David Jones (aka Dave Jay, aka David Bowie), was 16 years-old when he stepped in as saxophonist and lead singer for The Kon-rads at a gig in a south London pub. The year was 1963 and the band’s intended frontman, Roger Ferris, had just sliced his foot on broken glass and been rushed to hospital. David took to the stage and never looked back.
Bowie made his first recording with The Kon-Rads, “I Never Dreamed,” a single he wrote with with fellow band member Alan Dodds, now a retired vicar living in Devon. The group failed to impress Decca records at an audition and disbanded soon after.
While the rest of the members quit performing, David of course went onto become an icon. “I was a better singer,” Roger Ferris told The Telegraph, “but I had nowhere near his personality or charisma on stage.”
