Bowie: A Biography - JFK247

don’t for a minute understand it. I’ve given up a long
time ago any explanation for anything.”
The cover photo, shot by Mick Rock, shows the
former black-clad downtown bohemian Reed fully
immersed in glitter rock androgyny, something he
would later, somewhat sheepishly, trade back for his
downtown tough black leathers.
“The year started out with David Bowie fast
gaining recognition as one of Lou Reed’s trendy
disciples,” Billboard wrote; “the year will end with the
tables neatly turned.”
On tour, Bowie got his wish by vicariously
introducing fans of “Wild Side” to the music of the
Velvets. Reed’s set was full of VU classics. “I
decided maybe some time has passed,” Reed told
me in his iconic sneering style. “Maybe they’ll get it
this time around.”
With England fully conquered, Bowie began to
truly plan out the American invasion. The cult of
Bowie was taking root in the major cities but there
was nothing about the Ziggy album to warrant the
grandiosity with which they were about to tour across
the States. In the fall of ’72, with both Reed and Pop
in tow, David, Angela, Tony Defries and the
MainMan entourage hosted a press event at
London’s posh Dorchester Hotel for American
journalists flown in at RCA’s expense and select
members of the British press. The event was
conceived as a preview for the fall tour of America,
and journalists from Playboy and Rolling Stone
were put up and treated to cocktails, hors d’oeuvres