Hunky Dory

The inside story of David Bowie’s classic 1971 album. By Ken Sharp

The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars was a seminal moment in pop music history, transforming David Bowie into a worldwide superstar and cultural icon on its release in 1972. But its predecessor, 1971’s Hunky Dory, is as much of a musical landmark in Bowie’s career.

Hunky Dory was a striking departure from the Cream-inspired heavy guitar attack of Bowie’s previous album, The Man Who Sold The World, and is arguably Bowie’s consummate showcase as a songwriter.

“I went to the States for three months to promote The Man Who Sold The World and when I returned I had a whole new perception on songwriting,” Bowie told Beat Instrumental in August 1972.

“My songs began changing immediately. Secondly, by the time I came back I had a new record label, RCA, and also a new band. America was an incredible adrenaline trip. I got very sharp and very quick. Somehow or other I became very prolific. I wanted to write things that were more... immediate.”

Framed by Rick Wakeman’s classicallyexecuted piano flourishes, Mick Ronson’s crafted guitar textures, and the rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey, Hunky Dory is ambitious, quirky, yet instantly …

by Ken Sharp
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