Davie Jones and members of The Manish Boys appeared on the BBC 2 news programme Tonight on Thursday 12 November 1964. It was Bowie’s first interview on national television.
The appearance followed Bowie’s interview for the Evening News and Star newspaper on 2 November, in which he announced his campaign group for the rights of men to have long hair, the International League for the Preservation of Animal Filament.
By the time of the BBC interview the group had been renamed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men.
The 17-year-old Bowie was interviewed along with his friend George Underwood and Manish Boys members Paul Rodriguez, Woolf Byrne, and John Watson. No mention of their music was made in the interview, which was conducted by Tonight presenter Cliff Michelmore.
The interview took place at the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd’s Bush, west London. The studio complex was demolished in 1993.
Also on this day...
- 1983: Live: VFL Park, Melbourne
- 1971: Recording: Moonage Daydream, Soul Love, The Supermen, Lady Stardust
- 1968: Travel: Munich to London
- 1966: Live: David Bowie and the Buzz, Le Disco A Go Go, Bournemouth
- 1951: David Bowie begins infant school
Want more? Visit the David Bowie history section.
