If you’ve followed my quest to put a name to Bowie’s Mystery Guest, I thought i’d explain a little more about how I’ve been digging for information, along with details of all the lovely associates of David Bowie who have been kind enough to help me out.
It’s now fifty years since David Bowie strutted across the stage at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, fired the Spiders from Mars then legged it to the Cafe Royal for his coronation as the King of UK rock-and-roll. Bowie’s management had worked wonders to pump the PR machine all the way to 11, ensuring the venue was thick with guests, celebrities, journalists and photographers, all eager to get a slice of the man of the moment. Those that were in the crowd at Hammersmith were oblivious that they were witnessing Ziggy Stardust’s last live performance. Bowie’s announcement, “This is the last show we’ll ever do” was already enough to bag some headlines but some great photos from a celebratory celebrity reception would guarantee Bowie’s face to be plastered across the morning’s front pages.
What no one could foresee, was that one particular photo would be the subject of debate and discussion for the next half a century. Who was Bowie’s Mystery Guest?
The Contractual Obligation Photo
According to Judy Nylon, towards the end of the evening, David Bowie and a selection of his guests were crammed into a corner of the Cafe Royal to create another of the celebrity drenched photos for the salivating press. Ringo Starr, Celia Hammond, Jeff Beck, Lulu, Mick Ronson and Maureen Starkey were slotted together on some chairs, whilst Edgar Broughton, Bianca Jagger and Angie Bowie surrounded David. For the moment, we’ll ignore the unknown man to the left of Angie Bowie to point out a couple of other oddities about this photo.
Where are Mick & Lou?
Given the grandeur of the other celebrities which were rumoured to be in attendance on the night, it is fair to say that there are a few missing faces from the image. Other infamous photos from this night show David chatting with Mick Jagger and Lou Reed, two natural additions, yet conspicuous omissions to this star-studded photo.
Judy Nylon, who accompanied Lou Reed on the night, explained why he was missing from the photo.
Lou and I had left to go to the studio where he was mixing the LP “Berlin” before the ‘other photographers’ were let in most likely at the end of the night.
Sadly, we don’t know Mick’s whereabouts, but as Bianca is in the frame, he probably wasn’t too far away. Reed and Jagger aside, where were some of the other stars of the night like McCartney or Streisand?
It’s understandable that the only band member in the shot was Mick Ronson. It’s widely acknowledged that Bowie’s ‘shock’ decision to disband the Spiders from Mars wasn’t just a last minute on-stage whim, but the final move in a carefully orchestrated plan to allow Bowie to move on from Ziggy Stardust before repetitive strain injury, cocaine dependence or the bailiffs could derail Tony DeFries’ plans to globalise MainMan. Ronno’s short-lived shot at solo superstardom was paid for, according to some, with his silence regarding the imminent demise of the Spiders.
I’m convinced that the paucity of the other top-tier attendees turns this photo into a poorly staged composition, hastily thrown together to give the throng of invited photographers something to take back to their news editors. It’s neither an image of spontaneity or meticulous planning, but a last-minute, ‘come here, you’ll do’, contractually obliging shot, allowing the photographers to go home and the proper party to begin.
This improvising haste had the unintended consequence of allowing a man, to appear in the shot, standing next to the Queen of the party, Angie Bowie. To the casual observer, he looks like just another 70s celebrity, having a thorough decent evening whilst bending a knee of deference to King David, but we know that’s not the case. The true identity of this man, Bowie’s mystery guest, remains a secret.
MacCormack, Buckley, Clark & Gould: Part 1
Over the years, for many and varied reasons, the identity of Bowie’s mystery guest has been incorrectly attributed to many men. Four names appear more frequently than others, they are Geoff MacCormack, Tim Buckley, Ossie Clark and Elliott Gould.
Geoff MacCormack was Bowie’s mate from the days when they’d knock around South London as kids. Geoff was part of the band which was on-stage at Hammersmith the night they were all fired, but survived the purge and toured the US with David in 1974 In 1973, Geoff’s hairstyle and facial features were strikingly similar to Bowie’s mystery guest, leading to understandable confusion and misidentity. When I asked Angie Bowie to identify the man standing next to her in the photo, she replied:
It’s Geoff MacCormack!
I got the same response from Tony Zanetta, the then tour manager for Ziggy Stardust. He said:
It most certainly is Geoff MacCormack. He went everywhere with David in those days. Mystery solved!
Tony, or Zee as we know him in Bowie circles, is certainly correct about the close relationship between David & Geoff, but it isn’t Geoff. How can I be so sure? Geoff MacCormack’s PA told me:
He has seen this photograph before and he has no idea who this chap is, although we can see how he could be mistaken for Geoff.
So when you’re scouring social media and this photo pops up (and it does), you can correct all the posters proclaiming that it’s Geoff. Tony Zanetta came back to me with additional information:
Oh dear….. afraid I may be wrong. I just looked at some other photos from the party. Geoffrey was in white. This evidently is not Geoff MacCormack after all. No clue who it could be.
Thanks to the kindness of Zee, I could get a message to one of the driving forces of the Ziggy press-machine, Cherry Vanilla. Cherry is a tour de force and I can’t recommend her autobiography enough (I’ve put a reading list at the bottom of this post). She was part of the MainMan machine which worked tirelessly to make Bowie famous. She told me:
I don’t know either! Good luck with your search.
Although MainMan were the controlling influence on Bowie’s PR, you may have spotted an emerging thread. If Angie, Zee & Cherry cannot identify Bowie’s mystery guest – arguably three of MainMan’s key components – then did anyone in Bowie’s management know? I suppose that if one wants to know what MainMan knew, it’s sensible to ask the main man himself. I contacted Des Shaw, the producer of the MainMain podcast and he kindly put the photo before the head of MainMan, Tony DeFries.
I’ve checked with DeFries, Anya Wilson, Zanetta and a few others who were there and no one knows. I like his shirt though. very 70s.
Later I received a second email, sent to me and Des from Marlene DeFries, Tony’s wife. Her email had a photo attached:
MacCormack, Buckley, Clark & Gould: Part 2
The photo is a clipping from a newspaper. It features one of the many versions of the same posed shot, it identifies Bowie’s mystery guest as the American folk singer, Tim Buckley. Marlene wrote:
I think it is Tim Buckley – found this clip with his name. He died young at 28 in 1975.
It’s a great bit of detective work and she’s right, Tim Buckley died very young at 25. Tim Buckley looks like Bowie’s mystery guest and Angie Bowie mentions Tim in Lipstick Legends. He toured the folk scene in the late 60s, exactly when Bowie himself was trying to break into folk, so it’s not inconceivable that Tim and David knew each other reasonably well. As I mentioned earlier, even a casual amount of Googling will regurgitate Tim’s name as the identity of Bowie’s mystery guest. He’s one of the four most frequent ‘spots’, but it isn’t him.
You can read the full account of how I disproved Tim Buckley as Bowie’s mystery guest here, but for now, believe me when I say that Tim Buckley was not at the Café Royal on the 3rd July 1973.
MacCormack, Buckley, Clark & Gould: Part 3
Ossie Clark is more complex. He was a celebrated British fashion designer and made his name in the halcyon days of 60s London. During my research, I’ve never found compelling evidence that Clark and Bowie collaborated much, if at all. At the time of Ziggy, Bowie’s fashions were carefully managed by Freddie Buretti and Kansai Yamamoto so a professional appointment didn’t appear to happen either.
Clark passed away in 1996, so a first-hand testimony will remain elusive but what remains is his diary. For the full examination of the Diaries of Ossie Clark, have a look here, but if you want the quick version, then looks alone rule out Ossie Clark and Bowie’s Mystery Guest being the same person, but there seems to be a distinct possibility that he was at the Cafe Royal on the 3rd of July 1973.
MacCormack, Buckley, Clark & Gould: Part 4
Hollywood legend Elliott Gould has a CV which goes on for a fortnight. He’s won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a clutch of BAFTAs, but he gets a mention here – surely a career highlight – because he’s often mistaken as Bowie’s Mystery Guest. He was first suggested to me by Angie Bowie. She said:
Elliot was in London at the time making a movie along with Ryan O’Neal on Barry Lyndon. 1974 & 1975 were busy with Kubrick in Ireland and Elliott was in town too but not working. I checked his work product for those two years all the productions he did were, I believe stateside, but I think he had a love interest in London.
Angie didn’t identify Gould as Bowie’s Mystery Guest, but the amount of people online who had, meant that I needed to get a message to him. I’m delighted to say that he was gracious enough to send me a response. He said:
I think I may have been there, but it’s not me in the pictures.
I suppose the best we can say at this point is that we still don’t know who it is, but we have a few more people to add to the ever-growing list of who it isn’t. We’ve debunked a few longstanding myths, so if anyone ever claims that it’s either Geoff MacCormack, Tim Buckley, Ossie Clark or Elliott Gould, then you can put them straight.
Team Bowie
On this night, celebrities, friends, peers, management and the fragmented remains of his band – or at least the ones who didn’t want to strangle him, surrounded Bowie. I’ve spent the last few years communicating with these people for the simple reason, they were there on the night. Surely one of them knows who Bowie’s Mystery Guest is (*SPOILER*: They don’t!).
Edgar Broughton, the man standing top-left in the same photo said:
I am afraid I have no idea who the person is but I would bet Angie knows.
Edgar’s is a very sensible suggestion, but as we’ve already discussed, Angie doesn’t know. A lady appearing in many photos on the night was Dana Gillespie. She said:
I’m afraid I can’t help as I don’t recognise him at all.
John Hutchinson, Bowie guitarist and early collaborator said:
It certainly isn’t Geoff, but i don’t recognise the guy. The shirt and mullet suggests an Angie American boyfriend doesn’t it?
Certainly a very interesting thought, but if he’s right and the man is known to Angie Bowie, she’s either forgotten or not saying.
Another party guest was Jean Millington from the American rock band, Fanny. She told me:
I’m sorry- I have no idea who that man is…..
Before he passed away, I managed to get a message to Jeff Beck, guitar god and the man sitting centre-stag in the photo. The message came back:
The man in question was Tim Buckley.
As we know, it looks like Tim, but it is not Tim Buckley. Another name which pops up from time to time is that of drummer, Aynsley Dunbar. Aynsley is interesting because he was at the party, there are several shots of him mingling amongst the crowd and only a few weeks later, he recorded Bowie’s next album, Pin Ups, at the Château d’Hérouville near Paris. Dunbar also appeared with Bowie in Ziggy’s last recording, The 1984 Floor Show/Midnight Special. Mix all this together with Dunbar’s shoulder length curly hair and impending dates as Bowie’s latest stick-man, then Aynsley is an inspired suggestion. However, you can probably see where this is going. I passed a message to Aynsley via his management company:
Just spoke to Aynsley and he can confirm it’s not him and he does not know who it is either.
Whilst we’re talking of Pin Ups, the producer of this album and all of Bowie’s albums back to Hunky Dory was Ken Scott. If Bowie’s Mystery Guest was a session musician or an unknown member of David’s entourage, then Ken Scott would have seen him during the production of the four albums. Ken said:
My first thought was Geoff MacCormack but, as you discovered, it’s not him. I have no other ideas, sorry.
Do you remember Bowie’s Mystery Guest?
Another avenue of investigation was to contact people who were working with, or had recently worked with Bowie, to see if it was a face they sparked any memories. Bowie’s former manager, Laurence Myers, an impresario whose auto-biography is a sensational read, got in touch. He said:
Have you asked Angie Bowie?
Moving on, Renowned journalist and one time Bowie landlady-with-benefits, Mary Finnegan said:
Haven’t a clue who he is. Have you sent the photo to Angie?
Robin Mayhew, Bowie’s sound-desk engineer for the entirety of the Ziggy Stardust tours said:
I’m sorry to tell you that I have no idea who that young man is. My first guess would have been Geoff but looking closely I can see that it’s not him.
Last, at least for this post, is Woody Woodmansey. Bowie’s drummer and the last surviving member of the Spiders from Mars. Woody said:
Yes, I was there at the party but no idea who this is. I don’t recall ever seeing him or even noticing him.
So, who is Bowie’s Mystery Guest?
One photographer on the night – indeed, one of the photographers of all time, was Mick Rock. He took the photos of Bowie, Reed and Jagger and was also part of the gaggle which snapped Bowie’s Mystery Guest. Before he passed away, Mick sent me a message via his PA:
Mick doesn’t remember who the person is. Probably someone’s friend, who saw an opportunity to hustle his way into a great photo op!
There is a great possibility that Mick is right. Clearly, no-one who was with Bowie, worked for Bowie or was near to Bowie, knows who Bowie’s Mystery Guest was. Security for this night was tight and it was a carefully choreographed evening designed to build Bowie’s status in the UK, for a Diamond Dogs shaped crack at the US. Is it possible that some random guy, managed to photo bomb David Bowie? It certainly seems that could have happened. But even so, Bowie’s Mystery Guest has a name and my intention is to discover it.
Over the years, suggestions have been made to me which I’ve done my best to investigate. Names like Pierre Clémenti, Bon Scott and Philip Rambo. All brilliant suggestions, but all wrong.
If you’ve glanced through this list and realised that there are people that I haven’t yet asked, then be aware that I’ve only listed responses. There are people that I’ve contacted who haven’t responded to my request. It’s a shame, but they’re more than entitled to ignore me completely.
For what it’s worth, my belief is that this person was known to some of the people there, but I do not believe that Bowie’s Mystery Guest was famous. There are still avenues which I’m investigating, but as the party at the Cafe Royal was over fifty years ago, memories are fading.
If you’ve read this far, then you have my gratitude and sincerest congratulations. If you have any ideas or suggestions, then please drop me a line.
Before I go, don’t forgot to check out this brief Bowie reading list:
The Bowie’s Mystery Guest Reading List
Just a short selection of some of the fab Bowie related books, wirtten by some of the extremely kind people who have helped me with Bowie’s Mystery Guest. Some are out of print, by click the links to get some used copies.
Stardust: The Life and Time of David Bowie by Tony Zanetta and Henry Edwards.
Lick Me: How I Became Chery Vanilla by Cherry Vanilla.
Bowie & Hutch by John Hutchinson.
Lipstick Legends by Angie Bowie.
Les papiers de Ziggy Stardust by Cherry Vanilla.
Hunky Dory (Who knew?) by Laurence Myers.
Psychedelic Suburbia: David Bowie and the Beckenham Arts Lab by Mary Finnigan.
