David Bowie is (part 5): 'You've Tried So Hard To Fly'

After the disaster of 'I Dig Everything', it was time for another change. Against the odds, Ken Pitt secured Bowie an album contract with a subsidiary of Decca Records, Deram. Bowie told producer Mike Vernon that he could handle all the string and brass arrangements he needed to make an epic first album. In long sessions that took place at the same time as the Beatles Sgt. Pepper sessions, Bowie and his bass player Derek 'Dek' Fearnley struggled to write string and brass parts. Bowie couldn't read or write a note of music although Dek had had piano lessons as a child. Nevertheless it was a painful and hurried process. According to biographer Paul Trynka, one clarinettist from the London Philharmonic refused to play saying "there are five notes in this bar. There should be four".

Despite these problems, on the first of June 1967 (the same day as Sgt. Pepper) 'David Bowie' was released. The first single, already released at the end of 1966 was 'Rubber Band' a curious, almost military band-style piece. Other songs sounded like show tunes in the style of Judy Garland, comedy songs in the style of Anthony Newley, throwaway pop songs, ballads or soul numbers, prefiguring Bowie's exploration of the soul scene in 1975's 'Young Americans'.

The album contains a number of songs that explore the relationship between adults and children.'Uncle Arthur' was inspired by the discovery that Derek Fearnley had lied about his age when joining the Buzz and was in fact 27 not 20 and an uncle. Bowie sometimes saw Fearnley's nephew at his brother's house and would sometimes babysit for Alan Mair, whose group were also managed by Ken Pitt. Mair's son, 'Little Frankie Mair' became the subject of 'Little Bombardier', although in the song Frankie was an adult who liked playing with children and attracted suspicion. 'Silly Boy Blue' is about a student of Buddhism, as Bowie was himself briefly. At the end of the song Bowie repeatedly sings 'Chime', the name of his teacher Chime Rinpoche.

Another theme that appears on many later David Bowie albums first appears here on 'We Are Hungry Men'. Bowie writes from the point of view of someone that presents himself as a 'messiah' that has come to help people, but turns out to be a very sinister and dangerous person that tries to use his charm for his own ends. 'Please Mr. Gravedigger' is a bizarre spoken-word piece complete with gravel, rain, thunder and sneezing. The subject matter was the death of a child, apparently inspired by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's murder of Lesley Ann Downey. A little dodgy perhaps but the album is full of interesting stories. The album demonstrates a huge leap forward in Bowie's singing and song-writing and shows the depth of Bowie's ambition, the range of influences he could employ and his propensity for risk-taking. It also demonstrates two other themes there were to run throughout Bowie's career. The first is a skill for delegation. Bowie was able to inspire people to take 'Dek' Fearnley to take on much of the reponsibility for arranging the songs on the album. Throughout his career Bowie would inspire musicians, arrangers and producers to take on tasks and, at the same time, to produce their best work. The second is an ability to use the recording studio itself as an instrument. Bowie does it here particularly 'Please Mr. Gravedigger', but it is a technique Bowie used on much of his experimental work.

'David Bowie' (1967)
All songs written and composed by David Bowie
Click on each track to hear it.
1. Uncle Arthur
2. Sell Me A Coat
3. Rubber Band
4. Love You Till Tuesday
5. There Is A Happy Land
6. We Are Hungry Men
7. When I Live My Dream
8. Little Bombardier
9. Silly Boy Blue
10. Come and Buy My Toys
11. Join The Gang
12. She's Got Medals
13. Maid Of Bond Street
14. Please Mr. Gravedigger

A second non-album single was recorded after the album in January but it was released first in April 1967. Although the subject of much derision later in his career, the kitsch and humourous 'The Laughing Gnome' succeeds on its own terms and is a well-crafted song. The B-side is 'The Gospel According to Tony Day'.

The third single released to promote the album was 'Love You Till Tuesday'. The B-side is 'Did You Ever Have A Dream'.

During the sessions for the album another track was recorded but left off the album and never released. It is the superbly mad 'Over The Wall'. The song was re-recorded by future TV sitcom star Paul Nicholas performing as Oscar. This version also failed to make the chart.

At this point, David Bowie was introduced to a young producer that had just come over from America. Although the first records they made together also failed to get into the chart, the partnership would prove to be one of the most enduring and critically successful in popular music history. Tony Visconti producer a number of songs, all of which were turned down by the label executives at Deram. They were 'Let Me Sleep Beside You', which is a great song and which was to be backed with 'Karma Man', 'In The Heat Of The Morning', whose first lines 'The blazing sunset in your eyes will tantalize / Every man who looks your way', has almost exactly the same tune as the first lines from 'Ziggy Stardust', namely 'Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with weird and gilly / And the spiders from mars' and 'London Bye Ta Ta', his best song to date.

Next time: Velvet Underground, dancing and mime