THE ROCK & ROLL ARCHIVE | David Bowie | The Complete History of David Robert Jones

Grant Gutterigde

Sep 5

5 min read

CHAPTER FOUR

1966–1967

The Artist Awakens

Kenneth Pitt, Lindsay Kemp and the Road to the First Album

Part One

Introduction

By the autumn of 1966, David Bowie had already spent almost three years pursuing a professional music career.

He had fronted several bands, recorded a succession of commercially unsuccessful singles and become a familiar face within London's thriving music industry. Yet despite his determination and growing reputation among musicians, mainstream success remained elusive.

Many record companies regarded Bowie as talented but difficult to categorise.

He was not simply a rhythm and blues singer.

Nor was he a conventional pop vocalist.

His interests ranged far beyond music, encompassing theatre, literature, painting, mime, cinema and fashion.

Although these diverse influences puzzled some industry figures, they would eventually become the foundation of one of the most remarkable careers in popular music.

The period between late 1966 and 1967 represents one of the most important creative transitions in Bowie's life.

Rather than searching for commercial trends, he began searching for himself.

Kenneth Pitt Sees Something Different

One of the first people to recognise the breadth of Bowie's artistic ambition was Kenneth Pitt.

Unlike previous managers, Pitt understood that Bowie should not be marketed solely as another singer competing with countless beat groups.

He believed Bowie possessed the potential to become a complete entertainer.

Pitt had considerable experience within Britain's entertainment industry and appreciated the importance of publicity, presentation and long-term career planning.

He admired Bowie's intelligence, imagination and willingness to experiment.

Although the relationship between artist and manager would eventually become strained, Pitt's confidence provided Bowie with valuable stability during a period of enormous creative uncertainty.

More importantly, Pitt encouraged Bowie to develop every aspect of his artistic personality rather than concentrating exclusively on commercial pop music.

Looking Beyond Rock and Roll

During 1966, Bowie immersed himself in an astonishing range of artistic influences.

He listened not only to contemporary rock music but also to:

Modern jazz.
Music hall.
French chanson.
Contemporary folk.
Classical music.
Experimental composition.

He read widely, exploring the works of writers including George Orwell, Friedrich Nietzsche and the Beat Generation authors first introduced to him by his half-brother Terry Burns.

Cinema fascinated him.

So did painting.

Photography.

Architecture.

This extraordinary curiosity distinguished Bowie from many of his contemporaries.

He believed that every artistic discipline had something to teach a musician.

That philosophy would remain central throughout his career.

The Influence of Anthony Newley

Among Bowie's most significant influences during this period was the English actor, singer and songwriter Anthony Newley.

Newley's highly theatrical vocal style, expressive delivery and ability to combine humour with melancholy appealed enormously to Bowie.

Critics have often noted similarities between Bowie's earliest recordings and Newley's vocal mannerisms.

Bowie never denied the influence.

Instead, he regarded imitation as an essential stage of artistic development.

Like many great artists, he absorbed ideas from others before gradually transforming them into something unmistakably his own.

London Becomes a Cultural Capital

The London surrounding Bowie was changing almost weekly.

The city had become an international centre of fashion, photography, design and popular music.

Carnaby Street attracted visitors from around the world.

Chelsea emerged as a centre of artistic experimentation.

Soho remained the beating heart of London's nightlife, where musicians, photographers, actors and journalists mixed freely in cafés and clubs.

Television programmes devoted unprecedented attention to popular music.

Photography became increasingly important in shaping an artist's public identity.

Fashion was no longer merely decorative.

It had become an essential form of personal expression.

Few future performers would understand this relationship more completely than David Bowie.

Lindsay Kemp

Perhaps no individual shaped Bowie's artistic development more profoundly during this period than the dancer, actor and mime artist Lindsay Kemp.

Their meeting proved transformative.

Kemp's theatrical productions combined mime, dance, fantasy and emotional storytelling in ways unlike anything Bowie had previously encountered.

He encouraged performers to communicate through movement as much as dialogue.

For Bowie, this was a revelation.

Music no longer needed to exist separately from theatre.

The performer could become a character.

Movement could tell a story.

Costume could express personality.

Lighting could shape emotion.

Many years later, audiences watching Ziggy Stardust or the Thin White Duke would witness ideas whose origins lay in Bowie's studies with Lindsay Kemp.

Learning the Language of Mime

Under Kemp's guidance, Bowie studied mime with remarkable dedication.

He learned balance.

Gesture.

Facial expression.

Economy of movement.

The importance of silence.

Rather than viewing mime simply as entertainment, Bowie recognised it as another method of communication.

These lessons profoundly influenced his stage performances.

Unlike many rock singers, Bowie rarely appeared static.

Every movement became deliberate.

Every pose conveyed meaning.

Even during interviews, observers noticed his extraordinary physical awareness.

This discipline began in Kemp's studio.

The Seeds of Reinvention

During these months Bowie gradually abandoned the traditional idea that a musician should maintain a single identity throughout a career.

Instead, he became fascinated by transformation.

Actors played different roles.

Painters explored different styles.

Writers adopted different voices.

Why should musicians remain the same?

Although he could not yet know it, the answer to that question would shape every decade of his career.

Rock Timeline – Late 1966

Autumn

Kenneth Pitt begins guiding Bowie's career with renewed focus on long-term artistic development.

Throughout Late 1966

Bowie studies mime and theatrical performance with Lindsay Kemp.

End of 1966

Increasingly distances himself from straightforward rhythm and blues in favour of a broader artistic vision.

London in Bowie's World

By the close of 1966, London offered Bowie something found nowhere else in Britain.

Within a single afternoon he could attend an art exhibition, browse rare books, rehearse with musicians, study mime and finish the evening watching avant-garde theatre.

The city's creative communities overlapped constantly.

Ideas flowed freely between disciplines.

For Bowie, London was becoming less a place to live than a place to invent.

Did You Know?

David Bowie later credited Lindsay Kemp with teaching him that performance should engage the eyes as powerfully as the ears. Many of the poses associated with Ziggy Stardust can be traced directly to techniques Bowie first explored in Kemp's classes.

📍 Where Rock History Happened

The Dance Centre, Covent Garden

What happened here?

Lindsay Kemp taught classes at the Dance Centre in Covent Garden, where David Bowie immersed himself in mime and theatrical movement. These lessons fundamentally changed his understanding of stage performance and laid the foundations for the visual storytelling that became central to his career.

Why it matters

This is one of the most important locations in Bowie's artistic development. Here he began to think of himself not simply as a singer but as a performer capable of inhabiting entirely new characters.

Can you visit today?

The original Dance Centre no longer operates in its historic form, but the Covent Garden area remains rich in theatrical history and is closely associated with Bowie's formative artistic years.

Featured Tour

🎸 Magical Music Tours – David Bowie Walking Tour

Walk through the theatrical heart of London and discover how mime, movement and performance transformed David Bowie into one of rock's most visually innovative artists.

Featured Tour