David Bowie: Rock ’n’ Roll with Me

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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. I really liked all the spiders. I think they realised that Hutch and I plus the two brass/woodwind guys were just there to bulk up the sound, even where we were positioned, at the side of the stage, confirmed that it was, very much, David and The Spiders show! 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? 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.

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.” 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. Justin de Villeneuve: “Twiggy and I flew to Paris where David was recording his new album, ‘Pin Ups,’ and I booked a studio to take the portrait. When T & B sat in front of me, I realised we had a problem. Twiggy and myself had just returned from the Bahamas and she had a dark tan. David was as white as a ghost. They looked weird together. The problem was resolved when the make-up artist Pierre LaRoche and myself decided to draw masks on their faces of the same colours. It was only when I looked through the lens viewfinder that I noticed Bowie’s eyes were different. All the times I’d met him before and I had never noticed! 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. No. I knew he had been ill, but I didn't know he had been that ill, because although I hadn't seen him for, like, a year and a half before, I remember him having to take tablets and whatever and his[personal assistant] fussing over him. So I thought, Oh, that's perhaps not a good sign. But no, and I'm glad I didn't, really.I clearly remember him playing me Space Oddity. He was living down the road to me in South Kensington. I thought, well done pal, you’ve nailed it! —- Unfortunately, he didn’t have a strong enough follow up. He wasn’t going to let that happen again!

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? Bowie Poses With a Large Barking Dog for Publicity Shots for His 1974 Album ‘Diamond Dogs’ in London I remember one early January day in Los Angeles, David called to invite me to his small birthday party at a then relatively unknown restaurant called Matsuhisa (Nobu’s). He asked if I knew it, to which I responded that I didn’t! In his inimitable form, David replied, ‘Well, in your words, Greg, it’ll blow your balls off!’ Classic David.”

Geoff MacCormack talks playing music and traveling the world with the icon, and making "David Bowie: Rock 'n' Roll With Me"

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.”

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. The exhibition "David Bowie in the Soviet Union" at the Wende Museum in Culver City, USA runs through October 22, 2023. Carr, Roy; Murray, Charles Shaar (1981). David Bowie: an illustrated record. New York: Avon. ISBN 0380779668.What are your memories of The 1980 Floor Show? It’s great to see it’s recently been uploaded to YouTube in superior quality. 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 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. All this dark energy would be absorbed into Bowie’s next creation The Thin White Duke: the isolated, cold-blooded European alien who summoned a pre-pop atmosphere of neo-romanticism and a search for the arcane created a whirlpool of vitality on Station to Station. David Bowie in the Soviet Union is generously supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.