24 Mar 2013

Aladdin Sane to Ziggy Stardust: the A-Z of David Bowie

What name does he use on internet forums? Which Scottish singer recorded The Man Who Sold The World with him? All is revealed in our David Bowie lexicon.

What name does he use on internet forums? Which Scottish singer recorded The Man Who Sold The World with him? All is revealed in our David Bowie lexicon.
  • A is for Arnold Corns, the band Bowie formed just before he recorded Ziggy Stardust but which his never appeared in.
  • B is for Bolan. Marc played guitar on the original recording of Prettiest Star but walked out after a disagreement with David in the studio.
  • C is for Carlos. One of Bowie’s long-term guitarists, Carlos Alomar first joined the Bowie inner circle for the Young Americans album.
  • D is for Diamond Dogs. Bowie’s self-produced album after PinUps.
  • E is for Eno. Brian Eno was a key collaborator on the three “Berlin trilogy” albums – Low, Heroes and Lodger.
  • F is for Fripp. The King Crimson guitarist drafted in to add polish and attack to Heroes sessions in Berlin.
  • G is for glam rock. David Bowie is credited with being the midwife of glam after performing Starman on Top of The Pops.
  • H is for Haddon Hall. The house in Beckenham where David, Angie and Mick Ronson masterminded the Ziggy Stardust look and sound.
  • I is Ian Hunter. Lead singer of Mott the Hoople, the band that was rescued after Bowie wrote All The Young Dudes for them.
  • J is for Jones. Bowie’s real surname. His father Haywood Stenton Jones was a bluff Yorkshireman who worked for Barnardo’s.
  • K is for Kraftwerk. The German band who helped inspire Bowie to return to Europe after losing himself to drugs in LA.
  • L is for Lulu. The Scottish singer who re-recorded The Man Who Sold The World with David Bowie on production duties.
  • M is for Mainman. The company set up by fast-talking American Tony De Fries to manage David Bowie in 1972.
  • N is for Noone. Peter Noone recorded Bowie’s Hunky Dory hit ‘Oh You Pretty Things’.
  • O is for Osterberg. Jim Osterberg to his mother, but Iggy Pop to his friends. Iggy and the Stooges were a key influence, and Bowie produced several Iggy Pop solo albums.
  • P is for Pennebaker. DA Pennebaker filmed Ziggy Stardust’s retirement gig at the Hammersmith Odeon.
  • Q is for Queen, with whom Bowie recorded Under Pressure.
  • R is for Ronno. Mick Ronson was the lead guitar foil to Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust character.
  • S is for Sailor, the internet name that Bowie is rumoured to go by when signing in or listening in on fan forum sites.
  • T is for Taylor. Vince Taylor was a rock and roller who took too much acid and declared himself the messiah. Bowie cites him as one of the inspiratons for Ziggy Stardust.
  • U is for Underwood. George Underwood is Bowie’s school friend and member of Bowie’s first band, The King Bees.
  • V is for Visconti. Tony Visconti produced some of the key Bowie albums including the Berlin trilogy, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) and The Next Day.
  • W is for Weil. Kurt Weil and Bertold Brecht’s Alabama Song was performed and recorded by Bowie in 1978.
  • X is the indefinable factor that has kept Bowie at the top.
  • Y is for Young Americans. Bowie’s change of image and sound into his Philadelphia-inspired “plastic soul” album.
  • Z is for Zowie. David’s son with Angela Bowie, later re-named Duncan and a succesful film director (Moon).