Prior to
Bowie, David Robert Jones was called. David Robert Jones . This name slams like
a pirate flag, and is reminiscent of Davy Jones, expression for the spirit of
the sea. David did not choose the pirate vocation but of rock singer, who has
finally not very far. He did not kept his name. Like every legend has an
origin, back before David Bowie.
“When I
started, I did not know which direction to go artistically. Some wanted to make
me an entertainer, other composer. I did not see any solution adopted. There, I
have to say, many people who have influenced me: Elvis Presley, Little Richard,
Jacques Brel. Jazz musicians like Charlie Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Charles Lloyd.
And of course the musicians of the next decade: The Rolling Stone, The Beatles,
Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, the Small Faces, Bob Dylan.”
David Bowie , about his influences and
his debut - source "The age of pop music", ed. Ramsay 1982
David was
born on January 8th 1947. The family universe of David, that of his
childhood was cradled between the notes that escape the clarinet from his
grandfather and jazz records and books of the "beat generation" of
his half-brother Terry in which he dedicates a total admiration.
In
adolescence, as obvious, David learned to play an instrument. He chose the
saxophone and jazz became his passion. He was 12. After studying at the
Technical College of Bromley and a fight that will give him his mysterious look,
David finds a job in an advertising agency and plays at night in the clubs of
London. After six months, he cannot combine the two, so David Robert Jones decided
to devote himself to music.
We are in
the 60's rock with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, away everything in its
path. Jazz is aging and David Robert Jones turns away for this new music that
is so intense. He joined the group called King Bees, who signed with Decca and
released on June 1, 1964, the title "Liza Jane". The disc is
extremely rare and stirs the envy of collectors today.
But the
competition is tough in this England swinging at every street corner and the 45
is a failure. David Robert Jones embarks on another adventure with a group
whose name changes depending on the desire but in which one always finds the
name of David Jones before the name of this "backing 'band", just to
make it clear already, which is the star.
The David
Jones and The Lower Third or David Jones and the Buzz ride in an ambulance and hair so Mod. During
the concerts, the group shared the bill with the High Numbers, later The Who.
David,
along with his band, playing the Marquee Club in London (where he met one of
his most loyal fans) and was noticed by a publicist, Ken Pitt , who decides to
take the artist's career in hand. David has signed to the record company, which
also signed the Kinks; Pye . We are in 1965 and it's only been two years since
David Jones has launched. The BBC offered him a passage to television... provided
that the young man be good enough to cut hair. David refuses and sees the
opportunity right under his nose.
At Pye, he
recorded his first single when manager Ken Pitt's is warned that a US producer
is about to launch a US version of The Beatles, The Monkees, and a member of
the group, an Englishman, is called Davy Jones ...
David is
not yet well known enough and feels that this other rocker of the crown, passed
under the stars and stripes, could be confusing. It was imperative to change
name, and as his first single is not out yet, selects David Bowie. On January
14, 1966, the single comes out - "Can’t help thinking about me" . The
introduction is reminiscent of another song from Michel Polnareff release on
April 26 of that year: "La poupée qui fait non". But unlike
Polnareff, David's song was a commercial failure. Yet patience Bowie is as
sharp as the knife that would have inspired his pseudonym and his work will
eventually pay. But this is another story ...
Thank you
to Thierry Dupin, music programmer at France Inter and documentaion Musicale de
Radio France.
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