Fame, What's your name?
David Bowie is 40 years old today...at least the name David Bowie is. Having said that, the actual date is debatable, (or should that be db datable) perhaps we'll never know for sure.
The date that David chose to go with Bowie over Jones as his professional name has been published variously as the 15th, 16th and 17th of September 1965, and even as late as January 1966!
However, I think the most solid evidence appeared in Kenneth Pitt's book, David Bowie The Pitt Report. In it Ken talks about the transition between David's managers from one Ralph Horton to Ken himself. In a telephone conversation of the 15th, Ralph discussed with Ken the possibility of Ken taking over the management reins.
The time wasn't right for Ken just yet. But, by his account, he did suggest a name change for the 18-year-old David Jones, due to similarly named entertainers in the public eye at that time...not least of all a young actor who was to find world-wide fame as a singing Monkee.
Ralph responded to Ken in a letter dated the 17th in which he wrote: "I have taken the liberty of writing to you and advising you that I have now changed Davie's name to David Bowie."
Obviously it's unlikely that Ralph had any hand in the selection of the new name, as David had already been toying with various stage names. It's also highly likely that the name of Bowie had been kicking around in David's mind for some time...particularly as he says the Bowie knife was the inspiration for the name, a weapon that he would have been aware of since his childhood days.
In the event, it seems the new name didn't actually come into use until the following month when weekly adverts in the live pages of Melody Maker for shows at the 100 Club and The Marquee changed from Davy (sic) Jones and the Lower Third to DAVID BOWIE and the LOWER THIRD.
The first of these seems to have been published in the October 9th issue of the magazine, advertising a gig at The Marquee on Friday October 8th, supporting Gary Farr and The T-Bones. Was this the very first appearance of the name David Bowie in print? Please do let me know if you have evidence to the contrary.
In a press handout (above) produced to promote the release of the very first record to bear the name Bowie, (Can't Help Thinking About Me released January 14th 1966, as David Bowie and the Lower Third) David showed an early interest in a continuing nautical theme as suggested in the handout. For those of you with failing eyesight, here follows the content, word for word and in its entirety:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Davie Jones is back in his locker..... at the bottom of the sea. And instead we have David Bowie, a 19 year old singer discovered by Tony Hatch. Why David Bowie? "There are too many Davie Jones's" David explains. "David Jones is my real name and when I first turned professional two years ago and my pirate-like character was just right at that time, and the name fitted in with the image I wanted to give myself."
Looking at DAVID BOWIE it would be difficult to recognise under that smart exterior the somewhat controversial and angry young singer who styled himself after his famous namesake. Gone are the outlandish clothes, the long hair and the "wild" appearance and instead we find a quiet, talented vocalist and song writer ? DAVID BOWIE.
His debut disc has been written by himself and tells the story of a young man leaving home. Most of David's lyrics are taken from his own experiences of city life ? a theme about which he is well qualified to write since he has attempted 'to make his own way' since he was sixteen."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priceless stuff! Particularly the line: "Gone are the outlandish clothes, the long hair and the "wild" appearance". Not for very long it would appear.
It seems there was a concerted effort to make the public aware of the name change ahead of the new record, with lots of press on the subject and even a two inch square box ad in the back pages of the Christmas eve '65 issue of Melody Maker. The advert contained the simple legend: BOWIE...And what a legend the name was to become!
Happy 40th David Bowie. Look at that sky, life's begun.
