THIN WHITE DUKE

Young David Bowie Like You've Never Seen Him Before

In his new book, photographer Gerald Fearnley presents never-before-seen photos of his studio session with a 20-year-old David Bowie.

Gerald Fearnley/ACC Editions

By Elizabeth Hunt BrockwayPublished Jul 30, 2017 12:00AM EDT

Fifty years ago, the world was introduced to David Bowie.

He had recently changed his name as he embarked on what would quickly become an iconic music career, in order to avoid confusion with The Monkees’ Davy Jones. The newly minted Bowie then enlisted Gerald Fearnley to photograph him in a studio session. It was there that the cover of his debut album, David Bowie by David Bowie (June 1, 1967), was taken.

Now, five decades later, Fearnley has put together a book, Bowie Unseen: Portraits of an Artist as a Young Man, of never-before-seen images from his photo session with the then-unknown future Ziggy Stardust.