And so the story goes they wore the clothes
They said the things to make it seem improbable
The whale of a lie like the hope it was...
The item above is part of a suit currently up for auction on eBay. With just one bid of GBP £750.00 (Approximately US $1,417.88) so far, I thought it would be prudent to post some extra information before a last-minute bidding frenzy ensues.
Here is the item description, verbatim:
BOWIE SUIT FROM CRACKED ACTOR TOUR. WORN BY DAVID BOWIE HIMSELF IN 1974 BOWIE LIVE ALBUM. FROM CITY LIGHT STUDIO DESIGNERS. STILL GOT THE SWEAT STAINS ON FROM DAVID BOWIE. A MUST FOR ANY DAVID BOWIE FANATIC!!!
On further probing via this question: Can you provide proof of authenticity of the David Bowie David Live suit? Where you picked it up? the seller responded thus:
Well, all the proof is pretty much included in the auction detail. Mum got the suit backstage as she was a friend of one of his designers who worked for City Light Studios. Since it was a one-night-only prop suit, he had no need to wear it again, and therefore he returned it to City Light Studios.
My mum met with her friend and he told her that he had recently helped design a suit for Bowie's Cracked Actor tour and that he had it back. My mum asked if she could have it, he pulled a few strings and they soon agreed a great fan such as herself should be able to have it.
The actual proof you ask of? Well, all I can say is that my mum later bought the album recorded from the Cracked Actor tour and they snapped a picture of him in that very suit he wore on stage as you can see from the image I have posted on eBay. Sorry I don't however have much more proof than this.
Well, this is all very well, and I'm sure the seller thinks he has the genuine item. But, my mind wandered back to that excellent May/June 1993 edition of Arena magazine, which, among several other items of Bowie clobber, reproduced the above picture with the following description:
DIAMOND DOGS, 1974
Box jacket and speckled jumper.
As worn on the cover of "David Live" and onstage for the Diamond Dogs Tour of 1974, the jumper was worn extensively in Alan Yentob's 1975 TV film, Cracked Actor.
Jacket buttons have since been switched from black to white.
The original suit remains in the collection of David Bowie, and, whatever it is k-jex is selling, it's certainly not the David Live suit. Click on the top image to reach the eBay auction.
FOOT NOTE: Speaking of David Live, stay tuned for details of that Abbey Road 5:1 listening party competition, which I'll be posting shortly.