…a guided tour of Brixton’s most popular landmarks among Bowie fans and an exclusive panel talk with the people behind them!
Every year hundreds of David Bowie fans make the pilgrimage to Brixton to lay flowers and tributes beside the famous mural painted by Jimmy C. But that is not the only landmark to draw Bowie fans from across the globe onto Brixton’s streets.
A recent poll by London’s Original David Bowie Musical Walking Tour revealed that – excluding the mural – more than half of the David Bowie fans who visit Brixton want to glimpse the house where Bowie was born.
54% of those surveyed cited the house on Stansfield Road as their biggest incentive for visiting the district.
The recent poll also found that 21% of fans visit Brixton to get their hands on a Brixton £10 note; legal tender which features a portrait of Bowie’s Aladdin Sane character taken by the late photographer Brian Duffy. The image used was shot during the same photo session as the portrait that inspired Brixton’s Bowie mural.
Photofusion Gallery on Electric Lane, which hosted the historical Silhouettes and Shadows Bowie Exhibition in September 2016, attracts 16% of fans while 9% chose standing in Windrush Square outside the Ritzy Cinema (where a huge tribute party was held on the night of Bowie’s death in 2016) as a prominent reason for coming to Brixton.
Nick Stephenson, who launched London’s Original David Bowie Musical Walking Tour on what would have been the singer’s 70th birthday last year, has hosted hundreds of fans from as far as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and across the United States, Asia and Europe.
Nick comments: “In the year that I have been running these walking tours of Brixton I have found that there are many reasons for Bowie fans to want to experience a guided tour of David Bowie’s early life in his hometown.”
“There are also some rarely celebrated landmarks on route that capture visitors’ imaginations, particularly when brought to life with renditions of his wonderful songs, for example the crowds always sing along heartily to Rebel Rebel outside David’s first school.
“This year I wanted to breathe even more life into those major stopping points of the tour, so have brought in some help from several key figures connected to Bowie’s life and career.”
On 8 January Nick Stephenson is hosting a special event to mark the legendary singer’s 71st birthday. In addition to the 2-hour tour of various sites that relate to Bowie’s life and death, London’s Original David Bowie Musical Walking Tour has organised a panel talk with audience Q&A in the Ritzy Cinema, featuring VIP special guest panellists, including Bowie’s school friend, former band mate and cover art designer George Underwood.
George designed the album sleeves for Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.
Joining Mr Underwood is Chris Duffy from The Duffy Archive (representing his father, the late photographer Brian Duffy), who will be presenting George Underwood with a special print at the event.
Brixton pound designer Charlie Waterhouse, the man responsible for creating a £10 note featuring David Bowie’s portrait, will also be a guest panellist alongside Simon Parkes, who is known for buying the Brixton Academy – a popular photo spot of the tour – for just £1 and turning into one of London’s most iconic music venues where he also organised for David Bowie to perform in 1991.
Other panellists are Wendy Faulkner, organiser of Bowie’s Beckenham Oddity, and the man behind the 20,000-strong Instagram fandom LegoDavidBowieIs.
Tickets can be purchased here at £30 per person.
David Bowie Musical Walking Tour Presents… Bowie’s Brixton
London’s Original David Bowie Musical Walking Tour offers a 2-hour guided tour of Bowie’s vibrant hometown of Brixton with funny, moving and often surprising anecdotes and classic David Bowie songs performed enthusiastically throughout the tour. PLUS a one-time panel talk and audience Q&A with six special VIP guest panellists in the Ritzy Cinema.
Panellists are:
George Underwood – Lifelong friend of David Bowie and artist behind the Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars album covers. Further info here
Chris Duffy from The Duffy Archive – Chris will be representing the official archive of his father, photographer Brian Duffy; the man behind David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album cover and many iconic fashion images. Chris also worked with David and his father on the Scary Monsters album sleeve. Further info here
Simon Parkes, Former Brixton Academy owner – Simon paid £1 for a crumbling building in Brixton in 1983 at the age of 23. He renamed it the Brixton Academy and transformed it into a popular music venue that would go on to host iconic superstars, including David Bowie. Further info here
Charlie Waterhouse, The Brixton Pound – Designer of the Brixton £10 note, which features Brian Duffy’s iconic photography of David Bowie and is used as legal currency in Brixton. Further info here
MJ, LegoDavidBowieIs – MJ leads a community of Bowie fans on Instagram (@legodavidbowieis), with a following of over 20,000 fans. He organises events across London to honour David Bowie. Further info here
Wendy Faulkner, Bowie’s Beckenham Oddity – Wendy is the organiser of Bowie’s Beckenham Oddity, a festival that takes place at the bandstand in Beckenham, where Bowie and his friends from the Beckenham Arts Lab organised The UK’s first Free Festival. The festival coincided with the release of David’s first hit single Space Oddity and was immortalised with another classic song, Memory of a Free Festival. To date the event has raised thousands of pounds for the Bowie Bandstand Restoration & Plaque Fund. Further info here
Landmark areas of the tour include:
David Bowie Mural – Discover the story behind the mural
Bowie’s Birthplace and Primary School – School days and family life for the young David Robert Jones
The Ritzy Cinema – Where hundreds of fans gathered to pay their respects on the 11th of January 2016
The Brixton Academy – discover what happened when David Bowie returned to Brixton for a homecoming show!
Photofusion Gallery – The very best in social photography from around Britain including a recent David Bowie exhibition.
Songs included on the tour (in order)
Space Oddity
Suffragette City
Ashes to ashes
The man who sold the world
Rebel Rebel
Starman
The Jean Genie
Life on Mars?
Information about times and pricing
David Bowie Musical Walking Tour Presents… Bowie’s Brixton. Tour and panel talk take place on 8 January 2017, starting at 10am and 1pm. Tickets are £30pp.
Regular tours run on: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 2pm. Call +44 (0)7894 550 184 or book via the website
Tours commence outside Brixton tube station. We recommend guests arrive at least 10 minutes early. Tour guide will be by the tourist information map holding a guitar.