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ONE of my favourite moments of the new David Bowie boxset, covering the birth of Ziggy Stardust, is the demo of “Soul Love” recorded at Haddon Hall in November 1971. The tape has evidently been made for Mick Ronson and, after playing the song through, Bowie leaves a message for his co-conspirator. “I think we should work on that as a single, Mick,” he begins, going on to list ideas for arrangements he has in mind for the song, based around a “heavy, warm sax lineup”. Bowie’s ideas are clear, precise and detailed, revealing a lot about his ability to imagine how a finished song might sound. After this, there’s a pause, then Bowie signs off in the kind of cute parentese he might have used with his then-six-month-old son, Zowie. “Oo-kay? Right ’den.” In the space of just a few moments, we have heard from several different David Bowies: the performer, the composer, the friend. Three months after this charming, intimate recording, another David Bowie came into focus when Ziggy Stardust made his earthly debut on stage at the Toby Jug, a pub off the A3.
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A lot has already been written about Bowie’s stellar trajectory during 1971/1972. But for our cover story, Peter Watts has unearthed what feels like a genuinely fresh tale, full of alternate versions, discarded recordings, different tracklistings and paths not taken. You might wonder, then, what might have been had Bowie ended up playing slide guitar on “Starman” – and how that might have looked during that July 6, 1972 Top Of The Pops performance…
There’s plenty more besides, of course. We bring you a hook-up between The Black Keys and Beck, St Vincent, Kamasi Washington, Richard Thompson, a rare encounter with Vini Reilly and I’m honoured to bring you the first major UK music magazine interview with Myriam Gendron, whose beautiful and impeccable songs have a calm, wise grasp of folk traditions.
I’m sure you’ll find a ton of other interesting things squirrelled away inside this month’s issue. So dig in and enjoy. And, as Bowie once said, keep it cool and easy.