Bowie: A Biography - JFK247

on May 7, 1970. While Defries spoke, David stared
off into space, silent and frail looking. Pitt
instinctively detected that Defries was not just
David’s legal representation but his next manager as
well. Pitt informed Defries that there was
compensation due for his losses as well as a
percentage of David’s future earnings. Defries
agreed and promised to come up with an
appropriate figure (at the time Pitt was reportedly
willing to settle for a mere two thousand pounds).
When the meeting was over David shook Pitt’s hand
and left him with a simple “Thank you, Ken.” And then
it was over. From his window, Pitt watched Bowie
and Defries walk up Manchester Street and
disappear around the corner.
Pitt retired from professional talent management
in 1982, has lived in Australia and Washington DC
over the years and now spends much of his time in
the countryside. He and Bowie have kept in touch.
“He sends me rare secondhand books that he
knows will interest me and I am sure it is true to say
that we continue to respect each other,” Pitt writes.
Liberated from Pitt, Bowie tried to pour all of his
energy into completing The Man Who Sold the
World, but he still could not seem to focus. The
musical landscape of the album, Bowie’s hardest
and darkest yet, was largely down to Visconti and
Ronson (the latter intent on creating a heavy blues
record worthy of Cream). Bowie, as a rule very good
about giving credit to collaborators when it was due,
admitted as much, telling Mojo, “The sonic