Mr. 'Bangers' Bowie plans his return... in a stereo wedding car

Rosalind Russell • Disc • 20 March 197o

On February 14, 1970, David Bowie was voted Disc's Brightest Hope that year. Now, one year 34 days later, we find out what went wrong.

WHEN David “Bangers” Bowie came to meet me from the 2:40 from Blackfriars to Beckenham in Kent, I unguardedly climbed into his incredibly ancient, mad old Riley. And as the car ambled casually from the station yard, I remarked that David’s appearance had changed considerably since his brief days of glory with his hit “Space Oddity.” His hair has grown longer and he was wearing blue velvet trousers with a woolly blue dressing gown-cum-coat.

We stopped briefly to pick up some shopping in the town and jammed a sixpence in the engine to keep it turning over. Then we bombed off again. I held on to the door as it appeared to be on the point of dropping off.

“It won't come off.” I was assured. “It's just a bit loose. And if you think this is old, you wait till you see the house and the rest of my old cars.”

David and his lady live in a beautiful Victorian house which even has turrets on the roof and a gallery running around the first floor inside the house. It overlooks a kind of banqueting hall. There's also a huge garden, the domain of a very lazy King Charles spaniel.

Spread out on the floor of one room were numerous tapes of songs from an album to be released here in April, called "The Man Who Sold The World." It's already selling well in the States where Three Dog Night have covered three of the tracks. Bowie also has material for a new album he is working on and demos of songs he has sold to other artists.

Herman’s next solo single, “Oh You Pretty Things,” was written by him, as were other tracks bought by producer Micky Most, a song for The Sir Douglas Quintet and one for Gene Vincent.

“It's funny how I suddenly seem to have taken off as a songwriter, but this is how it went for me living down here. I'm wrapped up in my friends and include them in the songs. One of my songs, “Rupert The Riley,” is about the car.”

The Riley is one of four cars, in various stages of working order, including an enormous old wedding car with plush velvet seats which is soon to have a stereo system installed.

As well as looking after his own album career, David is producing two solo singers and a group called Arnold Acorns (sic), who were signed up to B&C Records just as I sat listening to their demo single, Moonage Daydream. It really is incredible and bodes well for an album they hope to do soon. Three of the band are school boys and the lead singer calls himself Rudolph Valentino.

David is also producing in writing for solo singer called Jeff Alexander (sic). He sounds rather like The Band's Robbie Robertson; and also has an old friend from art college, Calvin James, who designed the sleeves for the first T.Rex album and Gentle Giant. James's single is out on Bell next month.

Since 'Space Oddity', David has left the singles market himself to concentrate on albums.

“I became disillusioned after 'Space Oddity'. The album was released at the same time and did absolutely nothing. No one even bothered to review it and I’m personally convinced that some of the tracks were really good. I just decided to leave London and come to live down here.

"In fact the only thing that gave me faith again was being asked to go across to America. If I’m into making it in records, I’ll have to go and live there."

David has just returned from a three month stay in America. As he didn’t have a work permit, he couldn’t do any gigs, but went around some universities talking to students about the album and doing interviews for radio stations.

“In America, although you might not believe it, I’m regarded as an underground artist. They know nothing about my singles and see 'Space Oddity' just as an LP track. But in America, music is a communicating force; people all relate to it. Besides, there isn’t much bread to be made here at the moment.”

A frantic search of the house for a copy of the new LP was fruitless but David talked about the talent of the two musicians who played on it. They are Mick Ronson and Woody Woodmansey, from a blues band in Hull. Although they felt they could make it if they teamed up as a permanent band, they returned to the group at home.

The songs are much heavier than one would expect and David thinks they were using a mood wrong before many groups who use them now. The LP was actually recorded a year ago, so David has rather lost interest in it now. Legal hassles delayed its release here. An American review of the album mentions a tinge of bitterness, but David disagrees.

“I’m not bitter. I was disillusioned at first but all that went long ago and American review of the album mentions a tinge of bitterness, but David disagrees.

“I’m not bitter. I was the solution that first but all that went along ago. I’d like to become an album album artist in this country, but really I’m very happy.“

I could see why as we walked around the garden, inspecting the gazebo. The country has been the means of David having time to write his songs.

Although he has strong feelings about politics he never include them in his numbers.

“Britain just doesn’t know what revolution is. The people should be fighting against the common market but they won’t until it’s too late."

It was getting late, and it seemed only fitting that the accelerator should fall out of the car as David drove me to the station.

A postscript from davidbowie.com:

Rupert The Riley, a 1932 Riley Gamecock, was also mentioned in an interview with Steve Turner, published in the July 1971 issue of Beat Instrumental…

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David says that he goes through periods of feeling like a songwriter and periods of feeling like a performer. At present he confesses to the songwriter in him taking over. People who have benefited, so far, from this activity have been Peter (Herman) Noone, with his single 'Oh You Pretty Things', Sparky King with 'Rupert The Riley' and both sides of Arnold Corns' single. David is also recording an album himself on the Chrysalis label. By the time it is released, he may find David Bowie the performer asking to be taken out.

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Thankfully, the periods of feeling like a songwriter and the periods of feeling like a performer soon merged. Perhaps we should also be grateful that “Mr. ’Bangers’ Bowie” was an alter ego that didn't stick. In 2003, during a transatlantic telephone conversation with Dominic Mohan, David talked about the day Rock 'n' Roll almost lost its future when he was pinned against a car by the Gamecock... It was an old racer from the... you know, I think it probably goes back to the thirties or something, and a mate of mine and me had put it together - not very well as it happens - and it stalled outside Lewisham police station one day. I had really long hair in those days so I was standing round the front of the car, trying to pump it back into life again and all the cops were at the windows laughing at me and the bloody thing started up and I'd left it in first gear and it came at me (laughs). The crankshaft went through my leg and I was pumping blood like a fountain, and I broke both my, well, I cracked both my knees as the bumper had kind of got me pinned to another car that was just behind it.”

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In a follow up, David told DavidBowie.com the following about the incident, which, though he made light of it earlier, was rather serious, and potentially fatal, as the crankshaft was millimetres away from a main artery, with David having to spend a week in hospital…

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“I sold it as soon as I got out of Lewisham Hospital. The most fortunate part is that it was the police station where I broke down. I was bleeding profusely, but their medics were on the street in about 30 seconds flat.”