WEBVTT - Chapter Seven: Young American (1973-1974) 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:04.880 Off the record is a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:08.799 It would take more than a little rain the scare away. 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:13.040 The dozen kids camped outside of Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Recording studios, 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:17.560 After all, David Bowie was inside. It was just after 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:23.319 midnight on August. Two weeks earlier, Richard Nixon had become 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:26.400 the first US president to resign from office. But there 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:29.560 was much bigger news for these teens, their heroes in 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:34.199 town to record a new album. As word got out, 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:38.120 the local contingent of Bowie fans snapped into action, establishing 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:40.840 a communications system that would put the FBI to shame. 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:43.879 They seem to know where David was at all hours. 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.519 For days, a rotating group waited outside his hotel and 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:51.360 then tailed them to the studio, sometimes beating his Cadillac limousine. 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.800 Bowie and his entourage were used to crowds, but few 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:58.480 of such unwavering dedication. They'd wait for hours on the 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:02.120 hard sidewalk ledge for word, a smile, even just a 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:05.720 glimpse rain or shine. Night or day. There they were 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:09.039 a tribe of teenage Martians holding vigil in an alley 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:13.080 just off a skid row. Many couldn't even drive Lord 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.520 only knows what they told their parents. They formed a 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:20.920 small community with their own etiquette and hierarchy. Some brought blankets, 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:25.759 others radios. Most wore glittery jackets and spiky hairdos dyed 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:30.319 fluorescent shades of red. Their classmates called them freaks. They 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:34.240 had adopt a different name for themselves, the devotes. They 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:36.959 came from all over town, united by their love of 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:40.600 their favorite alien rock star. Bowie spoke to whatever it 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:45.600 was that made them feel different, other and isolated. Sexuality, intelligence, 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:50.400 social values, creative aspirations, or even just pure rebellion. They 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.760 weren't groupies. They didn't want sex. They didn't want anything 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:56.400 other than the odds cigarette but or strand of hair 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:59.880 collected from inside his limo. But other than that, just 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.640 being near him was enough. Or rather than feeling stalked, 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:08.480 Bowie was touched. They were sweet. He began to look 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.120 for them each day and a friendship started to develop. 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.640 He dubbed them the Sigma Kids. Sometimes he'd opened the 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:17.760 window of the control room, allowing them to hear a 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.399 playback or what he was working on, a small thank 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:23.680 you for their devotion. But today he had something special 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.280 for them. If you're still out here when I come out, 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:28.639 he told them earlier that evening. Then I'll have a 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:33.320 surprise for you, but don't tell anyone. And so the 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:36.760 faithful few waited through the rainy night. They just received 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:41.160 an invitation from David Bowie. What would you do? It 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.560 was almost dawned when Bowie's bodyguard ushering them inside the studio. 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:48.040 Chairs and refreshments have been arranged on the studio floor 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.600 for the twelve or so lucky ones, all laid out 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:53.840 in front of a pair of massive speakers. The underaged 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.160 kids made a grab for the wine and champagne, but 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:58.560 most were way too nervous to pick up the corns 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:02.280 beef sandwiches. Once Bowie made his entrance, he traded his 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:06.280 astral attire up the prior year for an ultracool pastel blazer, 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:10.919 loose tie, and hip tinted aviators. David posed for photos 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:14.720 and signed autographs, and even politely declined one girl's marriage proposal. 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:18.040 He thanked them all for being so wonderful and supportive. 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:20.720 Then he asked if they wanted to hear his latest 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:23.680 work in progress, as if that was even a question, 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.400 but he was serious. The music was unlike any he'd 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:32.800 ever made, and he wanted their feedback. David sat in 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.000 the back of the room as they listened, biting his 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:40.000 nails anxiously. He was worried. These weren't record labeled yes 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:43.000 man or people on his payroll. These were his most 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:46.600 dedicated fans. They'd proven it over the last few days. 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:49.920 Would they like it or would he let them down? 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:53.640 Most came dressed as ziggy star dust and this was 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:57.480 anything but. David had come the Sigma Studios in search 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.760 of the sound of Philadelphia, known R and wide as 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:04.240 Philly Soul, the smooth, sonic blend that was being hailed 0:04:04.280 --> 0:04:07.480 as the second coming of Motown, a bridge between funk 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:11.680 and disco. Philly Soul hits were burning up the American charts, 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.640 crossing over from black radio to white audiences. Bowie was 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.040 just one of the many fans of this jubilant music. 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:20.920 For all of his fame, he hadn't had a top 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:24.080 forty hit in the United States. He hoped these new 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.160 R and B tinged tracks would be his breakthrough, but 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:31.000 it was a gamble what audiences accepted or was he 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.640 just some liney trying in vain the same music that 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.840 didn't belong to him? After all, it took a certain 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:38.800 amount of goal for a brit to sing a song 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:42.120 called Young Americans to a bunch of actual young Americans. 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.960 David studied their young faces closely, looking for some kind 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.680 of reaction that they were inscrutable. When it was over, 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:54.240 a stunned silence fell over the room. For these sleep 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.800 deprived kids, that all felt like a dream. They were 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.520 in the studio with David Bowie, listening to his latest music, 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:05.680 and it was totally unlike anything they'd ever heard from him. 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:08.120 How could they respond to this most magical moment in 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:12.400 their lives? For one brief, awful moment, David thought they 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:16.200 hated it. Then one of them screamed, play it again. 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:21.119 David's face lit up. Really, he asked with a sheepish grin. 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:25.600 The kids yelled in the affirmative yes. The night ended 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:28.640 in a dance party. Bowie and his fans did the 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:31.800 stomp and the bump as the sun rose over Philadelphia. 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:40.080 It was a new day. Hello, and welcome to Off 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:42.640 the Record, the show that goes beyond the songs and 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.839 into the hearts and minds of rock's greatest legends. I'm 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:49.760 your host, Jordan Runtug. This season explores the life, or 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:54.320 rather lives of David Bowie. Today's episode looks at David, 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.640 the young American. He'd arrived on US Shores in the 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.719 spring of four to launch The Man Am a Diamond 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:06.000 Dogs Tour, the Broadway style production inspired by Orwell and 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:09.640 his own unnerving trip behind the Iron Curtain. The show 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.400 was his most elaborate venture to date, epitomizing the dystopian 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.400 drama that had made him a star. Yet, as David 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:18.840 spent more and more time in the States, he found 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.560 himself reconnecting with the music that enthralled him as a 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:25.760 young boy American soul on R and B. This radical 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.920 departure brought the risk of alienating his fans, who all 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:32.400 but worshiped David's sci fi characters, But with the help 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:34.440 of some of the finest funk players of the era, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:38.120 plus a Beatle, it became his biggest success to date. 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.919 Trading choreographed theater for genuine emotion proved to be a 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:46.359 revelation for David and a major artistic leap forward, But 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:50.960 his escalating cocaine used threatened everything his career, his marriage, 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:56.520 and even his life. David Bowie hadn't planned to conclude 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:58.800 the Asian leg of a Ziggy Stardust tour and a 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:03.400 Siberian ghoulaw, but that was looking increasingly likely. It had 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:07.640 all been going so well too. It was April three, 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.800 and he just wrapped the triumphant series of dates in Japan. 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:15.760 Rather than fly home, the notoriously plain Phillibic David decided 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.000 to take the scenic route, an eight day, six thousand 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:23.760 mile train journey across Russia. The luxurious Trans Siberian Express 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:26.320 looked like a holdover from the days of the Czar, 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:30.880 with opulent golden mirrors, soft developed couches, and polished dark 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.640 wood paneling. The elegance of David's quarters made the poverty 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:37.440 outside all the more shocking. As the train whisked them 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:41.280 through the grim, colorless terrain, Cold dust filled the air 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:44.640 and even infiltrated the car, leading David to joke about 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.400 changing his name to Ziggy soot Dust. The tracks were 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:51.920 lined with ramshackle structures of rotted wood and frayed rope 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.360 homes for the peasants who eked out a living in 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:59.440 the barren Soviet countryside. Outside, David spotted an elderly woman, 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.560 old and a to be a grandmother ramming railroad spikes 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:08.800 with a sledgehammer. The vision disturbed him. The entire journey 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:12.600 was tinged with an uneasiness. Life in the communist Eastern 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.920 Bloc was rigidly controlled, with checkpoints and endless paperwork enforced 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:21.160 by steely eyed, on smiling officials. David pushed his luck 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:23.400 one day when he ventured outside the train during a 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.880 brief stop at a small town. Playing the tourist, he 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.280 began to film the scene with this home movie camera. 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:33.359 This didn't sit well with two uniformed guards, who immediately 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:36.120 descended on him. Before they could shove him into a 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:38.680 waiting armored car, he was rescued by a pair of 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.520 train attendants who physically carried him back to the train 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.679 and out of harm's way. I've never been so damn 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:50.960 scared in my entire life, David would later say. The 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:54.840 first hand experience with a totalitarian regime would help inspire 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:59.120 his next album of new material. Initially, David planned to 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.480 go full well in adapting the novel four into a 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:06.520 stage musical tenively titled We Are the Dead, but author 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.480 George Orwell's widow was horrified at the thought of putting 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.920 the book to music, especially rock music, and refused to 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:17.520 give David the rights. Annoyed but undeterred, David took the 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:19.840 songs he'd written and adapted the idea in new his 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:24.720 own dystopian tale, Diamond Dogs Orwell's London became the post 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.280 apocalyptic Hunger City, where teenage punks on rusty skates lived 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:32.960 on roofs and marauding dogs with red mutint eyes proud 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.240 the decaying streets. The lyrics told the story of a 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:40.080 new character, Halloween Jack, a real cool cat who lived 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:43.240 on the top of Manhattan Chase Bank, above the ravage 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:47.480 urban healthscape. Hunger City wasn't far removed from reality. In 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:51.880 the fall of nineteentree, Urban America had descended into ruin 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.600 New York was heading full speed towards the financial collapse 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:57.840 that would overwhelm the city in just a few years, 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:03.640 leaving the metropolis bankrupt burning. The Watergate scandal was gaining momentum, 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.520 exposing the paranoia and deception at the heart of the 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:10.800 world's leading democracy. Gas shortages meant lengthy lines and the 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:14.720 most extreme rationing since the Second World War. In England, 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:18.160 a minor strike and oil embargo left millions freezing and 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:22.240 unheeded offices and factories. For the first time in living memory, 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.400 quality of life seemed to be getting demonstrably worse instead 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:30.040 of better. Had the world taken a wrong turn? David's 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:32.400 obtuse lyrics with the result of a new approach to 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:36.360 his writing borrowed from William S. Burrows. David met the 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.079 legendary author as part of a joint interview for Rolling 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.560 Stone That Fall and grew fascinated by burrows cut and 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:46.400 paste composition technique, with words pulled from a basket at 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.000 random and threaded together to create a fresh spur of 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:52.200 the moment thought. David would describe it as sort of 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.840 a Western terror. There was a beauty in the spontaneity, 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.760 and he was fascinated by a quote the wonder House 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:04.640 of Strange Shapes, colors, tastes and feelings that created That 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:08.360 wasn't the only change to his working methods, Diamond Dogs 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:11.880 found David Leaving tried An Studios, his creative home since 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:15.200 the days of Space Oddity, in favor of Olympic Studios. 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:18.920 He also dispensed with two of his most crucial collaborators. 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:23.160 One was producer Ken Scott, who had overseen his remarkable 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:26.480 run from Hunky Dorry to Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin, saying 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.480 the other was Mick Ronson. More than just the lead 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:33.920 guitarists for the so called Spiders from Mars, Ronson had 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:38.120 been David's musical arranger, on stage, sparring partner, and artistic 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:42.520 soul brother. Publicly, David blamed the split on musical differences, 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:45.760 citing Ronson's obsession with Jeff Beck as a hindrance to 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:49.440 his own artistic journey. But the truth was more complex. 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.320 David wanted to make a clean break with his past, 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:57.360 new studio, new producer, new musicians. The fact that Ronson 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:00.679 had recently released a solo album, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:04.200 also rubbed David the wrong way. For years, Ronson had 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:07.520 resided on the edge of David's spotlight. Now he was 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.720 fifty ft tall on a Times square billboard paid for 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.800 by David's own management company, Maine Man. David felt, on 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.560 some level betrayed that Ronson was now trying to be 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:21.160 at the Star. This explains why David, never the most 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:24.320 nimble fingered of players, handled most of the guitar parts 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:27.520 on Diamond Dogs himself. If Rono was going to play 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:30.240 the front man, David would try his hand at being 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.960 the guitar god. The end result of both ventures were mixed. 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:39.240 Ronson's solo album tanked, and David struggled onto the workload writing, 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:43.360 producing and singing the material, as well as playing guitar, saxophone, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.480 and a host of keyboards, all by himself. I was 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:48.560 very much on my own, he would later say of 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:52.679 the sessions, it was my most difficult album. The situation 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:55.559 was made worse when Olympic Studios gave David the boot 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.920 for failure to pay for the sessions. The blame fell 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.280 on Maine Man, which was spending money significantly faster than 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:06.280 they earned it. Just the American branch of main Man 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:10.360 employed some twenty people throughout multiple offices spread across prime 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:15.280 Manhattan real estate. On call, limousines, private jets, and even 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:18.679 helicopters got employees where they needed to go and expense 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:21.720 accounts at Bloomingdale's ensured that they looked fabulous as they 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:26.760 did so vanity projects, cases of Don Pere, Young champagne, rodeo, 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.280 drive shopping sprees. Everything was being paid for by the 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:34.560 company's sole successful artist, David Bowie, not that he knew 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.440 anything about it. He was far too focused on completing 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.200 Diamond Dogs and set off to a recording studio in 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:45.200 the Netherlands to finish it. When it came time to 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:48.640 mix the record, he called on his old friend Tony Vasconti. 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:52.440 The pair hadn't worked together since Visconti produced the Difficult 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.760 Sessions for The Man Who Sold the World more than 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:59.000 three years earlier. David visited Tony at his new home studio, 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.079 which was little more than a construction site at that time. 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:05.800 Instead of chairs, they had to sit on old sawhorses. 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.719 The following day, Tony saw a huge truck pull up. 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:14.080 Out came tables, chairs, and a sofa. Within minutes, the 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.160 whole place was furnished. Then David showed up with a 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.920 big grin. That's kind of my studio warming present, he said. 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.720 The moment of levity offset an otherwise maccabb album, characterized, 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:32.160 in David's words by quote, a quality of obsession. It's desperate, 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:35.880 almost panicked. He cited Diamond Dogs as his attempt at 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:39.640 a protest record, but the optimistic we shall overcome spirit 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:43.320 of the sixties had curdled into something darker and more sinister. 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:46.680 You can't preach it people anymore, he said, at the time, 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.040 you have to adopt a position of almost indifference. You 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:53.720 have to be super cool nowadays. Released in April of 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.160 it became David's highest charting album in the States to date, 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.160 but it left many critics confused. The review and Rolling 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:08.080 Stone read most of the songs are obscure tangles of perversion, degradation, fear, 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:14.080 and self pity. The grotesque visions are presented in full 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:17.400 in the album sleeve, depicting Bowie is a half man, 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:21.200 half greyhound beast in a circus freak show. It's genitals 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:23.840 air brushed out at the last minute in a ridiculous 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:28.160 and costly nod the puritanical censorship. The painting had been 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:32.760 done by bell Joernard's Gy Pilliard at Mick Jagger's recommendation. Well, 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:36.800 perhaps recommendation isn't quite the right word. David was visiting 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:39.240 Mick one day when the Rolling Stone frontman let it 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:41.360 slip that he'd hired the painter to do the cover 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.120 for the band's upcoming album, It's Only Rock and Roll. 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.920 David loved the results so much that he commissioned Pilliard 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:50.400 to do his own album. Due to hit shelves before 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:54.000 the Stones, Bowie looked ahead of the curve, and Jagger 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:58.120 was supremely annoyed. Mick was silly, Bowie cackled a short 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.560 time later. I mean he should have ever showed me 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:04.240 anything new Mix learned. Now He'll never do that again. 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:07.920 Threats of legal action came to nothing, but Jagger would 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.000 keep his famous lips shut when Bowie was around. He'd 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.880 later say, be careful the shoes you wear around David, 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:16.600 because the next time you see him, he'll be wearing them, 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:21.240 and he'll be wearing them better than you. By this stage, 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:25.000 Mick Jagger had officially supplanted Mark Bowland as David's rival 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:28.960 of choice. Their relationship blossomed since Mick attended the Ziggy 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:31.880 Farewell show in the summer of seventy three, but as 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:35.280 David Starr continued to ascend, their relationship took on a 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.960 more competitive edge. Five of David's records had reached the 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.760 UK top forty at once, a feat that not even 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.440 The Stones have been able to accomplish. When the band 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.480 played a gig in Newcastle, Jagger couldn't help but feel 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:50.520 the crowd's attention drifting away from him and towards the 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.360 side of the stage where David was watching the show. 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:58.000 The symbolism was obvious. David was literally waiting in the wings, 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:01.400 and Mick had every right to be worried. Bowie saw 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.080 him as the man to beat. As a young Maud 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.840 in the sixties, David had eagerly offered to carry a 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:10.479 guitar for Rolling Stone Brian Jones, only to be rudely 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.920 told to piss off. Now he posed a serious threat 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.480 to their title was the greatest rock act on the planet. 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:19.880 David thought the Stones were on their way out. Now 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:22.119 was his turn on the top of the pop pedestal. 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.679 As David's wife Andrew would say, David wasn't only the 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:30.200 diamond dog, he was the top dog. Their arrivalry drew 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:33.560 them together like magnets, each one keeping a close eye 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:37.040 on the other. Of course, a genuine friendship remained at 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:40.240 the core, but neither could ever completely let their elegant 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.760 formal persona slip, not when they were on double dates, 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.399 fooling around on song fragments, drinking at any number of 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.199 chic London watering holes, or even when they went to 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:53.400 the casino to compete over who could lose the most money. 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.280 Some in their circle believe that David was madly in 0:17:56.320 --> 0:18:00.359 love with Mick. It's likely that their mistaking admiration for lust. 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:03.320 But if this is true, it's highly improbable that the 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:07.919 feelings were reciprocated, And yet the rumors persist. They're stoked 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:12.560 in large part by Angie Bowie in memoir. Andie wrote 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:14.879 evocatively at the time she caught David and Mick and 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:18.320 bed with one another. It's a tale that's become enshrined 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:20.920 in rock lore. But most who knew the men doubt 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:22.760 they could have ever let their guard down enough to 0:18:22.800 --> 0:18:27.160 consummate in the fair. Whether or not they actually shared 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:30.920 a bed, they shared a great deal else. David's latest 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:33.520 record drew much from the Stones more than just the 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:37.119 choice and cover art. Olympic Studios have been the stones 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.679 favorite haunt back in the sixties. David also poached their 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:44.440 favorite engineer, Keith Harwood, to help with his sessions. Mick 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.040 and employed the William Burrows cut up writing approach on 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:50.280 the Stones Exile on Main Street album several years earlier. 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:54.720 Diamond Dogs lead single Rebel. Rebel boasted a guitar riff 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:57.920 and on beat drum pattern that sounds straight out of satisfaction. 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:02.560 While recording the song, Bowie explicitly told these musicians, I 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:06.600 want this to sound like the Stones. During sessions for 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.439 Diamond Dogs, the Bowies moved into a new house just 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.639 a short walk from Jaggers in the upscale London neighborhood 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:16.520 of Chelsea. The decision to leave the funky Gothic communit 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.720 hadden Hall had been difficult, but necessary. Fans descended on 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.800 the place in droves, making it impossible for David to 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:27.560 even set foot outside without being mobbed. He complained that 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:29.520 he felt like a zoo animal in his own home. 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:32.639 Door knobs and other pieces of the structure were stripped 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:35.800 away about the Bowie faithful like holy relics. There was 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:39.080 one terrifying incident when a woman attempted to abduct baby Zoe, 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:42.159 but the final straw came when the Bowie's dinner was 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:44.720 interrupted by a teenager who had shimmy through an open 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:48.959 window totally nude. She approached David and meekly asked if 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.119 she could kiss his foot. Uh, you can kiss my boot, 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:56.879 he replied awkwardly. Then and you called the police. The 0:19:56.920 --> 0:19:59.960 hadden Hall era was over, but the spirit of artistic 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:02.840 freakiness was certainly carried over to their new pad on 0:20:02.920 --> 0:20:06.560 Oakley Street. The five story George and Terrace House was 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:09.760 decorated like a blend of Star Trek, Graceland and the 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:14.359 Playboy Mansion. There were plastic sofas, glow in the dark sculptures, 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:20.240 spherical television sets, oversized Dolly style paintings, and airbrush murals 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:24.679 of sunrises and beach scenes. Hallways were lit by car headlights, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.760 and the white shag carpeted living room was dominated by 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:30.720 a four ft deep sunken sitting area done up in 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:32.800 white leather and finished off with the state of the 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:36.159 art sound system and video player. And then there was 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:39.560 the sunken, fur lined king size bed in the master quarters, 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.560 mythologized as the Pit, the very public hub of all 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:47.920 erotic activities at Shay Bowie, David and Angie through many parties. 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:50.600 If you were liked, you were invited to end the 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:56.359 evening in the pit, a venerable sexual cocoon. Whether McJagger 0:20:56.400 --> 0:20:58.600 spent time in the pit as a matter of conjecture, 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:01.840 but there are many others who did. One frequent guest 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:05.080 at Oakley Street was David's new girlfriend a young singer 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:08.080 and model named David Cherry. They met in New York 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:11.320 that February at a party celebrating Stevie Wonders concert at 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:16.240 Carnegie Hall. David was drawn to Ava's bleached blonde buzz cut. Immediately, 0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:19.280 he asked her if she was a singer. She didn't 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:21.880 have any professional experience at the time, but she said yes, 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:24.399 a gutsy thing to do in a room filled with 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:27.840 the likes of Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. On the spot, 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:30.119 he invited her to be his backing singer on an 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:33.959 upcoming tour. A brief audition the next day led to dinner, 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:36.879 a show, and a night in his hotel suite. She 0:21:37.000 --> 0:21:38.960 was awoken in bed the next morning by a knock 0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:42.480 at the door. That's when David introduced Ava to Angie, 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:45.919 who seemed unnervingly happy to see her. Ava had no 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:48.760 idea that David was already married, but she quickly got 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:50.960 used to the idea this just must be how it 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:54.520 is for rock stars. The backing singer gig fell through, 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:56.760 but she joined the couple that fall with their new 0:21:56.800 --> 0:22:00.200 London home, the Minajatoi. Worked great for a while, all 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:03.080 but things soon took a turn when David steered Ava 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:06.240 into the studio, intent on developing her into another main 0:22:06.359 --> 0:22:10.760 Man star. David had never lavished such attention on Angie's career, 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:14.760 and the resentment was immense. Lovemaking was one thing, but 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:19.440 starmaking was quite another. Soon, at Angie's insistence, Ava was 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:22.760 evicted from Oakley Street. David moved her into an apartment 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:27.480 down the road, where they carried on their affair. Andie 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:29.640 was even more bothered by another woman who had entered 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:33.240 the picture. Unlike most, she would stay by David's side 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:36.640 for the rest of his life. Her name was Karine Schwab, 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.000 known to one on all as Coco. She'd started off 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.640 as a secretary at Manman, foraging David's autograph for fan 0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:46.120 club photos and doing what she could to fight off 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:50.080 the hordes of bill collectors. Her background was a bit grander, 0:22:50.600 --> 0:22:53.960 daughter of a distinguished French war photographer. Coco used to 0:22:53.960 --> 0:22:56.080 tell her friends that she was born during her mother's 0:22:56.119 --> 0:23:00.480 shopping trip to Bloomingdale's. Schooled in America, Europe, and Ashmere, 0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:04.240 she entered adulthood fluent in multiple languages and in possession 0:23:04.240 --> 0:23:07.920 of a strong, self assured demeanor. This made her uniquely 0:23:07.960 --> 0:23:10.960 well suited for the everyday chaos of made Man, which 0:23:10.960 --> 0:23:14.639 she handled with grace and an efficiency that intimidated the uninitiated. 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:18.439 It wasn't long before she was promoted to David's personal assistant, 0:23:18.840 --> 0:23:21.480 a job title that barely hints at the complexity of 0:23:21.480 --> 0:23:28.240 their relationship. Coco became David's right hand, constant, companion, and 0:23:28.280 --> 0:23:32.119 as close as confidant. She shielded him from the outside world, 0:23:32.440 --> 0:23:36.320 at times, acting as his driver, chef, nurse, or manager. 0:23:37.000 --> 0:23:41.280 Her loyalty and devotion were legendary. One friend recalled, David 0:23:41.280 --> 0:23:43.679 has only to utter the words I'm hungry and in 0:23:43.720 --> 0:23:46.040 the middle of nowhere, Coco can cook a meal over 0:23:46.040 --> 0:23:48.560 a candle and put it in front of him. They 0:23:48.640 --> 0:23:51.760 quickly established a morning routine where she roused him each 0:23:51.840 --> 0:23:54.639 day by bringing him coffee and fresh orange juice, lighting 0:23:54.640 --> 0:23:58.159