7 London Locations Every David Bowie Fan Should Visit

In 2016, we lost one of the greatest recording artists of all time, David Bowie. London born and bred, ‘the Starman’ lived and worked in the city throughout his life and left his mark on many locations. Here are a few of the key Bowie locations in London

1. Stansfield Road

Building

This is the address where Bowie was born, but he wasn’t always David Bowie; he was born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947. His mum was a waitress and his dad worked for a charity. They moved to the suburb of Bromley when David was 6.

2. Stockwell Primary School

School

This is the primary school where a young David began his education and began to thumb his nose at authority. It was at his next school (Bromley Technical) where he acquired his signature different coloured eyes look. It was in a punch-up with his friend George (over a girl of course) that he was hit in the eye, permanently discolouring it.

3. Decca Studios (now owned by the English National Opera)

Music Venue

It was inside these hallowed walls where Bowie recorded his first album (which was imaginatively called ‘David Bowie’) between 1966 and 67. It was Decca’s Dick Rowe who four years previously had refused to take on a little-known Liverpudlian outfit that went on to have moderate success under the name of The Beatles .

5. Heddon Street

Building

Floral tributes are left to the memory of David Bowie on Heddon Street, the location of the album cover for his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Featuring: Atmosphere Where: Essex, United Kingdom When: 11 Jan 2016

Any self-respecting Bowie fan will recognise this spot immediately. It’s the place where Bowie posed for the enigmatic cover of 1972’s groundbreaking and career-defining The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album. Quite rightly, there’s a blue plaque here now, and, after the great musician’s death, the site became one of several shrines that cropped up around the capital.

6. Eventim Apollo, W6

Music Venue, Building

The Hammersmith Apollo, currently known as the Eventim Apollo, is often still known as the music venue, the Hammersmith Odeon.

Formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, it was on stage here that Bowie made the devastating announcement that it would be his last show as Ziggy. This came as a surprise to everyone, not least his bandmates who found themselves unceremoniously given the flick so that the next incarnation of the Thin White Duke could emerge.

7. Bowie mural in Brixton, SW9

Store

David Bowie memorial on Tunstall Road in Brixton on the 21st November 2020 in the London borough of Lambeth in the United Kingdom. © Sam Mellish

The Bowie mural is painted on the side of Morleys department store, just across the road from Brixton tube station, and features Bowie as his Aladdin Sane persona. It was created by Australian street artist James Cochran in June 2013. The image became yet another (and possibly the main) focal point for fans leaving flowers and tokens of appreciation after the legendary singer’s death in 2016.

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