Shock and Awe

Like so many vital figures in British pop history, from Pete Townshend to Paul Weller, Bowie came from a blurry region of British society that encompasses the educated working class, the socially precarious petite bourgeoisie and what could be called the uncomfortably-off middle class, i.e. professional or office workers whose income didn’t quite match their aspirations.

The tense domestic atmosphere, along with the family’s uncertain place in the class structure and Bromley’s peripheral location in relation to Greater London, must all have contributed to his feeling of growing up ‘on the outside of everything’.

Kenneth Pitt, the manager who took over from Conn and became Bowie’s most important mentor during the sixties, advised the singer on ‘exactly what the interviewer’s interests were . . . I told him you’ve got to try to anticipate the interviewer, tell him or her what they want to hear, and adopt a different style according to the different types of media.’

denounced the prejudice and indignities they faced: ‘For the last two years we’ve had comments like “Darlin’!” and “Can I carry your handbag?” thrown at us. And I think it just has to stop . . . We don’t see why other people should persecute us.’