Early David Bowie songs from 1965 are to be released on a new album featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page.
‘David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings’ is set to arrive on September 18 via Parlophone (pre-order/pre-save here). Recorded in the time period when the ‘Life on Mars’ singer went by the name Davie Jones, it features the most complete collection of songs before he officially became Bowie.
The album was made with legendary producer Shel Talmy, who was responsible for hits from The Who and The Kinks, and will contain ten previously unheard tracks. Contributions from pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page, The Yardbirds and Nicky Hopkins (The Rolling Stones, The Beatles) will also feature on the record. Bowie recorded the songs with his band at the time, The Lower Third, and also recorded some solo demos with Talmy.
The sleeve notes, written by Alec Palao, state: “This collection, a primary chapter if not the very earliest instalment in David’s musical journey, deserves legitimate consideration. It is invariably tempting to search for clues in an artist’s tentative beginnings, and Bowie’s juvenilia has been dissected more than most, but this has rarely been done within the proper context.
“The sounds here should not be judged by the standards of his later career, but by the standards of what was happening in Britain at that precise point in time. In which case, they speak as loudly of the excitement of London and its music scene in that pivotal year of 1965 as they do for the launch of its brightest future star.”
Take a listen to the previously unheard ‘I Want Your Love’ now and see the full tracklist down below:
The ‘David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings’ tracklist is:
CD
‘You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving (2026 Remaster)’ ^
‘I Want Your Love’ *^
‘Cupid’ *^
‘I Pity The Fool (2026 Remaster)’ +
‘Baby Loves That Way (2026 Remaster)’ ^
‘Keep Up With The Jones (Instrumental)’ *^
‘Leave Her To Me’ *^
‘I’ll Follow You’ ^
‘You Gotta Tell Her (2026 Remaster)’ *^
‘Take My Tip (2026 Remaster)’ +
‘Certain Woman’ *^
‘Today (Demo)’ *
‘I Want My Baby Back (Demo) (2026 Remaster)’ –
‘I Live In Dreams (Demo)’ *
‘Bars Of The County Jail (Demo)’ –
‘That’s Where My Heart Is (Demo) (2026 Remaster)’ –
‘I Do Believe I Love You (Demo)’ *
‘You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving’ (Alternative overdub/vocal) (2026 Remaster) ^
‘I Pity The Fool’ (Alternative vocal take) (2026 Remaster) +
‘Baby Loves That Way’ (Alternative vocal take) *^
‘Take My Tip’ (Alternative vocal take) (2026 Remaster) +
VINYL
Side One
‘You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving (2026 Remaster)’ ^
‘I Pity The Fool (2026 Remaster)’ +
‘Baby Loves That Way (2026 Remaster)’ ^
‘I’ll Follow You’ ^
‘Take My Tip (2026 Remaster)’ +
Side Two
‘I Want Your Love’ *^
‘Cupid’ *^
‘Keep Up With The Jones (Instrumental)’ *^
‘Certain Woman’ *^
‘Leave Her To Me’ *^
*Previously Unreleased
^ Davie Jones & The Lower Third
+ The Manish Boys
– Davie Jones
In 2019, NME celebrated the arrival of Bowie documentary Finding Fame by speaking to Bowie’s loved ones and collaborators to find the man behind the rockstar.
In the documentary, an unearthed rejection letter from the BBC after he auditioned with The Lower Third in 1965 describes Bowie as having “quite a different sound” but with “no personality”, and “not particularly exciting” and certain to “not improve with practice”.
“He was incredibly resilient, and you see that in those early years – that ability to get up off the floor when something goes wrong,” director Francis Whately told NME of those early years. “It made him stand out. When he had knocks, he had the ability to see them for what they were, which was just a phase. They may have freaked out anyone who hadn’t experienced quite so much disappointment in their early lives.”
Elsewhere, The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger has explained the different ways he was “competitive” with David Bowie and John Lennon.
