Ava Cherry: People from Bad Homes (album track), Dana Gillespie: Andy Warhol (a-side), Lulu: Watch that Man (b-side)

Bowie's Babes

Someone else who liked a little “musical collaboration” with the ladies was Mr Z. Stardust himself:

Hardcore David Bowie fans are probably familiar with the name Ava Cherry, but for the benefit of everyone else, Ava was Bowie’s lover in the early to mid ’70s, as well as one of his backup singers in the Astronettes during the Diamond Dogs/Young Americans Tour. 

Bowie had plans for Cherry and the other Astronettes, producing an album for the trio that was ‘new wave’ before the term existed. It also ended up being shelved for twenty years when things with their mutual management MainMan went sour.

'People From Bad Homes' is taken from sessions in 1973 with Bowie as producer, where he wrote a number of new songs for her including this one. The title was later recycled for the lyrics to Bowies song 'Fashion' in 1980.

After performing backing vocals on the track "It Ain't Easy" from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Dana Gillespie recorded an album produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson in 1973, called ‘Weren't Born a Man’.

Subsequent efforts have been in the blues genre, appearing with her London Blues Band. She is notable for being the original Mary Magdalene in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar which opened at the Palace Theatre in late 1971. 

She also appeared on the Original London Cast album which was released the following year.

This is a 1971 version of the song 'Andy Warhol' that pre- dates the version on the 'Weren't Born A Man' album.

Lulu's 1974 release of Bowie's ‘the Man Who Sold the World’ has been featured on this blog elsewhere. The b-side to this single was another Bowie composition this time from ‘Aladdin Sane’ called ‘Watch That Man’.

Lulu herself has admitted that after her marriage (to Maurice Gibb of Bee Gees fame) had ended she had an affair with David Bowie. She adored him but was disturbed by his dark hedonistic life. She knew that if she stayed with him too long, she'd be trapped in a “fog of decadence”.

“I was crazy for Bowie,” she says.

“I worked with him; he’s a very charismatic man and way ahead of his time. His look could be feminine but that didn’t stop him being a major heartthrob in the Seventies, did it, girls!”

Ava Cherry: People From Bad Homes

Dana Gillespie: Andy Warhol

Lulu: Watch That Man

Lulu - The Man Who Sold the World (cover version) Peter Noone - Oh You Pretty Things (cover version)

In 1974 Scottish born singer Lulu released a version of Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World. Lulu is better known as the singer of Shout in 1964 and for acting in the film To Sir with Love in 1967. Latterly she is known for singing with Take That on Relight My Fire, and for at one time being married to Bee Gee Maurice Gibb.

Bowie produced her version of the song as well as contributing saxophone and backing vocals. Mick Ronson was also at the sessions to add some guitar. This song was produced towards the end of Bowie and Ronson’s collaborations so may have been one of the last things they worked on together. The song went to number 3 in the UK charts.

From Uncut magazine in June 2008 Lulu recalled:
"I first met Bowie on tour in the early '70s when he invited me to his concert. And back at the hotel, he said to me, in very heated language, 'I want to make an MF of a record with you. You're a great singer.' I didn't think it would happen, but he followed up two days later. He was uber cool at the time and I just wanted to be led by him. I didn't think 'The Man Who Sold the World' was the greatest song for my voice, but it was such a strong song in itself. In the studio, Bowie kept telling me to smoke more cigarettes, to give my voice a certain quality. We were like the odd couple. Were we ever an item? I'd rather not answer that one, thanks!For the video, people thought he came up with the androgynous look, but that was all mine. It was very Berlin cabaret. We did other songs, too, like 'Watch That Man,' 'Can You Hear Me?' and 'Dodo.' 'The Man Who Sold the World' saved me from a certain niche in my career. If we'd have carried on, it would have been very interesting."

Another David Bowie song covered by an unlikely source is Oh You Pretty Things. (Technically it’s not a cover as it was recorded prior to Bowie’s own version on Hunky Dory).

The song was recorded in late 1970 early 1971 by Peter Noone better known as the lead singer of Herman’s Hermits. As with Lulu’s version of The Man Who Sold the World, Bowie also plays on this song, this time contributing Piano.

While the tune is jaunty enough, the lyrics tell a somewhat darker story of paranoia and schizophrenia. The song when sung by Peter Noone becomes a cheesy, cabaret style oddity.
I don’t think that he really knew the hidden (or not so hidden) meanings in the song.
Having said that, for some strange reason I do like this version, anyway the song peaked at #12 in the UK.