Bowie: A Biography - JFK247

all hype, isn’t it?” Something clicked and he realized
that he’d stumbled on the perfect name for this new,
attention-hungry crew. They wanted to generate
some hype, so they would literally generate Hype.
By the spring of 1970 it was official. The Hype,
referred to sometimes simply as Hype, were born,
outfitted in Angie’s costumes and with newly
christened, sensationalist stage personas. Bowie
was Rainbow Man, his costume a prism of rainbow
colors; Visconti was Hype Man, a sort of crimefighting,
bass-playing superhero; Cambridge was
Cowboy Man, with a hat and fringe; and Ronson, his
blond hair newly dyed jet black, was the pinstripesuited
Gangster Man.
In an interview with Melody Maker that month,
Bowie explained the group’s creation: “I deliberately
chose the name in favor of something that sounded
perhaps heavy because now no one can say they’re
being conned. Especially nowadays there’s a lot of
narrow mindedness among groups or at least
behind the organizers who claim to be presenting
free music for free people but I don’t see how they
can because they’re so hypocritical in everything
else. I suppose you could say I chose Hype
deliberately with tongue in cheek.”
Live, the Hype’s set consisted of covers and
material off Space Oddity and the upcoming The
Man Who Sold the World. Critical reaction was
mixed. They made their debut opening for the
denim-clad and longhaired hippie clan Country Joe
and the Fish at the Roundhouse in late February of