Having absorbed a recent edition of MOJO and a David Bowie related feature, I felt driven to contribute my tuppeny-worth on the great man. So I was taken a little by surprise when I was advised at the UK event that I was the lead letter in their next issue. Thanks John!
The text was as follows:
“Dear John,
Really enjoyed the July edition. Mojo has been an absorbing read for over three decades and goes from strength to strength. It’s as good now as it has ever been.
Reading the review by Mark Paytress of David Bowie’s Rock’N’Roll Star certainly triggered a few memories. My wife’s aunt Liz went out with David Jones in the mid 1960s, just before his stage name change. They originally met in Beckenham Ballrooms, over the cinema that partly inspired Life on Mars. Liz dumped him after a while, because – in her words – he was ‘weird and a bit boring’! Mind you, Liz was some character and I imagine a challenge for anyone in her teens. She sadly passed away last year.
Suzi Ronson’s enjoyable new book ‘Me and Mr Jones’ understandably shines a light on life in Beckenham and Bromley in the late 60s and early 70s. Of particular note was the Mistrale Club where many a name played. It was a magnet for south London soul and blues fans. Ike and Tina Turner were the headline act on 1 May 1968.
The connections continue though, as I now live in Beckenham, in the road that contains Croydon Rec and the bandstand where Bowie famously performed at the free festival in August 1969. Plus I should add that I was at school in Bournemouth with the marvellous Mark Paytress. I believe we were both at Bournemouth Winter Gardens when the Ziggy tour hit the town in 1973 (as filmed by BBC TV’s Nationwide). It’s been an interesting journey.
Keep up the great work. Keith Ames”
