Ravens Wood school in Bromley, where Bowie went to secondary school, held “Ravens Woodstock” on Wednesday, which saw students perform his classics ‘Starman,’ ‘Let’s Dance,’ and ‘Rebel Rebel.’
Guest of honour was David Bowie’s former Ravens Wood classmate and lifelong friend, George Underwood, who returned to the school to share memories of their time together.
Underwood said: “We spent hours in the toilets at school. We were doing our hair, different hairstyles and things. We were quite vain, you know, thought we were god’s gift.”
He recalled when Bowie experimented with his look, saying: “He came into school with a really short hair cut, a crew cut, he said: ‘It’s my (jazz musician) Gerry Mulligan period.’
“Later on, David said to me: ‘Actually, George, I tried cutting my own hair last night and it all went wrong.’
“So he had to get the local hairdresser down the road to come and trim it, tidy it up for him.”
Underwood spoke about Bowie’s journey from modest beginnings to become one of the most iconic artists of all time.
Underwood said: “He strived to get better and better at what he was doing and of course it was songwriting that he eventually found.
“He wasn’t even singing in the early days, he was playing saxophone and stuff.”
Heritage of London Trust recently announced the acquisition of Bowie’s childhood home at 4 Plaistow Grove.
Scheduled for completion in late 2027, the project will restore the Victorian railway worker’s cottage to its early 1960s state, including a recreation of the small bedroom where his trailblazing spirit was forged.
As part of the ongoing development of the Bowie’s House project, the Heritage of London Trust’s Proud Places programme is putting young people at the heart of the site’s future.
Through their ‘Bowie’s House Youth Curators’ programme, students from Ravens Wood School engaged in a series of collaborative sessions exploring the cultural history of David Bowie’s early life in Bromley.
The students participated in imagining concepts for how the site can be interpreted and experienced by future visitors.
Featured image: George Underwood with performers. Credit: Heritage of London Trust
Join the discussion