Editing David Bowie (section)

=== 1968–1971: ''Space Oddity'' to ''Hunky Dory'' ===
{{anchor|Hermione Farthingale}}
Studying the dramatic arts under [[Lindsay Kemp]], from [[avant-garde]] theatre and [[mime]] to [[commedia dell'arte]], Bowie became immersed in the creation of personae to present to the world. Satirising life in a British prison, his composition "Over the Wall We Go" became a 1967 single for [[Paul Nicholas|Oscar]]; another Bowie song, "[[Silly Boy Blue]]", was released by [[Billy Fury]] the following year.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=46}} Playing acoustic guitar, Hermione Farthingale formed a group with Bowie and guitarist John Hutchinson named Feathers; between September 1968 and early 1969 the trio gave a few concerts combining folk, [[Merseybeat]], poetry and mime.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=49–52}}

After the break-up with Farthingale, Bowie moved in with Mary Finnigan as her lodger.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=53}} In February and March 1969, he undertook a short tour with [[Marc Bolan]]'s duo [[T. Rex (band)|Tyrannosaurus Rex]], as third on the bill, performing a mime act.{{sfn|Paytress|2009|p=199}} Continuing the divergence from rock and roll and blues begun by his work with Farthingale, Bowie joined forces with Finnigan, Christina Ostrom and Barrie Jackson to run a folk club on Sunday nights at the Three Tuns pub in [[Beckenham]] High Street.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=53}} The club was influenced by the [[Arts Lab]] movement, developing into the [[Beckenham Arts Lab]] and became extremely popular. The Arts Lab hosted a free festival in a local park, the subject of his song "[[Memory of a Free Festival]]".{{sfn|McKay|1996|p=188}}

[[File:David Bowie Plaque, Trident Studios, London copy.jpg|thumb|Plaque at [[Trident Studios]] in London marking where Bowie recorded six albums between 1969 and 1974]]
Pitt attempted to introduce Bowie to a larger audience with the ''[[Love You till Tuesday (film)|Love You till Tuesday]]'' film, which went unreleased until 1984.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=636–638}} Feeling alienated over his unsuccessful career and deeply affected by his break-up, Bowie wrote "[[Space Oddity]]", a tale about a fictional astronaut named [[Major Tom]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=255–260}}{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=104}}{{sfn|O'Leary|2015|loc=chap. 3}} The song earned him a contract with [[Mercury Records]] and its UK subsidiary [[Philips Records|Philips]], who issued "Space Oddity" as a single on 11&nbsp;July 1969, five days ahead of the [[Apollo 11]] launch.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=255–260}} Reaching the top five in the UK,{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=49–50}} it was his first and last hit for three years.<ref>{{cite web |last=Parker |first=Lyndsey |authorlink = Lyndsey Parker| url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-odd-story-of-space-oddity-how-a-novelty-record-launched-david-bowie-into-the-stratosphere-50-years-ago-170000604.html |title=The odd story of 'Space Oddity': How a 'cheap shot' 'novelty record' launched David Bowie into the stratosphere 50 years ago |publisher=[[Yahoo!]] |date=10 July 2019 |access-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711182011/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/the-odd-story-of-space-oddity-how-a-novelty-record-launched-david-bowie-into-the-stratosphere-50-years-ago-170000604.html |archive-date=11 July 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bowie's second album followed in November. Originally issued in the UK as ''[[David Bowie (1969 album)|David Bowie]]'', it caused some confusion with its predecessor of the same name, and the US release was instead titled ''Man of Words/Man of Music''; it was reissued internationally in 1972 by [[RCA Records]] as ''Space Oddity''. Featuring philosophical post-[[hippie]] lyrics on peace, love and morality, its acoustic folk rock occasionally fortified by harder rock, the album was not a commercial success at the time.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=54–60}}{{sfn|Cann|2010|pp=169–171}}{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=338}}

Bowie met [[Angela Barnett]] in April 1969. They married within a year. Her impact on him was immediate—he wrote his 1970 single "[[The Prettiest Star]]" for her{{sfn|Spitz|2009|pp=131–132}}—and her involvement in his career was far-reaching, leaving Pitt with limited influence which he found frustrating.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=54–60}} Having established himself as a solo artist with "Space Oddity", Bowie desired a full-time band he could record with and could relate to personally.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=62–63}} The band Bowie assembled comprised John Cambridge, a drummer Bowie met at the Arts Lab, Visconti on bass and [[Mick Ronson]] on electric guitar. Known as [[Hype (David Bowie band)|Hype]], the bandmates created characters for themselves and wore elaborate costumes that prefigured the glam style of the Spiders from Mars. After a disastrous opening gig at the [[Roundhouse (venue)|London Roundhouse]], they reverted to a configuration presenting Bowie as a solo artist.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=62–63}}{{sfn|Buckley|2000|pp=89–90}} Their initial studio work was marred by a heated disagreement between Bowie and Cambridge over the latter's drumming style, leading to his replacement by [[Mick Woodmansey]].{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=67}} Not long after, Bowie fired his manager and replaced him with [[Tony Defries]]. This resulted in years of litigation that concluded with Bowie having to pay Pitt compensation.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|p=67}}

The studio sessions continued and resulted in Bowie's third album, ''[[The Man Who Sold the World (album)|The Man Who Sold the World]]'' (1970), which contained references to schizophrenia, paranoia and delusion.<ref>{{cite web|first=Karl|last=Smith|title=Random Ultra-Violence: Simon Critchley On David Bowie|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/16414-david-bowie-simon-critchley-biography-extract-2|work=[[The Quietus]] |date=6 October 2014|access-date=14 December 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141006214717/http://thequietus.com/articles/16414-david-bowie-simon-critchley-biography-extract-2|url-status=live}}</ref> It represented a departure from the acoustic guitar and folk rock style established by his second album,{{sfn|Perone|2012|p=90}} to a more [[hard rock]] sound.{{sfn|Doggett|2012|p=106}} Mercury financed a coast-to-coast publicity tour across the US in which Bowie, between January and February 1971, was interviewed by media. Exploiting his [[androgynous]] appearance, the original cover of the UK version unveiled two months later depicted Bowie wearing a dress. He took the dress with him and wore it during interviews, to the approval of critics&nbsp;– including ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s [[John Mendelsohn (musician)|John Mendelsohn]], who described him as "ravishing, almost disconcertingly reminiscent of [[Lauren Bacall]]".{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=73–74}}{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=338–343}}

[[File:Tony Defries et David Bowie.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A man with long blonde hair and a man with an afro|Bowie and [[Tony Defries]] at ''[[Andy Warhol's Pork]]'' at [[Roundhouse (venue)|London's Roundhouse]] in 1971]]
During the tour, Bowie's observation of two seminal American [[proto-punk]] artists led him to develop a concept that eventually found form in the Ziggy Stardust character: a melding of the persona of [[Iggy Pop]] with the music of [[Lou Reed]], producing "the ultimate pop idol".{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=73–74}} Bowie later stated, "It's not who does it first, it's who does it second."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reesman |first=Bryan |date=7 June 2024 |title=2 Bon Jovi Hits and 1 Deep Cut Cribbed from Other Songs |url=https://americansongwriter.com/2-bon-jovi-hits-and-1-deep-cut-cribbed-from-other-songs/ |access-date=6 March 2025 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref> A girlfriend recalled his "scrawling notes on a cocktail napkin about a crazy rock star named Iggy or Ziggy", and on his return to England he declared his intention to create a character "who looks like he's landed from Mars".{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=73–74}} The "Stardust" surname was a tribute to the "[[Legendary Stardust Cowboy]]", whose record he was given during the tour. Bowie later covered "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Space Ship" on 2002's ''[[Heathen (David Bowie album)|Heathen]]''.{{sfn|Spitz|2009|p=177}}

''[[Hunky Dory]]'' (1971) found Visconti supplanted in both roles by [[Ken Scott]] producing and [[Trevor Bolder]] on bass. It again featured a stylistic shift towards [[art pop]] and melodic [[pop rock]],<ref>{{harvnb|Sullivan|2017|p=494}}; {{harvnb|Doggett|2012|p=11}}.</ref> with light fare tracks such as "[[Kooks (song)|Kooks]]", a song written for his son, [[Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones]], born on 30&nbsp;May.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=95–99}} Elsewhere, the album explored more serious subjects, and found Bowie paying unusually direct homage to his influences with "[[Song for Bob Dylan]]", "[[Andy Warhol (song)|Andy Warhol]]" and "[[Queen Bitch]]", the latter a Velvet Underground pastiche.{{sfn|Sandford|1997|pp=85–86}} His first release through RCA,{{sfn|Trynka|2011|p=174}} it was a commercial failure,{{sfn|Buckley|2005|p=104}} partly due lack of promotion from the label.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=348–349}} [[Peter Noone]] of [[Herman's Hermits]] covered the album's track  "[[Oh! You Pretty Things]]", which reached number 12 in the UK.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=202–204}}