David Bowie, Contact Sheet, London, 1972

David Bowie, MainMan Office, 252 Regent Street, London, 1972.It was a rather overcast day in London and Mick Watt’s and I went over to interview David at his manager Tony DeFries’ rather small and grubby office on Regent Street. As we entered, David was sitting very pretty in this amazingly bright outfit, lazily smoking a cigarette and reading a book. “Hello, come in,” he said, smiling, and after we got over the shock of the new Bowie look, Mick and I sat down and had a cup of tea and a chat about what he was up to with this ‘new look’. During the chat/interview David announced he was gay and always had been much to the shock of our Mick Watts who, though a bit stunned, continued the interview with a quizzical expression of disbelief, while I took pictures and tried not to laugh. True, there were many gay folks in the ‘biz’ but none of them would admit it to the press. I thought David was ‘pulling our leg’ and it was just part of his new act with Ziggy. This photo was used on the front page of the Melody Maker for the next weeks issue, reversed so David is looking the other way. It caused a lot of talk and as David told me later, the publicity had made him, or rather Ziggy, a star. -- Barrie Wentzell30x40 size is archival digital only.