The man who left the Starman with mismatched eyes

The artist George Underwood is participating in a charity exhibition that was impressed by a lyric written by his college buddy and inventive collaborator David Bowie – however it’s a specific episode within the late music legend’s life for which he’ll at all times be most well-known.

“I do know what you’re going to say. I do know precisely what you’re going to say,” Underwood laughs over the telephone.

The 77-year-old has loved an especially profitable profession, creating photos which are recognised all over the world, however he’s nonetheless identified greatest as the person who “modified the color” of Bowie’s left eye.

Underwood first met David Robert Jones – who would grow to be higher often called David Bowie – not lengthy after the longer term star had moved from Brixton in south London to the quiet suburb of Bromley.

“We met after we have been enrolling for the Cubs. We have been 9 years outdated and began speaking about music, stuff that was on the telly… the whole lot that was kind of trendy at the moment.”

The pair have been quickly greatest buddies who “have been at all times playing around and laughing rather a lot”, says Underwood.

“We have been at all times collectively, we have been excellent pals and we used to go up and down Bromley Excessive Avenue all dressed to the nines, considering we have been God’s reward, attempting to talk up all the women, strolling from the north Wimpy bar to the south Wimpy bar.”

They each attended Bromley Technical School, which was so new “among the builders’ stuff was nonetheless mendacity round within the entrance”, the place they have been taught artwork by Owen Frampton, father of future rock star Peter Frampton.

It was at Bromley Technical – now known as Ravens Wooden Faculty – that Underwood without end modified the look of David Bowie, following a row a couple of lady known as Carol to whom they’d each taken a liking.

After the pair’s makes an attempt to woo her had failed at a chaotic fifteenth party, the place “an entire troop of blokes got here in carrying bottles of gin”, Underwood agreed to satisfy Carol at a youth membership the following night, just for Bowie to inform him she had determined to exit with him as an alternative.

“I made a decision to go down the youth membership anyway a little bit bit afterward as a result of I would by no means been there earlier than and her mate got here out shouting: ‘The place have you ever been? Carol’s been ready for you for over an hour.’

“I assumed: ‘Uh-oh. David’s informed me a porky pie right here,'” Underwood says.

Having been egged on by one other buddy “to stay one on him”, and listening to Bowie falsely boasting he had been out with Carol, throughout break time at college Underwood “went over to him and simply whacked him within the eye”.

The pair made up quickly afterwards though the punch had completely broken the pupil in Bowie’s left eye, that means it could not dilate even in vivid lights, giving it the impression of being a unique color from his proper eye.

“It was simply horrible. I did not prefer it on the time. However after all afterward, lo and behold, he says I did him a favour as a result of it is given him this enigmatic, otherworldly look.”

It was throughout this time that music started to take over the youngsters’ lives, with Underwood singing within the band The Konrads, which Bowie then joined and performed his saxophone.

Later they fashioned the King Bees, when the longer term Starman would show his thirst for fame in a be aware to John Bloom, “who was I suppose on the time the equal to, say, Richard Branson”.

“I believe he had his dad to assist him with the letter nevertheless it was fairly ballsy, you realize: ‘Brian Epstein’s acquired The Beatles; you want us’, or one thing like that,” says Underwood.

The band acquired a telegram in reply offering the telephone quantity for Leslie Conn, who grew to become their supervisor.

“The springboard that David made, by writing that letter, into the decrease ladder of rock’n’roll and music – it was superb.”

The King Bees would quickly break up up however in varied guises Bowie started to construct up a following. Inside a couple of years he was off on his personal world excursions – and was eager to have his buddy alongside for the trip.

“In early ’72 he rang me and mentioned: ‘Hey George, I am doing a tour of the States for about three months. Do you wanna include me?’ I’d solely been married for a couple of yr however he mentioned: ‘Oh deliver the spouse, you realize, we’ll have a good time.’

“Effectively you don’t flip that down, do you? Particularly when he says: ‘The QE2, top notch, is leaving Southampton on Saturday.’”

It was in 1972 that Bowie first adopted his most well-known alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, full with flared jumpsuits and glowing leotards.

“Seeing the audiences taking a look at this creature from one other planet, their mouths broad open, they could not imagine it,” says Underwood.

“When you consider it, how courageous he was to decorate up like he did, going to a few of these locations which have been fairly tough areas. One place was truly cancelled in Texas as a result of I believe there have been some threats.”

Come the tip of the tour, Bowie requested his buddy to affix him for extra exhibits in Japan, just for Underwood, with a heavy coronary heart, to inform him: “David, I’ve simply acquired married, it’s not an excellent foundation for a wedding happening a rock’n’roll tour.

“I would have beloved to go to Japan, however I had a life at house,” he says.

Underwood’s personal forays into music ended after one solo album, when he determined “the music enterprise wasn’t actually for me” and he returned to his artwork research and have become a painter.

However he would not go away the music business far behind.

“David rang me in the future and mentioned: ‘George, I’ve acquired this mate of mine, he’s simply carried out a document and he is on the lookout for somebody to do the quilt and I assumed you would be good for it.'”

That mate was Marc Bolan, and Underwood quickly discovered himself sitting in a South Kensington flat with producer Tony Visconti whereas the T-Rex star “was sitting cross-legged on the ground observing his girlfriend on the time for about 10 minutes”.

With an thought in his head, Underwood returned to his dad and mom’ home, the place he was residing on the time, and created what grew to become the quilt for the relatively wordy debut album of Bolan’s Tyrannosaurus Rex – My Folks Have been Honest and Had Sky in Their Hair… However Now They’re Content material to Put on Stars on Their Brows.

Bowie then requested his buddy to create among the art work for his personal albums, beginning with the again of the star’s self-titled document. Subsequent got here the entrance covers of each Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – the latter famously depicting Bowie’s alien alter ego in a wet Heddon Avenue in London’s West Finish, leg propped up and guitar in hand.

“Who was to know the way such an iconic album it was gonna be? I imply, in these days, David wasn’t very well-known,” Underwood says.

Underwood would go on to work with teams together with Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople and likewise cast a portray profession away from music, however it’s artwork linked to Bowie that options in certainly one of Underwood’s newest works.

Coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the discharge of Bowie’s album Diamond Canine, charity Warfare Youngster has launched Sound & Imaginative and prescient – a brand new annual exhibition and public sale. This yr, Underwood is amongst 33 artists who’ve created items impressed by the lyric from the observe Insurgent Insurgent, “We like dancing and we glance divine”, a music that featured on the Diamond Canine album.

Underwood has created a brand new model of a portray known as Dancing with Giants, that includes two dancers who’ve been wearing very particular clothes.

“I put them within the costumes that the dancers have been sporting when Ziggy arrived in 1972 on the Rainbow [Theatre],” Underwood explains.

Bowie’s present in August that yr, as Ziggy Stardust, featured a dance group known as The Astronettes who have been led by certainly one of Bowie’s key influences, Lindsay Kemp.

“They’d these beautiful full-body fits, which have been like spider-webs. Individuals who know will learn about that Bowie connection.”

Underwood and Bowie remained pals all through the many years, holidaying collectively and commonly exchanging “foolish emails”, till the star’s loss of life in his adopted house of New York in January 2016.

“He used to name me Michael and I’d name him Robert,” says Underwood.

“I miss him deeply as a result of he went too quickly, as we all know, and he was simply nice to be with, at all times enjoyable to be with. We laughed rather a lot.

“I usually questioned whether or not each time he appeared within the mirror whether or not he considered me,” Underwood provides.

“I am only a bit nervous that I may need it carved on my tombstone.”

Sound & Imaginative and prescient will probably be on present at 180 Strand on 26 and 27 September, with the public sale working from 17 September to 1 October