Guitarist recalls how David Bowie borrowed his Les Paul for iconic Ziggy Stardust shoot – but didn’t tell him why: “He’d been bouncing around with my guitar!”
“He said he couldn’t stop, but could he borrow my red Les Paul for a photo shoot. I said he could if he looked after it. Then he disappeared into the night.”
Image: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Les Paul guitar used for David Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust… album cover shoot was borrowed from a neighbour, and apparently, Bowie didn’t tell him what exactly he was borrowing it for.
The guitar belonged to Mark Pritchett who lived in Beckenham and also formed part of Bowie’s Arnold Corns band. Bowie lived in the town for five years, and often popped round to Pritchett’s to borrow music gear from him. On one fateful day, Bowie asked if he could borrow his guitar for a photoshoot, but didn’t specify it would be featured on a cover.
In an interview in the May edition of Uncut, Pritchett says, “David knew my guitars and there was one l used on the Arnold Corns session that was bright red, a Gibson Les Paul I bought in Lewisham High Street. He said he couldn’t stop but could he borrow my red Les Paul for a photo shoot. I said he could if he looked after it. Then he disappeared into the night.”
The next day, Bowie returned the guitar and kept the details vague. Pritchett says the guitar was handed back damp, which Bowie explained was because it had been used for an outdoor shoot and it had rained. He apologised and went back home. Of course, Pritchett later found out what the shoot was for.
“He’d been bouncing around with my guitar on Heddon Street,” he says. “Ziggy wasn’t playing a stolen guitar – it was borrowed.”
Pritchett eventually sold the Les Paul to buy the Gibson SG he later played at the Marquee Club in London for Bowie’s 1980 Floor Show. Apparently, when Bowie left for America, he gave Pritchett an Mk II Jaguar, his 12-string Hagstrom from the Free Festival, and all the contact sheets for the Ziggy cover.