Dey Street Books

Like so many vital figures in British pop history, from Pete Townshend to Paul Weller, Bowie came from a blurry region of British society that encompasses the educated working class, the socially precarious petite bourgeoisie and what could be called the uncomfortably-off middle class, i.e. professional or office workers whose income didn’t quite match their aspirations.

He took sax lessons from local hero Ronnie Ross. Years later, he repaid Ross by bringing him in to play the sax solo in Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.”

The other kid turned out to be Marc Bolan, the future superstar of T. Rex, then still known as Marc Feld, but who announced himself as King Mod. Bolan looked him over and said, “Your shoes are crap.” It was the dawn of a lifelong rivalry