The makers of a new BBC documentary about David Bowie’s early years as a musician have revealed the corporation’s dim view of his work at the time. In November 1965, his group the Lower Third failed their audition for the BBC’s Talent Selection Group, which was responsible for checking that any act angling for BBC radio play met their quality standards, the Times reports.
One judge described Bowie – then known as Davy Jones – as “a singer devoid of personality”. Another said: “Singer not particularly exciting. Routines dull.” A third said: “I can’t find fault with them musically – but there is no entertainment in anything they do.” Bowie was described by one as an “amateur sounding vocalist who sings wrong notes and out of tune”.
The Lower Third comprised Bowie, joined variously by guitarist Denis Taylor, bassist Graham Rivens, drummer Phil Lancaster and Tony Hatch on piano and background vocals. Their tracks Out of Sight, Baby That’s a Promise and a cover of Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins were not deemed fit for public broadcast. One member of the panel expressed no hope for the group’s future: “I don’t think they’ll get better with more rehearsals.”
The audition took place four years before Bowie found fame with his eponymous 1969 album and the single Space Oddity. While the BBC’s decision looks comic in retrospect, no Bowie aficionado would suggest that his mid-60s output contained much intimation of his future genius.
The documentary, David Bowie: The First Five Years, will be shown on the BBC in 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of Space Oddity. It features a clip of Phil Lancaster reading the audition report for the first time. The film concludes the BBC’s Bowie Five Years trilogy, directed by Francis Whately: The Last Five Years was broadcast in 2017, while Five Years, which focused on five key years in his career, was shown in 2013.
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