Early Bowie recordings featuring Jimmy Page set for September release
Parlophone will release a collection of David Bowie's earliest known studio sessions from 1965, offering a commercial window into the formative London rock scene just before his rise to global stardom.
Parlophone is set to release "The Shel Talmy Recordings" on September 18, unveiling a trove of David Bowie’s earliest studio work. The collection captures the artist in 1965, when he was still performing under his birth name, Davie Jones, and fronting local bands The Manish Boys and The Lower Third.
The release represents the latest strategic excavation of the Bowie catalogue, an ongoing process that continues to generate significant commercial value from twentieth-century European cultural assets. The CD and digital formats contain 10 previously unheard tracks, while the vinyl edition offers six. Beyond Bowie's own performances, the recordings feature notable session musicians including future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and pianist Nicky Hopkins.
Producer Shel Talmy, who had already achieved major chart success with The Who and The Kinks, recorded these tracks at IBC Studios in London. According to a press release, Page was utilised as Talmy’s go-to "precocious guitar-slinger" who would frequently "supercharge" sessions using a custom-built fuzz pedal. The bulk of the recorded material consists of solo demos or full band tracks featuring The Lower Third.
For the public and cultural historians, the archive provides a documented baseline of a pivotal era in British music. “This collection, a primary chapter if not the very earliest installment in David’s musical journey, deserves legitimate consideration,” music historian Alec Palao writes in the sleeve notes.
Palao argues that early works by major artists are often dissected without proper historical grounding. “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,” he writes. “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.”
The album serves as a sonic time capsule of the exact moment before a cultural icon emerged. Davie Jones officially adopted the David Bowie stage name in September 1965. Consumers can currently pre-order the vinyl and CD versions through the official David Bowie and Rhino retail stores.
