Maps of Music

David Bowie (1967)

Where the lyrics of David Bowie take you, and where it was really made.

Bowie's debut album was a commercial failure, and every track he later offered Deram was rejected, which ended his time with the label.

Key places

Sessions begin at Decca Studio 2 (1966)

Recording site Decca Studios — The album sessions officially began here on 14 November 1966. Mike Vernon handled production and Gus Dudgeon engineered. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sleeve photographed near Marble Arch (1967)

Album cover Marble Arch — The cover headshot was taken by Gerald Fearnley, brother of bassist Dek Fearnley, in his basement studio near Marble Arch. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• David Bowie: debut studio album by David Bowie
• Released 1 June 1967 in the UK on Deram Records, a Decca subsidiary
• Produced by Mike Vernon, recorded November 1966 to March 1967 in London
• Baroque pop and music hall sound, led by orchestral brass and woodwind rather than guitar
• Released in both mono and stereo mixes

Background

• Followed a string of Pye singles that failed to chart
• Released by Pye Records in September 1966
• Manager Kenneth Pitt financed a session at RG Jones Recording Studios to win a new deal
• Decca executives signed Bowie to Deram after hearing the acetates
• Deal paid £150 for three tracks and a £100 advance on album royalties
• Biographer Nicholas Pegg: an album deal before a hit single was rare at the time
• Influences included Anthony Newley and the Edwardian styles of British rock bands

Recording

• Sessions officially began 14 November 1966 at Decca Studio 2 in West Hampstead, London
• Vernon hired numerous studio musicians beyond Bowie's band the Buzz
• Bowie and Derek Fearnley studied orchestral arrangements in Freda Dinn's Observer's Guide to Music instead of hiring an arranger
• Bowie could not read music, so Fearnley wrote the charts
• Sessions completed 1 March 1967

Cover

• Headshot of Bowie with a mod haircut and a high-collared jacket
• Sleeve photographed by Gerald Fearnley near Marble Arch

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Artist

Early life

• Born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in Brixton, London.
• Studied art, music and design; took up saxophone in 1961.
• Adopted the stage name David Bowie in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees.

Career

• Breakthrough with "Space Oddity" in 1969, reaching the UK top five.
• Glam rock success in 1972 with the Ziggy Stardust persona and album.
• Berlin Trilogy (Low, "Heroes", Lodger) with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti in the late 1970s.
• Greatest commercial success with Let's Dance in 1983.
• Fronted the hard rock band Tin Machine from 1988 to 1992 before resuming a solo career.
• Final studio album Blackstar was released two days before his death in 2016.

Legacy

• Sold over 100 million records worldwide.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
• Widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Received positive reviews from music journalists
• New Musical Express: Allen Evans praised the record as fresh and called Bowie a very promising talent
• Melody Maker: Chris Welch enjoyed it as a singularly rewarding collection with excellent production
• Disc & Music Echo: described it as a remarkable, creative debut by a 19-year-old Londoner
• Commercial failure, partly due to a lack of promotion from Deram

Reappraisal

• AllMusic: Dave Thompson called it an intriguing collection in its own right
• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine saw it as a fascinating, highly enjoyable debut
• BBC Music (2010): Sean Egan found an unrefined talent and called it historically interesting, but hardly essential
• Ultimate Classic Rock (2017): Dave Swanson found the music joyful but out of place in the industry at the time
• Ultimate Classic Rock (2016): Bryan Wawzenek ranked it 23rd of 26 Bowie studio albums
• Consequence of Sound (2018): Blake Goble called it an awkward artifact, ranked 26th of 28
• Pegg: a sweet, clever album that has borne decades of derision

Records

• Commercial failure after release
• Two tracks, We Are Hungry Men and Maid of Bond Street, omitted from the US release in August 1967
• Deram rejected all later Bowie recordings for the label, leading to his departure in May 1968
• Deram first reissued the album on LP in August 1984 and on CD in April 1989
• Two-disc deluxe reissue in January 2010

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bowie could not read music, so Dek Fearnley wrote the orchestral charts, and some session musicians threw them back and asked for new scores.
• The album came out on the same day as the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
• Pitt authorized a promotional film after the album's failure, but it stayed unreleased until 1984.
• Pegg speculated that the US edition trimmed its track listing to reduce publishing royalties.
• Space Oddity, written for the film, became Bowie's first hit about 18 months after this album's release.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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