David Bowie: Rock ’n’ Roll with Me

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Did you see David’s brilliant musical ‘Lazarus’? (I saw it in NYC & London, inc the filming, adored it) What did you think of it? Our dress sense was considered to be quite effeminate because he was flamboyant. We were the first generation to be free, and have extra money to spend on ourselves, and to buy clothes, and have foreign holidays and have suits made and stuff like this. So it was quite a liberating situation. But then we were the first generation who weren't bossed around by society.” Bowie pictured in Chicago in 1973 on his Ziggy Stardust tour, sporting an outfit designed by influential Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto. David Bowie in the Soviet Union is generously supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

James Smith, Publisher of ACC Art Books, said: “This unique story, told with humour and incredible insight, details the author’s adventures on-and-off the road with David Bowie – his childhood friend. We’re incredibly proud to be publishing Geoff’s book and know fans, old and new, will be as enthralled with his book as we all are.” The beautiful thing about the photos in this book is their intimacy. These aren't publicity pictures; they're pictures taken by a friend. I love the one of Bowie asleep in the train car. Were you trying to get shots like that or is that just kind of how it happened? When I showed David the Polaroid of the portrait, he loved it and asked if he could have it as the cover of his new album. I replied, ‘But this is a special commission for Vogue.’ Then I asked him how many albums he thought he would sell. ‘A million,’ he replied. I realised Vogue would sell about 80,000 copies, which would soon be forgotten so I agreed David could use it as his next album cover. Vogue never spoke to me again!” The non-profit Los Angeles radio station dublab has created a playlist especially for the exhibition. It features songs from the time of that trip, as well as Bowie's once and future collaborators, including Mott the Hoople, Lou Reed, Brian Eno and Queen.The exhibition, guest curated by Olya Sova, also includes David Bowie’s film The Long Way Home, which documents various stages of their trip on the train, including their time in Moscow during the May Day Parade. It's interesting because you captured some beautiful shots during eras in which Bowie maybe wasn't as happy or fulfilled in his life or career — the period when he was filming 1976's The Man Who Fell to Earth, for example. Kevin Cummins: “Always strive for the best. I told Bowie years later that he was responsible for the career I’d chosen. He looked mortified and replied, ‘Oh no. I get blamed for a lot. I don’t want to be responsible for this too.’– then laughed…” Yeah. When you're used to bumming it for most of your life, and you rebound, it's not a big thing, you know? It's gonna be all right in the end.OK, so the management has got hold of his money, but the record company was helping him out a bit ... but he'd had aNo. 1 in America at that point ["Fame" from 1975's Young Americans]. He suddenly didn't have any money and we were in Los Angeles, and New York as well. But I think you know if you've had aNo.1, you're going to be all right. DBN: During periods when you weren’t busy taking photos, writing or performing, did you take the opportunity to reflect on the fact that you were traveling the world with David Bowie?

Cocaine, a fascination with Nazi Germany, his failing marriage and an obsession with occult practice and writings had captured Bowie’s interest but his creative powers and aesthetic were arguably at their peak. I love Glasgow, I married my wife there 11 years ago but I’ve not been to Edinburgh since ’73 so the plan is to bring something more intimate up there; the show is a must for travelling. Markus Klinko: “I was working with Iman in 2001. I had just photographed her for the cover of her forthcoming coffee table book, I Am Iman, and we had scheduled an editing meeting. To my great surprise, she was accompanied by David. He was every bit as charismatic as one would expect. About half an hour into the editing session, David turned around and asked me if I would be interested in shooting the cover of his next album! I couldn’t have been more thrilled.” I was just hanging out with Ava (Cherry) and David, and it just came into my stupid head. Oddly, the same name was used by a music journalist and a character in an American teen movie called Sky High.What was the atmosphere like at the Ziggy Hammersmith show after David announced on stage that it was the last show we’ll ever do? Woody & Trevor had no idea beforehand.

It's kind of how it ended up happening. I wanted a camera because I loved the idea of a camera. I loved the idea of a camera like you might like the idea of a gun, the mechanics of it and the weight of it ... so to have a proper camera, as opposed to an Instamatic — Instamatics have got their place, by the way, as do Polaroids — but to have a serious camera with dials that you didn't know what they did. I probably never learned my way around it, but there's something really sexy about a camera - a real camera, a good camera. So I wanted that. I don't know how much was wanting that and wanting to use it, and not the subject as such. So, you know, David wasn't just in the way [Laughs] ... but mostly it was the camera, it was having a camera and using a camera, which I thought was really sexy. Masayoshi Sukita acquired a Nikkormat camera for me in April ’73, just after David and I arrived in Tokyo (by ship) for a tour. The first picture I took of David was an outside shot beside a carriage on The TransSiberian Express, which is one of the images I’ve included in this selection.Above right, “As David, at the time, wouldn’t fly, our return trip to the UK obviously involved a sea crossing. I took this shot of David as he realised he was kind of ‘flying’ on the hovercraft”. We spent so much time with him and went to the theatre and even went bowling. That was a real bonus so that wasn’t just like an in-and-out, have dinner – we were able to spend days and days with him. That’s my last really great memory.” I thought it was a good one. I thought it was, 'Oh, that's got the big commercial possibilities.' And the timing was right because it was around the time of the film 2001[ A Space Odyssey], which was a huge film worldwide. Carr, Roy; Murray, Charles Shaar (1981). David Bowie: an illustrated record. New York: Avon. ISBN 0380779668. There was confusion. To be honest, although I knew David was going to retire Ziggy, I had no idea that I would have any further involvement in touring and performing with David. Had I known, I would have felt guilty and uncomfortable.

Bowie Poses With a Large Barking Dog for Publicity Shots for His 1974 Album ‘Diamond Dogs’ in London I don’t have one image which is favourite. The book cover is definitely one of my favourites as he looks so on top of his game and confident.He was extremely generous. He was extremely polite. That's the way we were brought up in Bromley, where we all came from.