At the Birth of Bowie: Life with the Man Who Became a Legend

by Phil Lancaster

It is 1965, and Swinging London is coming into its prime years. The streets are alive with mods and rockers, playboys and good-time girls, all revelling in the blossoming artistic, creative and cultural energies of the decade.

Amid the colour and chaos is a boy sporting drainpipe jeans, an immaculately tailored sports coat and a half-inch wide tie. A devoted fan of The Who, he looks the part in his pristine mod gear. As the lead singer of the Lower Third, his talent is shaping itself into something truly special.

His name is Davie Jones. In ten years, he will be unrecognisable as fresh-faced boy of 1965, and in just over fifty years, his death will be mourned by millions, his legacy the story of the greatest rock star of all time.

And through Bowie's transition from pop group member to solo performer, Phil Lancaster was by his side. As the drummer in Bowie's band, the Lower Third, Phil was there as the singer's musical stripes began to show, and was witness to his early recording techniques, his first experimental forays into drug-taking, and the band's discovery of his bisexuality in shocking circumstances.

In this riveting - and often very funny - memoir, Phil tells the story of life alongside the insecure yet blazingly talented boy who became Bowie, at a critical crossroad of time and place in music history. What follows is an intimate, personal and important perspective on the genesis of one of the most iconic musicians of the twentieth century - one that gets under the skin of the man himself, before the personas and alter-egos masked the fascinating figure beneath them.

At the Birth of Bowie is essential reading for anyone who knows what happened on Bowie's journey, but wants to understand how, and why, it ever began.

Genres: Music, Biography, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

Published January 10, 2019

Reviews

[mats eaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was good overall, I enjoyed learning more about Bowie, but it was primarily focused on the authors life as opposed to Bowie’s so it feels like he used him as a face for his book. It was cool to learn about him up close and personal though.

[Elspeth Cherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phil Lancaster trundled hundreds of miles in the back of a decommissioned ambulance with David Bowie in 1965. As the drummer in The Lower Third, a competent beat combo, he sees Davy Jones become David Bowie and write his first good song, 'Can't Help Thinking About Me'.
Bowie age 18 is clearly thinking about himself. He wriggles through managers and trades up as the next opportunity presents itself. Lancaster witnesses our hero experiment with cutups for songwriting. He sees Bowie strive to find fresh perspectives, never getting stuck but leaving one band after another in the lurch.
Lancaster seems an amiable type, (too nice to survive as a professional musician?) and he seems sort of bemused by Bowie's restlessness. He takes the inevitable abandonment with good grace and this book is an easy read without revelation. We get a glimpse of a young Bowie beginning to pick up speed because as we know, he was too fast to take the test.

[lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lugesin raamatut “Bowie sünni juures. Elu mehega, kellest sai legend”, mis on tehtud Phil Lancasteri poolt, David Bowie kunagine sõber, kellega koos nad mängisid bändis Bowie edu algusaastatel. Valisin selle raamatu, kuna kui otsisin elulugude osakonnast raamatuid, mida lugeda ja enim hakkasid silma raamatud mu lemmik muusikute kohta, nt David Bowie ja Queen. Osutusin Bowie kasuks, kuna tahtsin teada saada tema elu kohta rohkem. David Bowie on minu teismelise-aastatel väga olulist rolli mänginud ja mind väga mõjutanud, seega tahtsin teada saada rohkem süvitsi tema sisemaailma kohta.

Nüüd kirjeldan natuke pikemalt sellest, kuidas elulugu oli edasi antud. Lühike vastus on täiesti kohutavalt ja piinlikult igavalt. Lootsin enne lugemist, et raamat räägib tervest Bowie eluloost või siis vähemalt tema hiilgehetkedest või tuntuks saamisest, kuid raamat keskendus hoopis ainult sellele ajavahemikule, kui Phil Lancaster teda tundis (varem ei olnud kuulnud P. Lancasterist, seega ei olnud eeldanud, et see raamat räägiks ainult Bowie muusikakarjääri algusest - see ei tulnud ka välja raamatu tagakaanelt). Raamat oli põhimõtteliselt 30 lehte sellest, kes Phil üldse on, siis järgmised 250 lehe vältel oli kirjeldatud ainult mõnda aastat Bowie elust. Muidu ei oleks sellega probleeme olnud, kuna tegelikult ju huvitav lugeda ühe oma lemmik laulja alguse aastatest, aga kui iga kirjeldus venib kohutavalt ja kui raamat on praktiliselt lihtsalt muusikateooria kirjeldamine, samal ajal tuhande tollase aja muusiku nime mainimine, siis ei ole mitte ükski osa raamatust eriti nauditav. Nendel kirjeldustel ei olnud mitte mingit entusiasmi ega hinge, kõik tundus nii monotoonne. Suuri ideid sellest raamatust ei saanud peale selle, et sellised inimesed, kes ei huvitu teemast, ei peaks kellegi teise elulugu kirjutama. Viimane peatükk raamatust, mis räägib David Bowie surmast 2016. aastal, peaks olema kõige emotsionaalsem peatükk, aga kuna Lancaster isegi ei olnud Bowiega kohtunud uuesti peale 70ndate algust, siis ei tundnud Lancaster eriti suurt midagi. Kirjeldas küll natuke, et ei suuda uskuda, et Bowiet enam ei ole ja natuke tühi oli, aga emotsioonirikkalt see edasi küll ei kandunud.

Kas raamat oli hästi kirjutatud? Nagu eelmises lõigus välja tuli, siis minu meelest ei olnud see kindlasti hästi kirjutatud. Lugu venis, oli mõttetut informatsiooni täis ja üldiselt ei andnud üldse edasi sellist tunnet, mis raamat David Bowie eluloo kohta peaks andma. See peaks olema täis tema kogemusi, tõekspidamisi, tegusi ja kõike, mis tegi David Bowiest David Bowie. Aga raamatus ei ole seda peaaegu üldse kajastunud. Mõni üksik moment oli, kui lugeda oli põnev, aga need momendid ei kestnud pikalt.

Minu arusaamine millestki ei muutunud, peale selle teadmise, et teistele ma seda raamatut ei soovita. Uurigu pigem ise Bowie kohta internetist, kuna nii saab palju rohkemat teada ja tunduvalt kaasahaaravamalt. Sain teada ka natukene Bowie juuste kohta, kuna tal oli 60ndatel päris kentsakas soeng ja raamatus olid pildid selle kohta :).

Kas loeksin midagi sarnast? Muusiku/ tähtsa kultuuritegelase elulugu - jah. Emotsioonitult kirjutatud elulugu kellegi kohta, keda autor pole isegi näinud umbes 50 aastat - ei. Loeksin kindlasti mingit elulugu, mis Bowie kohta kirjutatud on, kui see on kellegi erineva poolt kirjutatud ja kui raamat räägiks pikemast ajaperioodist Bowie kohta, kuna see kõlab huvitavalt. Aga üldiselt usun, et mulle meeldiksid sellised elulooraamatud rohkem, mis oleksid kirjutatud inimese enda poolt, kelle elulooraamat see on. Kõlab palju intiimsemalt ja erilisemalt, kuna nii saaks inimese sisemaailma kohta palju parema arusaama. Olen nõus edasi katsetama elulooraamatute lugemisega, kuna usun, et leian midagi palju paremat kui antud raamat.

Lõppkokkuvõttes väga muserdav oli lugeda igavalt ja üksluiselt kirjutatud raamatut inimese kohta, kes on mulle südames väga olulisel kohal. Kahju lihtsalt.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few brief words from Phil Lancaster, former drummer for The Lower Third, who backed a young Davy Jones (soon re-branded as David Bowie) during his first taste of semi-stardom. Lancaster and company hang around for an abbreviated grind through the British isles, an agent swap or two, a fateful trip to France and the brink of national recognition. Then, with little pretense or preamble, they're unceremoniously kicked to the curb, brushed off and forgotten. It's an act Bowie would repeat a few times through his career and, to his credit, this old drummer-turned-biographer doesn't hold it against him. Just part of the ongoing personal and professional evolution that made him such an enduring, genre-spanning star in the music business. That also, unfortunately, means that he didn't have a whole lot of time to get to know the budding superstar, and as such, the book doesn't have a whole lot of deep inside information. We gain a loose understanding of how he carried himself in public and a few entertaining asides, like the night the singer polled his bandmates about the possibility of wearing makeup on stage (this was swiftly vetoed and never mentioned again), but that's pretty much the extent of it. Short and superficial, with a few rich notes about life on the road as a struggling small-scale rock musician, plus all manner of British music name-drops that were thoroughly lost on me. Nothing Earth-shaking.

[Carl Horowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A confession: I have not read the book. However, I have listened to many of the Lower Third's tracks, and must say that Phil Lancaster was an excellent drummer. He obviously had listened quite a bit to the esteemed likes of Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Kenny Jones. If only he had found a long-term band. The book no doubt sheds at least some light on Bowie's thoughts and personality. I give it four stars for subject matter.

[Ruth Capoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been trying to read as many books as I can about Bowie and his early roots.
Phil was there in the beginning and has some wonderful stories and memories of his time with David and The Lower Third.

I'm sure that any Bowie fan would like this as much as I did.

I know my reviews are always brief but I don't like to give anything away. Just my opinion of good or bad.

This was a good one for sure.

[Maura Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on Borrowbox, read by the author. Was a little surprised at the reading as it didn't sound like it was the person that wrote it, but I did enjoy, mostly as I'm a big Bowie fan. So great to hear about the very early stages of his career, and how he had it all planned out from the start, albeit a shaky start.
Warm hearted and nicely written, easy listen.

[Ross Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book, told by a real gentleman. I had the pleasure of meeting Phil, albeit very briefly on my induction day when I joined Channel Radio and it was only aftwards I learned of his time with Bowie. Had I known, Phil would have met with a much more fanboy version of me!

This book is a very humble but exciting tale that will tell you lots about the 60s, from the only man to remember them!

[Ray Smillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a tad dull. Had to put it down several times as it was hard going. Phil comes across as a decent bloke but it wasn't exactly overly interesting at the end of the day. Found myself skim reading more than the once although I always went back an re-read these sections properly. Plenty better books about Bowie on the market.

[Spela Ankele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ni ravno knjiga o Bowiju in njegovem rojstvu, ampak bolj knjiga Philu Lancastru in njegovih glasbenih spominih. In ker sem pričakovala vse o Bowiju, o katerem med branjem ne izvemo prav veliko, sem knjigo odložila razočarana.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars - it was grand, not sure what I was hoping for, but really didn’t learn that much - nice memoir and I imagine those that knew him would get a whole lot more from what I’d describe as a trip down memory lane for the author!

[Miguel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a good David Bowie book, it is mostly drivel.

[rza · Rating 1 out of 5]

phil lancaster is an amazing drummer but such a dull writer 😭😭 i was literally just skim reading most of it and its barely a bowie book.

[Malcolm Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for anyone who loves the music of the Bowie era and wants to know how it all started. The good times and the often hard times on the road are described in detail. Don't expect a diary of Bowie's rise to superstardom, this book isn't that as it takes the reader only as far as his first steps towards fame and fortune. A gritty, no punches pulled account of the hard times before fame kicks in.