David Bowie was born in London, in the Brixton neighborhood. Although he lived elsewhere for many years (primarily in New York and Berlin), London remains a city indissolubly linked to his career and success.
This ten-stop itinerary takes place among the neighborhoods of Brixton, Soho, Mayfair, Hammersmith, and South Kensington and is a true pilgrimage recommended for those who love the great artist.
10 David Bowie Places in London: An Exploratory Itinerary
1 David Bowie’s Birthplace
Where: 40 Stansfield Road – SW9 9RY. Underground: 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 Barnardo’s charity. 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. Underground: Brixton.
Opposite the Brixton Underground station, along the side facade of the large Morleys department store, is the famous David Bowie mural, inspired by the iconic album cover of Aladdin Sane. The mural was painted in 2013 by Australian artist James Cochran, on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to Bowie at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
In January 2016, after the artist’s death, this site became a true shrine, with thousands of people (including myself) coming to leave a flower or a note. Many wrote messages on the mural, which was therefore later repainted and protected with a plastic screen.
3 Heddon Street
Where: 23 Heddon Street – W1B 4BQ. Underground: Piccadilly Circus or Oxford Circus.
In this quiet pedestrian 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 Heddon Street studio. At one point, he suggested taking some photos outside, but the band refused because it was freezing and raining. Only Bowie agreed.
The precise 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 by Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, a lifelong Bowie fan.
4 Trident Studios
Where: 17 St. Anne’s Court – W1F 0BQ. Underground: 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 portfolio of productions at Trident Studios is incredible. Their success is due to several factors, not least the use of cutting-edge technologies. They were among the first, for example, to have an eight-track recording system, when even Abbey Road Studios used four tracks.
The grand piano at Trident is an absolute legend: it was a hand-built Bechstein from the mid-19th century. It was notoriously difficult to play because the keys were very stiff. But once you got into it, the sound was brilliant 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 it houses the Flat Iron restaurant. Underground: Tottenham Court Road.
Denmark Street earned the nickname Britain’s Tin Pan Alley, referencing the eponymous area of New York home to music publishers, songwriters, and producers. Denmark Street was the place to hang out if you wanted to become a musician because the right people met there. And that’s what David Bowie did, leaving the London suburbs where he lived at the time, converting an old ambulance into a sort of camper, and literally camping by the roadside.
During this stay, his local spot 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.
What remains today in Denmark Street of this long musical history are only some musical instrument shops. La Gioconda has become a restaurant from the steakhouse chain Flat Iron, and the street as a whole is part of a transformation project for the entire Tottenham Court Road area.
6 Marquee Club
Where: 90 Wardour Street – W1F 0TH. Today it’s an apartment building. Underground: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus.
The Marquee is one of London’s historic clubs. All (and indeed every) English artists of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties performed there.
David Bowie regularly attended the club as a spectator and played 22 concerts there between 1965 and 1973. The first four concerts were with The Lower Third band. Later, with the new band The Buzz, he secured a residency that gave him 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 the release of Space Oddity and a final time on February 3, 1970, to present the Hunky Dory album.
With the invention of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, Bowie became enormously famous, and the Marquee was too small to contain the crowd of fans. Therefore, the artist returned to play only two shows, by invitation, in October 1973, for a TV show recording for NBC.
In 1988 the Wardour Street building was sold and transformed: the building housing the main hall of the club was demolished and replaced by a restaurant, while the original club entrance is now the entrance to Soho Loft Apartments. The club moved first to Charing Cross and later other locations in Soho, before finally closing in 2008 after various vicissitudes.
Watch an excerpt from the 1973 NBC concert in the video below.
7 The Wag
Where: 33-37 Wardour Street – W1D 6PU. Today it houses the gastro pub O’Neill’s. Underground: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus.
In 1984, David Bowie filmed the video for his single Blue Jean at the Wag, directed by Julien Temple, winner of 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 1960s, it was home to the Flamingo Club, where the best jazz and R&B in circulation could be heard, and was one of the first English clubs to host ska bands. In the early 1970s, after a brief period as The Temple, the upper floors of the building became the Whisky a Go Go, which was renamed The Wag in 1981.
The Wag was one of the underground clubs central to the music and fashion scene of the 1980s, counting among its regular patrons Boy George, Sade, George Michael, Jean Paul Gaultier, and John Galliano.
In 2001, it ceased being a club 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. Underground: Hyde Park Corner.
The famous restaurant inspired by rock history 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 museum of rock memorabilia where a guitar that belonged to 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); notable too is Jean Paul Gaultier’s corset worn by Madonna on the Blonde Ambition Tour.
The museum is open daily from 12:00 to 20:00 (until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays) with free admission.
9 Hammersmith Odeon
Where: 45 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith – W6 9QH. Underground: Hammersmith.
David Bowie performed at the Hammersmith Odeon (now known as Eventim Apollo) on July 3, 1973. The concert became historic because, with the last song, Rock and Roll Suicide, Bowie symbolically killed off his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. It was a totally unexpected event and caused much distress among fans as well as the Spiders from Mars who discovered they had been fired this way. 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, concerts by Ellie Goulding, Thom Yorke, and Ronan Keating are scheduled among others.
Watch Rock and Roll Suicide from the last Ziggy Stardust concert.
10 Royal Albert Hall
Where: Kensington Gore, South Kensington SW7 2AP – Underground: South Kensington.
Despite the Royal Albert Hall being a legendary concert hall, David Bowie played there only twice. The first time was on March 12, 1970, when he sang Space Oddity solo at a charity concert for children with mental disabilities.
The second time was on May 29, 2006, as a surprise guest of David Gilmour. The two legends closed the concert by dueting on Arnold Layne and Comfortably Numb. That was Bowie’s last performance in the UK.
The Royal Albert Hall hosts the BBC Proms every year, a rich summer series of concerts. The Prom on July 29, 2016, was dedicated to David Bowie’s music and featured performers such as Anna Calvi, Laura Mvula, and Marc Almond.
The Royal Albert Hall has an extensive event program this year, with concerts by Brian Adams, Eric Clapton, and Patti Smith among others. From spring 2021, theater tours will also resume, bookable through the website.
Watch Comfortably Numb performed by David Gilmour and David Bowie at the Royal Albert Hall
