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"In My Parent's Living Room in Silver Spring, MD"Me waving, my brother in the middle and David in the foreground. David's first evening in the U.S. Please read my entire post for details.
Posted by Michael Oberman on Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Before David Bowie turned into a rock legend, he visited Silver Spring.
Michael Oberman, who in 1971 was a music writer for the now-defunct Washington Star, told the story Tuesday on his Facebook page about how his brother Ron helped set up Bowie’s first trip to the United States. Bowie, 69, died Sunday after battling cancer.
As Oberman tells it, Bowie arrived at Dulles Airport and traveled to Silver Spring shortly after releasing his album, The Man Who Sold the World, to kick off a U.S. press tour. Oberman would be Bowie’s first interview of the junket and the two spent a couple of hours talking at the Admiralty Drive home of the reporter’s parents. The whole family and Bowie then went to Emerson’s Restaurant in Silver Spring, where the hostess “proceeded to close the curtains” on the booth where they were seated.
After dinner, Oberman, his brother and Bowie traveled to Oberman’s house in Takoma Park where Oberman’s band, Sky Cobb, was also present.
“When we got to my house the members of Sky Cobb were in my living room… passing a bong around. The band didn’t even try to communicate with David… something that some of them regret to this day. David had never seen a bong before… and, no, he did not partake of the substance in the bong,” Oberman wrote.
Bowie then left Takoma Park, stayed overnight at a hotel in Washington, D.C., and then left the next day for Mercury Records in Chicago.
Oberman writes that trip was eventful as well—while at the record company headquarters Bowie met an artist by the name of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. Bowie would later base his Ziggy Stardust persona on the artist, Oberman writes.
Here’s the full account from Oberman’s Facebook page as well as other photos from the Silver Spring visit: Michael Oberman on Facebook
