Huddersfield or Hollywood ?

I grew up in Huddersfield which is a fairly nondescript place and, in common with most of my mates from school, we had all been big Bowie fans since his Top Of The Pops 'Starman' appearance on 5th July 1972. The first single I bought was 'Starman' later that summer followed by the 'John, I'm Only Dancing' and 'Jean Genie' singles in September and November the same year.

The early to mid-70s was a dismal time for music in the UK - either the Osmonds or Pink Floyd and nothing much in the middle. This all changed in 1977 when the Pistols came along and blew it all away. For us, there was an obvious link from Bowie to punk and we embraced both. The punk scene was heavily geared towards live gigs in clubs and colleges and we had plenty of great bands coming to Huddersfield and around so on the weekends when there were no live bands we looked for something else to do.

Leeds and Manchester were the two nearest big cities where there was any sort of nightlife so we used to get the train or cadge lifts off the older lads who had cars and go to Bowie nights in pubs and clubs there. Manchester had a huge club called 'Pips' which had three floors - one for the usual disco, one for Northern Soul and the top floor for Bowie fans. It was always packed and full of the weirdest people from all over the North of England in their plastic sandals, floppy fringes, fedoras and peg-leg trousers. Some of these were truly radical and even wore make-up - not a sensible thing for a man to do in Manchester on a Saturday night ! The music was always the same - any Bowie (but mainly from 'Young Americans' and 'Station To Station') with Roxy Music, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and the New York Dolls as well. There was also a place called the 'Ranch Bar' where we used to go in Manchester and the bouncers used to wear German SS uniforms.

Leeds was slightly different because the Bowie nights were usually in two or three pubs where the DJ used to just play the same type of music listed above all night. These were less formal and usually on a Thursday or Sunday night. Leeds also used to have a really good branch of Virgin Records where you could get all the import Bowie singles in picture sleeves and a market where you could occasionally get bootlegs. Virgin Records was still kitted out with cushions on the floor and lots of headphones so you could squat cross-legged and listen to your intended purchase.

When Bowie came to the UK for his 1978 Tour the nearest venue to me was Stafford Bingley Hall so off I went. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep for days before or after. Bingley Hall is an argicultural showground in the middle of acres of fields and I remember queuing for ages in the cold to get in. The crowd was very civilised which I wasn't used to in those punk days and I remember walking in, going straight to the front and standing about a dozen rows back. I also remember that the audience was quite old compared to me - probably in their mid-20s but still plenty of people dressed up in costumes from various Bowie personas.

The show was stunning - I had read reviews of all the US tour so I knew the running order and had already made up tapes of the songs at home to listen to. It was the first time I had been to a really big rock show and I was impressed by the huge stage and the deafening sound and brilliant lights. I especially remember the flashing white neon lights in 'Star' and the coloured lights sweeping the crowd during 'Sense of Doubt'. With the benefit of hindsight I always think that the 1978 tour was the best because he had such a good band - very clear sound (but distinctive with the violin) and very tight with it. The Ziggy Stardust material was superb as well. The original 'Stage' album didn't do it justice but the remastered 2005 version does and you can hear his voice really clearly.

Probably due to the punk influence, my mates and I always used to dress up to go out to Bowie nights. At that time there were several distinctive Bowie images - the black waistcoat look (from the 1976 tour), the baggy suit (from the Soul Train video) and the check shirt and fringe look (from the Young Americans sleeve). All of these were easily achieved for a pound or so from the local Oxfam shops but the truly serious had 'proper' clothes. I remember a mate of mine having a 'Pin-Ups' suit made up by a local tailor.

There was a shop in Manchester called 'Roxy' and another in Leeds called 'X Clothes' which sold Bowie-style gear. I used to own a pair of very baggy sailor trousers with 32 pleats which I got in Manchester. I remember that the audience at the 1978 shows were very well-dressed in these styles and it was a huge disappointment when I went to see him in 1983 at Milton Keynes and everyone was wearing jeans and t-shirts.

Fortunately for my reputation I do not have any photos of this period but I think that the underlying principle was to a) try and look different and b) try to look like Bowie because he was so cool and good-looking. I'm sure that if he'd looked like Meatloaf we wouldn't have bothered. It is probably all something to do with a search for a teenage identity but I'm not an anthropologist. The only thing I've ever had in common with Bowie is terrible teeth and even these have been fixed now (by him anyway).