He opened strange doors that we'd never close again...
The wonderfully Punk-heavy March issue of
If there's ever a Bowie stalker I'll be the prime suspect. I'm always obsessing over his records, and the couple of hundred quid I've spent on them has been a great investment. This one bridged the gap between punk and what was coming next. I'd already had my life changed by the Sex Pistols, and now I was ready to have it changed again.
It's an enthusiastic appraisal of the album, and it's a pleasant surprise to learn that Roddy is such a big fan. Not that his own music ever really betrayed a particular fondness for Bowie's music... But that's not to say that it wasn't any good. I can remember being jealous as hell when I first saw him perform Oblivious on TOTPs... How could a 17-year-old be so naturally gifted?
The feature is illustrated with the above Scary Monsters era still of David as Elephant Man John Merrick, captioned hilariously thus: "That'll make a nice hat." Scary Monsters Bowie in Dadaist steeple gesture.
Elsewhere in the magazine David gets two places in the MOJO Readers Poll: #7 in Artist/Band Of The Year and #2 in Reissues Of The Year with Ziggy Stardust. Well done yet again sir.
There's also a bit about a Bonhams auction of "mostly unseen" Terry O'Neil shots of David and Angela at the Chateau in '73, most of which I've seen. And as if all this wasn't enough, there's tons of Punk stuff and a great 26-track cover-mounted CD. "Neat, Neat, Neat... You can't afford a cannon..." };-)