.720 before God and law. The newlyweds posed for photos outside 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.280 the registry office before heading to a nearby pub for 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.640 a quick reception. It was raining, so they honeymooned at 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.600 Haddon Hall in front of the TV set. A couple 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:45.720 used their marital bed for their first ever fivesome that night, 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.360 bringing the day to an eventful end. Married life clearly 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:53.160 didn't slow them down. Shortly after their wedding, David introduced 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.520 Angie to a friend by merrily proclaiming, this is my wife. 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:59.000 She gets boys from me and I get girls for her, 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:03.880 and we're all very happy. You'll notice David's music hasn't 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:07.480 received much attention thus far. Between the death of his father, 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.560 the move to Hadden Hall, and the promotional responsibilities for 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.360 the Space Oddity album, David didn't have much time to 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.160 write during the tail end of nineteen sixty nine. One 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:18.240 of the only songs he completed in this period was 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:21.440 called The Prettiest Star. He'd written it for Angie while 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:23.440 she was away in Cyprus and played it to her 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.280 through the phone as part of his proposal. Recorded on 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:30.680 January event, his twenty third birthday, it was the first 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.400 song he released in the seventies, the decade. He'd grow 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.240 to dominate you and I will rise up all the 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:39.080 way he sang on the track. Though The Prettiest Star 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.360 sold a dismal eight hundred copies, he'd make good on 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:53.840 the lyrical promise. An explosion of glam rock shook the 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:56.600 English music scene in the early seventies, and he was 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.840 David Bowie who lit the fuse. The Big Bang occurred 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:04.400 on February twenty, nineteen seventy, at London's Roundhouse Theater, where 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:07.560 David was playing with this new band Hype. The other 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.680 acts on the bill epitomized the earthy root seed back 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.880 to the land hippie sensibility that permeated the rock escape 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:16.520 as the sixties drew to a close. It was all 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:20.440 about being real man Jeans and buckskin were the official 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:25.240 musician uniform. Performers were indistinguishable from their audience. Nobody was 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.160 a star. They were just on stage doing their thing. 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.360 This egalitarian ideal was shattered when David and his fellow 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:36.960 hype man appeared on stage dressed as literal superheroes. Bowie 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.720 took center stage as rainbow Man, decked out and multicolored 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:44.920 spandex thigh high boots and a flashy silver jacket. Tony 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.440 Wisconsin handled bass duties dressed in a white leotard, silver 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:52.120 crochet briefs and a green cape. A gold suited gangster 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.640 and a cartoonish lee gaudy cowboy completed the unusual lineup 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.400 homemade costumes. So with love, if not tremendous fell by 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.640 Angie went a long way and separating David, the sci 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.600 fi folky of space Oddity, from his latest guys as 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.800 a rock and roll frontman. But more than just putting 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:13.280 his past behind him, the sensationalist personas were a stand 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:17.440 against the snoozy status quo. David had spent the sixties 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:20.919 spotting trends and chasing them. Now he was determined to 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:25.119 subvert them. Hype was an exercise and rebellion, pure and simple. 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:28.200 You want a self serious poet, will get a load 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:32.159 of us. We're superheroes, all in good fun, of course. 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:37.720 Hype weren't the first band to bring a touch of theatricality, 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.560 and the rock and roll groups like Johnny Kidd and 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.240 the Pirates and Paul Revere and the Raiders had incorporated 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.879 elaborate period costumes into their acts back in nearly sixties, 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:51.040 self style horror rockers Screaming Lord such when even further, 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.359 opening each show by emerging from an oversized coffin and 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:57.879 toying with props, skulls and daggers. And then there was 0:17:58.040 --> 0:18:01.440 Arthur Brown, who kicked off performer of his ninety eight 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:05.120 hit Fire by setting his head dress ablaze and draw 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:08.360 Jenny also seemed to be embedded in rocks DNA, stretching 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.240 back to the thick lashings of mascara worn by David's 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:15.360 HERA Little Richard, The Beatles Long Hair garnered an untold 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.600 number of column inches, and even the rebellious Rolling Stones 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:21.320 don Drag on the sleeve for their nineteen sixty six 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:24.400 single have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing in the Shadows. 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:27.840 Such camp was generally viewed as a gimmick meant to 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:30.639 mask lack of talent, lack of sex appeal, or some 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:34.120 combination of the two. To engage in such silliness while 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:41.320 retaining artistic credibility. Now that was the new frontier. With Hype, 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:45.000 David sought to present obvious artifice with a straight face, 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:48.520 performed so skillfully that you can't help but be impressed. 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:53.240 That attitude became the spirit of glam rock. Even the 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:56.240 band's name was the war Hollian Nods, the thin veneer 0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.600 of glitz that separated mere human beings from stars. Hype 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:03.840 was almost provocatively on the nose, an averted mission of 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:07.720 phoniness that resolved David of so many show business sins. 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.720 I deliberately chose the name, he would say, because now 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:13.440 no one could say they were being conned. He could 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:17.200 be plastic, he could be disposable, He could be anyone 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:22.479 he wanted, although in the short term he didn't want 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.040 to be rainbow Man. Hype disintegrated a short time after 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:29.719 that day at the Roundhouse. The band endured vicious homophobic 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:31.840 heckels from the crowd, but there was at least one 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:35.440 person who enjoyed their set. It was Mark Bolan, David's 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:39.200 friend and sometimes friend of me. Their rivalry stretched back 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:41.359 to the R and B boom of the mid sixties, 0:19:41.520 --> 0:19:45.080 and Mark was definitely winning the fame race. Heat earned 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:48.879 middling success with his band Tyrannosaurus Rex. Within months of 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:52.200 David's Roundhouse show, Mark had given himself a glam makeover, 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:54.760 launching himself to the top of the pop heap in 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:58.359 the UK, rivaling even the Beatles for mass adoration and 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.480 selling a hundred thousand copies of his single and one day. 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:04.879 He became the public face of glam Rock, which pisted 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.119 David off to no end, leading to one of the 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:10.720 many TIFFs between the pair, Telling Lee. Mark would later 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:14.119 deny that he ever attended David's Roundhouse gig. Whether he 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:17.520 simply forgot or had a guilty conscience is up for debate. 0:20:19.600 --> 0:20:22.679 In addition to kick starting the glam Rock revolution, the 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:26.159 Roundhouse Show is notable for another reason. It marked the 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:29.480 first time David ever shared a stage with his new guitarist, 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:33.320 Mick Ronson. Just weeks earlier, Ronson was working as a 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.919 gardener in his hometown of Hull, England, not the best 0:20:37.000 --> 0:20:40.880 use of his formidable musical talents. Ronson was a classically 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:44.320 trained pianist who also took up violin, cello and finally 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:48.480 guitar as a boy. As a teen Ronson idolized Jeff 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:50.840 Beck and moved to London in the mid sixties to 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:53.399 try his hand as a blues player, but he was 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.480 quickly reduced to living on tins of beans and returned 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:58.560 to Hall a short time later with his tail between 0:20:58.560 --> 0:21:03.280 his legs. Ronson's route to Bowie is windy filled with 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:08.360 several fortuitous connections. Bowie had begun playing with Ronson's former bandmate, 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:12.400 drummer John Cambridge. When a heavy duty guitarist was required 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:15.440 for Bowie's hype project. Cambridge was sent up to haul 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:18.520 the recruit Ronson. They found them working for the Hull 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:22.359 City Council painting lines for a rugby field. Commenced his 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:26.240 musical career was over. Ronson was persuaded to call on 0:21:26.440 --> 0:21:29.000 David and Angie at Hadden Hall, where they jammed in 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:32.320 the early morning hours. David invited him to play on 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:36.440 an upcoming BBC radio session two days later, on February fifth, 0:21:36.680 --> 0:21:41.439 nineteen seventy. Ronson's high octane guitar lines added extra muscle 0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:46.000 to David's music, making the songs rougher, roarer and sexier. 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:50.920 David was entranced, describing Ronson as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton 0:21:50.960 --> 0:21:54.679 and Jimmie Hendrix all rolled in the one person in Rono, 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:57.920 as he was forever known, David had found his secret 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.320 weapon and his musical soul brother, the first true partner 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:07.280 he'd ever had. Soon, Ronson moved into Haddon Hall, where he, 0:22:07.600 --> 0:22:10.960 Bowie and Tony Visconti worked in their makeshift studio, the 0:22:11.000 --> 0:22:14.840 old wine cellar under the stairwell. The homemade soundproofing made 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:17.560 from egg christ did little to muffle the noise, making 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:21.280 them less than popular with their neighbors. A new album began, 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:24.560 the Coalesce. Inspired by the creative spirit of the Beatles 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:27.640 at their most daring, they wanted to craft a studio 0:22:27.720 --> 0:22:31.199 production with sounds that could only exist on tape. It 0:22:31.240 --> 0:22:34.840 was to be David's personal sergeant Pepper, his pet sounds, 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:38.360 his magnum opus, but the result, called The Man Who 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:43.240 Sold the World, didn't quite turn out like that. David's 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:45.520 mood had plummeted by the time he and his hatt 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:48.960 In Hall cohorts convened in the studio in April of ninete. 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:53.080 The small amount of buzz that space Oddity afforded him 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:56.040 had died down, and as follow up, the Prettiest star 0:22:56.200 --> 0:22:59.959 had flopped. The band itself was an upheaval as Ronson 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:02.879 engineered the arrival of a new drummer, Mick woodman Z, 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:07.040 known to all Is Woody. They all camped at Haddon Hall, 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:11.240 bringing their financial fears and other anxieties literally to David's door. 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:14.840 Everyone was broke and this album was make or break. 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:18.399 For the first time, the hyper ambitious David began to 0:23:18.400 --> 0:23:22.160 shrink from the challenge. In Visconti's words, this man would 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:24.080 just knock it out of bed and write a song. 0:23:25.119 --> 0:23:27.600 The producers spent much of the sessions trying to retrieve 0:23:27.680 --> 0:23:30.400 David from the studio hallway, where he and Angie could 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:34.879 be found holding hands and cooing at one another. With 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:39.040 David indisposed, Visconti and Ronson played an oversized role in 0:23:39.080 --> 0:23:43.200 shaping the sound of the record. Ronson, the young buck guitarist, 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:46.160 was eager to emulate his heroes Jeff Beck and Eric 0:23:46.200 --> 0:23:49.480 Clapton with his cranked up les Paul and towering stack 0:23:49.520 --> 0:23:52.959