David Bowie was born in London, in the Brixton district. Although he lived elsewhere for many years (primarily in New York and Berlin), London remains a city inextricably linked to his career and success.
This ten-stop itinerary takes place through the neighborhoods of Brixton, Soho, Mayfair, Hammersmith, and South Kensington, and is a true pilgrimage recommended for anyone who loves the great artist.
10 David Bowie Places in London: Exploratory Itinerary
1 David Bowie’s Birthplace
Where: 40 Stansfield Road – SW9 9RY. Tube: Brixton.
David Robert Jones was born on January 8, 1947, in this house on the border between Brixton and Stockwell, to Margaret Mary “Peggy” Burns, who worked as a cinema waitress, and Haywood Stanton “John” Jones, an employee at the charity Barnardo’s. Bowie lived in this house until he was six years old, when the family moved to Bromley.
2 The Brixton Mural
Where: Tunstall Road – SW9 8BN. Tube: Brixton.
Opposite the Brixton tube station, along the side facade of the Morleys department store, stands the famous David Bowie mural, inspired by the iconic cover of the album Aladdin Sane. The mural was painted in 2013 by Australian artist James Cochran on the occasion of the exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum dedicated to Bowie.
In January 2016, following the artist’s death, this site became a true place of worship, with thousands of people (including myself) visiting to leave a flower or a note. Many wrote messages on the mural, which was subsequently repainted and protected with a plastic screen.
3 Heddon Street
Where: 23 Heddon Street – W1B 4BQ. Tube: Piccadilly Circus or Oxford Circus.
On this quiet pedestrian side street off Regent Street, in front of number 23, the photo for the cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars was taken. In January 1972, photographer Brian Ward was shooting images for the album in a studio on Heddon Street. At one point, he suggested taking some photos outside, but the band refused because it was freezing and raining. Only Bowie agreed.
The exact spot where the photo was taken is marked by a commemorative plaque unveiled in 2012 by Spiders from Mars members Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey and Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, a longtime Bowie fan.
4 Trident Studios
Where: 17 St. Anne’s Court – W1F 0BQ. Tube: Tottenham Court Road or Leicester Square.
In these Soho studios, David Bowie recorded five albums: Space Oddity (1969), The Man Who Sold the World (1970), Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars (1972), and Aladdin Sane (1973).
The Trident Studios production portfolio is incredible. Their success was due to various factors, not least their use of cutting-edge technology. They were among the first, for example, to have an eight-track recording system, while even Abbey Road Studios were using four tracks.
The Trident grand piano is an absolute legend: it was a handcrafted Bechstein from the mid-1800s. It was notoriously difficult to play because the keys were very stiff. But once you got into it, the sound was bright and crystal clear, so much so that it has been called “the best rock and roll piano ever.” You can hear it, among others, in the Beatles’ Hey Jude, Queen’s Killer Queen, and Elton John’s Your Song. And, of course, in Suffragette City, Life on Mars?, Oh! You Pretty Things, and Aladdin Sane.
5 La Gioconda Café
Where: 9 Denmark Street, Soho – WC2H 8LS. Today home to the Flat Iron restaurant. Tube: Tottenham Court Road.
Denmark Street earned the nickname Britain’s Tin Pan Alley, referencing the namesake area of New York known for music publishers, songwriters, and producers. Denmark Street was the place to be if you wanted to become a musician because it was where you met the right people. And that’s exactly what David Bowie did: he left the outskirts of London where he lived at the time, converted an old ambulance into a kind of camper, and literally camped by the roadside.
During this stay, his local hangout was La Gioconda Café (at number 9), also frequented by Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, and Marc Bolan. It was here that Bowie formed one of his bands, The Lower Third.
Today, what remains of Denmark Street’s rich musical history are just a few instrument shops. La Gioconda has become a restaurant in the Flat Iron steakhouse chain, and the street as a whole is part of a redevelopment project for the entire Tottenham Court Road area.
6 Marquee Club
Where: 90 Wardour Street – W1F 0TH. Now a condominium. Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, or Piccadilly Circus.
The Marquee is one of London’s historic clubs. Every single English artist of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s performed there.
David Bowie regularly attended the club as a spectator and held 22 concerts there from 1965 to 1973. The first four shows were with the band The Lower Third. Later, with the new band The Buzz, he secured a residency that guaranteed 14 dates in 1966. In 1969, when David Jones became David Bowie (to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees), he played once at the Marquee after releasing Space Oddity and once more on February 3, 1970, to present the album Hunky Dory.
With the invention of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, Bowie became enormously famous and the Marquee was too small to hold the crowd of fans. Therefore, the artist played there only twice more, by invitation, in October 1973, to record a show for American TV NBC.
In 1988, the Wardour Street building was sold and transformed: the main club room was demolished and replaced by a restaurant, while the original club entrance is now the entrance to the Soho Loft Apartments. The club relocated first to Charing Cross and later to other Soho locations, before permanently closing in 2008 after various changes.
Watch an excerpt from the 1973 NBC concert in the video below.
7 The Wag
Where: 33-37 Wardour Street – W1D 6PU. Now home to the O’Neill’s gastropub. Tube: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus.
In 1984, David Bowie filmed the video for the single Blue Jean at The Wag, directed by Julien Temple, which won the Grammy for Best Video in 1985.
This venue on the edge of Soho’s Chinatown has a long and glorious history. In the 1950s and 60s, it was home to the Flamingo Club, where you could hear the best jazz and R&B around, and one of the first English clubs to host ska bands. In the early 1970s, after a brief period when it was called The Temple, the upper floors became the Whisky a Go Go, renamed The Wag in 1981.
The Wag was one of the key underground clubs of the 1980s music and fashion scene, counting among its regulars Boy George, Sade, George Michael, Jean Paul Gaultier, and John Galliano.
It ceased to be a club in 2001 and became a pub in the O’Neill’s chain.
Watch the Blue Jean video
8 Hard Rock Cafe Mayfair
Where: 150 Old Park Lane, Mayfair – W1K 1QZ. Tube: Hyde Park Corner.
The famous rock & roll–themed restaurant hides a small treasure inside: The Vault, formerly the vault of Coutts Bank, where even the Queen kept her personal valuables. Today it is a small rock memorabilia museum where a guitar owned by David Bowie is on display. The most valuable piece is the guitar played by Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight (insured for over 4 million pounds); also notable is the corset by Jean Paul Gaultier worn by Madonna on the Blonde Ambition Tour.
The museum is open every day from 12:00 to 20:00 (until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays) with free entrance.
9 Hammersmith Odeon
Where: 45 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith – W6 9QH. Tube: Hammersmith.
David Bowie performed at the Hammersmith Odeon (now known as Eventim Apollo) on July 3, 1973. The concert became historic because, with the performance of the last song, Rock and Roll Suicide, Bowie symbolically killed his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. It was a totally unexpected event and caused much distress among fans and the Spiders from Mars, who discovered they had been fired. The concert was fully filmed by Donn Alan Pennebaker and became a documentary titled Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, released in 1979.
The Hammersmith Odeon was inaugurated in 1932 as Gaumont Palace. Throughout its long history, it has hosted concerts by many artists including Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Queen, Elton John, and Blondie. It has also been the site of numerous live concert audio and video recordings and appears in the interior photo of The Who’s Quadrophenia album.
In 2021, among others, concerts by Ellie Goulding, Thom Yorke, and Ronan Keating are scheduled.
Watch Rock and Roll Suicide from the last Ziggy Stardust concert.
10 Royal Albert Hall
Where: Kensington Gore, South Kensington SW7 2AP – Tube: South Kensington.
Despite being a legendary concert hall, David Bowie played at the Royal Albert Hall only twice. The first was on March 12, 1970, when he sang Space Oddity solo at a charity concert for mentally disabled children.
The second time was on May 29, 2006, as a surprise guest of David Gilmour. The two icons closed the concert duetting on Arnold Layne and Comfortably Numb. That was Bowie’s last performance in Britain.
The Royal Albert Hall hosts the annual BBC Proms, an extensive summer series of concerts. The July 29, 2016, Prom was dedicated to David Bowie’s music with participants including Anna Calvi, Laura Mvula, and Marc Almond.
The Royal Albert Hall has a full event schedule this year with concerts by Brian Adams, Eric Clapton, and Patti Smith, among others. From spring 2021, guided tours of the theatre will also resume, bookable via the website.
Watch Comfortably Numb performed by David Gilmour and David Bowie at the Royal Albert Hall
