Introducing, David Bowie
Goodbye to David Jones
Wolfgang Wild
1966
Amongst many ambitions, the two most important are "to act in a musical and dance in a film" explains David. And since he is in the process of writing a musical, the day when he can realise at least one of his ambitions may not be far off. - Press Release for David Bowie's first single, 1966
Legally, he was still Mr. Jones, right up until January 2016. But then, back in 1965, so was the up-and-coming singer Davy Jones, who would later find fame fronting The Monkees. And thus, on Sept. 16, 1965, an 18-year-old David Robert Jones changed his stage name to David Bowie.Jan. 14, 1966 was the first day you could actually buy a record by David Bowie, as opposed to Jones, with the release of "Can't Help Thinking About Me" by David Bowie with The Lower Third on Pye Records.However, despite a lavish launch party at Bayswater's Gaiety Bar, the song failed to chart. Bowie would later comment that the song contained two of the worst lines he had ever written: "My girl calls my name "Hi Dave", Drop in, come back, see you around if you're this way again..."These promo pictures, taken for PYE, show the brand-new Bowie at the start of his career, 50 years ago.
Even from eight or nine years old, I thought, Well, I'll be the greatest rock star in England. I just made up my mind. - David Bowie
My girl calls my name - "Hi Dave, drop in, come back, see you around if you're this way again...." - "Can't Help Thinking About Me", David Bowie, 1966
