Travel: Houston to San Francisco

In the afternoon of 10 February 1971, David Bowie flew from Houston to San Francisco.

He was in the USA as part of a trip to promote The Man Who Sold The World. Bowie’s trip began on 23 January and ended on 18 February.

He was met in San Francisco by Lewis Siegel, Mercury Records’ West Coast publicist. While in the city Bowie was shadowed by Rolling Stone journalist John Mendelssohn.

He also gave interviews to various radio stations, including KSAN-FM, to whom he said: “My last LP was, very simply, a collection of reminiscences about my experience as a shaven-headed transvestite.”

On an excursion to San José he was invited to play records by a local station. Mendelssohn recommended The Stooges’ ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ which Bowie adored. Shortly afterwards he bought the band’s second album Fun House.

Bowie spent three days in San Francisco, flying to Los Angeles on 13 February.