Unseen David Bowie: Rock icon’s childhood friend reveals intimate never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos in memoir charting star’s rise to fame and beyond

• David Bowie was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th Century, and his songs captured hearts all over the world 
• Geoff MacCormack met him at Burnt Ash Primary School in London aged eight and was there for every step of Bowie’s meteoric rise to stardom
• He has opened up about what the rock star was really like behind closed doors in an intimate memoir – David Bowie: Rock’n’Roll With Me, published by ACC Arts Books – which contains 150 images of their adventures, some of which are published for the very first time

As one of the most influential musicians of the 20th Century, David Bowie was known to millions of fans worldwide. His music, showmanship and uncanny ability to endlessly reinvent himself captured their imaginations and hearts. 

But few knew Bowie quite as well as his close friend of 60 years, Geoff MacCormack. 

And, few saw his ascent to rock and roll royalty at such close range as MacCormack, who was there every step of the way, after the pair met as eight-year-olds at school when David Bowie was just plain David Jones. 

They shared a passion for music and MacCormack, a songwriter and producer, joined the rock star on his iconic tours, recorded new music and traveled the world. 

Now, MacCormack has revealed what the man who fell to earth was really like behind the scenes in a candid picture-led memoir laden with 150 photographs, some of which have never been published, that chart his friend’s rise to mega-stardom. 

David Bowie: Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me, published by ACC Arts Books, features an afterword written by the artist himself in 2007, in which he writes: ‘The long and the short of it, Geoff, is that this is a great little book, full of warmth and good humor.’

Bowie died in 2016 aged 69 from liver cancer. He had kept his diagnosis private and his death, two days after the release of his album Blackstar, shocked fans. 

David Bowie (left) and Geoff MacCormack (right) met at Burnt Ash Primary School in London aged eight and he was there for every step of Bowie’s meteoric rise to stardom

Bowie pictured sleeping next to a table full of empty bottles on board the Trans-Siberian Express in 1973 after partying with tourists and Russian soldiers the night before

MacCormack captured this photo of Bowie at his final show as Ziggy Stardust in London on July 3, 1973- the fictional character the musician portrayed on stage.

Bowie pictured in Chicago in 1973 on his Ziggy Stardust tour sporting an outfit designed by influential Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto

MacCormack has shared 150 never before seen images of his adventures with Bowie, who died in 2016 aged 69 following an 18-month battle with cancer, in a new book called David Bowie: Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me . The cover features a quote from Bowie, whose real name was David Robert Jones: ‘Oh Geoff, what a terrifically clever idea this is. Will you actually get this stuff published?’

The friends’ adventure on the road began when Bowie called up his school friend and invited him to join him on his Ziggy Stardust tour in 1973 where MacCormack was an additional back-up vocalist and percussionist.

He later joined the musician on his Aladdin Sane shows and sailed to New York with him for another world tour.

MacCormack captured intimate photographs of their journey along the way which included filming the movie The Man Who Fell to Earth, working on six albums from Aladdin Sane to Station to Station.

He had ‘absolutely’ no idea at the time that he was capturing history.

The memoir charts their long friendship and shares untold stories.

It features an afterword by Bowie, signed off with his real name David Robert Jones, who encouraged MacCormack to release a book about their adventures before he died.

‘Oh Geoff, What a terrifically clever idea this is, I am all kinds of shades of green as I didn’t think of it first,’ Bowie wrote. 

‘Take the two of us and pretend that we went to America, Japan and, wait for it, f***ing Russia of all places, me as a rock star and you as cheerful backing singer and sidekick and then write a book about it. Brilliant!’ 

Bowie was a world famous star and he was often approached by fans who wanted an autograph and MacCormack recalled how he was ‘always really, really pleasant’ with people.

Bowie was pictured signing autographs for three women in the seaside town of Bournemouth in 1973 ‘before he really was huge’. He had just returned from Russia for a British tour. After his UK tour wrapped, he and MacCormack headed to Italy by train for a vacation and Bowie was swarmed by a group of fans and MacCormack managed to take a photo of him signing autographs.

MacCormack was present for Bowie’s final show as Ziggy Stardust in London on July 3, 1973. Bowie, with his trademark red mullet, gold ‘astral sphere’, and glowing makeup, looked deep in thought ahead of Ziggy’s last appearance.

MacCormack was amazed at how just calm he was before performing in front of a sold-out crowd at Hammersmith Odeon.

Bowie and his team travelled on the Trans-Siberian Express in 1973 for the tour in Russia and on one night they had a party on board and drank with tourists and Russian soldiers.

He came off worse than MacCormick who snapped a picture of him the next morning sleeping next to a table full of empty bottles.

Bowie was not a fan of flying and he ‘had a bit of a premonition’ that he shouldn’t fly for five years but on one occasion in 1973 he had no choice after they missed a train returning home from Russia.

He posed for a photo mid-air with a nervous grin and MacCormack said: That look sort of says, ‘Oh s***.’

The musician, who would often write at the last moment for projects, captured working on lyrics for Station to Station in 1975

Bowie laying down vocals for his new album Station to Station at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood in 1975 where he looked to be in conversation with someone outside the booth

Bowie’s fear of flying is well known but on one occasion in 1973 he had no choice after they missed a train returning home from Russia

Bowie would often write at the last moment for projects he was working on and MacCormack captured a photo of the musician working on lyrics for Station to Station in 1975.

He had headphones on over his tartan flat cap and was sitting on the floor with a pen and a piece of paper and looked to be in the creative zone.

He pictured Bowie laying down vocals for his new album Station to Station at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood in 1975 and the musician looked to be in conversation with someone in the booth.

MacCormack did not visit his friend often in the studios, only if Bowie was recording vocals or if he was required to record some backing vocals.

Often Bowie would ask how he thought things sounded but he never found providing feedback awkward.

MacCormack snapped a photo of Bowie in Chicago in 1973- where they were on the Ziggy Stardust tour- sporting an outfit designed by influential Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto.

He took the picture with a small Instamatic Kodak camera.

Bowie was a huge fan of Yamamoto’s work having spotted them in the summer of 1971 and he designed Bowie’s costumes for the tour.

‘Kansai had a heavy influence on the Ziggy look: from the razor-cut hair dyed red to shaving off his eyebrows,’ MacCormack said.

And when the tour subsequently moved to Japan, Yamamoto looked after them, entertained them at his home and took them to various places of interest.

The musician was not a fan of flying and he ‘had a bit of a premonition’ that he shouldn’t fly for five years.

Bowie starred as Thomas Jerome Newton in sci-fi drama The Man Who Fell to Earth and MacCormack captured a few photos of him on set using a cheap East German camera he borrowed.

Bowie starred as Thomas Jerome Newton in sci-fi drama The Man Who Fell to Earth and MacCormack captured this photo of him on set using a cheap East German camera he borrowed

MacCormack took a close-up shot of Bowie who was sorting out his suit ahead of filming in front of the mirror 

Bowie pictured signing autographs for three women in the seaside town of Bournemouth in 1973 ‘before he really was huge’.

Bowie, dressed in a simple white t-shirt, sitting outside a cafe in the Santa Fe sun in 1975 enjoying a cigarette

Bowiewas swarmed by a group of fans after he boarded a train to Italy following the end of the final show of his UK tour in 1973

He said he didn’t want to take lots of pictures of his friend as he didn’t want to be constantly in his face but he caught Bowie practising his shot on set with a gun and he even posed for the camera.

And he took a close-up shot of Bowie who was sorting out his suit ahead of filming in front of the mirror.

Another picture shows Bowie, dressed in a simple white t-shirt, sitting outside a cafe in the Santa Fe sun in 1975 enjoying a cigarette.

MacCormack later started an award-winning music production partnership with with Simon Goldenberg who he met, coincidentally, in The Three Tuns pub, home of Bowie’s earlier ‘Arts Lab’.

They wrote music for high-end advertising, films and television for over 20 years but he now manages the use and sale of his photographs of David Bowie around the world and has exhibited in St Petersburg, Russia, the USA and the UK.

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