Before Bowie: New Collection of Previously Unreleased Recordings from the Artist Formerly Known as Davie Jones
The Thin White Duke may have passed on a decade ago, but the multifaceted artist has a new collection of songs (many previously unavailable) coming out in September.
Before he was David Bowie, the up-and-coming musical artist born David Robert Jones recorded under the name Davie (or Davy) Jones. Dissatisfied with his name, shared with performer Davy Jones of the Monkees, Jones changed his name to Bowie in 1966.
During this time, Davie/Davy recorded with various bands, including the King Bees, the Manish Boys and The Lower Third. He also recorded a number of tracks with producer Shel Talmy, who had previously worked his magic with bands like The Who and The Kinks. Now this early collection, recorded in 1965, is being made available on Parlophone Records.
With ten unreleased tracks, this collection offers another look at the early chapter of Bowie’s musical career. Some of the songs, like such as “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” and “Do Anything You Say” were previously released, but there is plenty of new material, like “I Want Your Love,” currently available to listen to on YouTube. There are also unheard versions of songs previously available – demo versions and remasters. Some songs were recorded with the Lower Third and some with the Manish Boys and others are solo tracks. The full track listing is below.

The album includes musical contributions from Jimmy Page, who went on to play guitar in the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin, but who was then a guitar slinger for hire. Also appearing is Nicky Hopkins, piano player for The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and Jeff Beck.
Bowie found mainstream success with the release of “Space Oddity” in 1969 from his self-titled debut album, and went on to be successful and critically acclaimed not only for his musicianship across many musical genres but for his acting and art as well. He died in January of 2016 due to liver cancer.
In the press release on DavidBowie.com, where you can pre-order the album, Talmy is quoted as saying in 2017, “I thought he absolutely was going to make it. The only unfortunate thing is that he and I were about six years ahead of the market.”
The Shel Talmy Recordings tracklist:
* previously unreleased
+ included on vinyl version
- You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving – Davie Jones & The Lower Third +
- I Want Your Love – Davie Jones & The Lower Third * +
- Cupid – Davie Jones & The Lower Third * +
- I Pity the Fool – The Manish Boys +
- Baby Loves That Way – Davie Jones & The Lower Third +
- Keep Up with the Jones (Instrumental) – Davie Jones & The Lower Third * +
- Leave Her to Me – Davie Jones & The Lower Third * +
- I’ll Follow You – Davie Jones & The Lower Third +
- You Gotta Tell Her – Davie Jones & The Lower Third * +
- Take My Tip – The Manish Boys +
- Certain Woman – Davie Jones & The Lower Third * +
- Today (Demo) – Davie Jones *
- I Want My Baby Back (Demo) – Davie Jones
- I Live in Dreams (Demo) – Davie Jones *
- Bars of the County Jail (Demo) – Davie Jones
- That’s Where My Heart Is (Demo) – Davie Jones
- I Do Believe I Love You (Demo) – Davie Jones *
- You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving (Alternative Overdub/Vocal) – Davie Jones & The Lower Third
- I Pity The Fool (Alternative Vocal Take) – The Manish Boys
- Baby Loves That Way (Alternative Vocal Take) – Davie Jones & The Lower Third *
- Take My Tip (Alternative Vocal Take) – The Manish Boys
David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings will be released on September 18th and is available for pre-order now.


