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Born David Jones, South London, 1947 As youth, nearly lost sight of left eye in a fight; surgery left him with paralysed pupil. After Bromley High School worked as commercial artist for London ad agency, playing saxophone in local semi-pro groups around 1963 before forming own outfit "David Jones and the Lower Third" which recorded one obscure and long-since deleted album. Changed surname due to clash with David Jones of then popular Monkees.
His early semi-hits as pop singer, including "Love You Till Tuesday", "Rubber Band", and "The Laughing Gnome" (an embarrasing novelty item re-issued by Decca and a U.K. Top Ten hit in 1973) show theatrical bias and heavy debt to phrasing of British singer/actor Anthony Newley, both of which survived in Bowie's work up to Ziggy Stardust period.
By 1967-68 and arrival in U.K. of "flower power" as musical force, Bowie had realised that radical change of approach was necessary, thus gaining it's first, rather premature airing on the 1969 released "Space Oddity" LP (originally titled "Man Of Words Man Of Music). Title track from this collection saw Bowie break through into U.K. Top Five (in fact, Space Oddity single was re-issued 1975 in U.K. and topped charts) - though Bowie chose not to attempt to follow through and instead "retired" to run Arts Lab in Beckenham, South London. His U.K. record company of time prevailed upon him to return to studio, and eventually Bowie succumbed to cut the powerful, doom laden "The Man Who Sold The World". Which many critics count among his finest works.
His taste for rock returned, Bowie began to play occasional dates first as soloist with acoustic guitar and later with as yet unnamed Spiders From Mars - Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, and Woody Woodmansey.
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