David Bowie, Humble Pie Tour, 1969 by Alec Byrne

In the fall of 1969, David Bowie embarked on a tour of the UK with supergroup Humble Pie, performing an acoustic opening set as his classic track “Space Oddity” finally began climbing the charts. Always shy of controversy, the BBC had been reluctant to play the song immediately following its June release, believing the astronaut-themed piece (“Ground control to Major Tom / Your circuit’s dead, is something wrong?”) might be considered in poor taste in the event that summer’s historic first mission to the moon was unsuccessful. With the tune finally in rotation, Bowie’s star was on the rise and Alec captured this stunning portrait of the 22-year-old future icon backstage at the Coventry Theatre, Oct. 8, 1969. Featured in the forthcoming book David Bowie Icon (Acc Art Books).

16x20
Silver gelatin darkroom print produced for Alec’s London book launch
Signed (front) limited edition 1/75