Louder has a piece on Bowie's 4th studio album, Hunky Dory, the record where he arguably began to establish real knowledge and conversation with his artistic muse.
Bowie was also discovering interesting possibilities at his new favourite nightclub, a gay disco in Kensington called the Sombrero. Enchanted by the sexual freedom and outré hair and make-up on display, he found inspiration for both his songs and his own appearance. "Oh, You Pretty Things came directly out of David observing that scene, as did his [Ziggy] look," Angie says.
Excited about his growing cache of songs and ideas for a new direction, he rang Mick Ronson, saying: "There's nothing doing up in Hull, is there? Why don't you come back here? You can stay with me and Angie." With the promise of recording sessions and a place to crash, Ronson, with drummer Woody Woodmansey and bassist Trevor Bolder in tow, moved into Haddon Hall.
Woodmansey, who had played on Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World was immediately struck by Bowie's new material. "I think he focused more as a writer and managed to keep his unique approach, especially lyrically, while streamlining everything," he says. "The songs were more structured. Honestly, I didn't think he had these songs in him."
Bolder, who'd been playing with Ronson and Woodmansey for about eight months in the band Ronno, was also surprised. "I had an impression of Bowie as a bit of a folkie. I didn't realise how good he was until we started doing Hunky Dory."
Image: Screengrab
