Early David Bowie Music Coming via ‘The Shel Talmy Recordings’

The most complete collection of tracks recorded by a nascent David Bowie—then known as Davie Jones—with legendary ‘60s producer Shel Talmy, best known for his groundbreaking hits with The Who and The Kinks, is being released. David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings includes ten previously unheard tracks on CD and digital (and six songs on LP), with contributions from Jimmy Page, then a guitar slinger for hire, and Nicky Hopkins, celebrated piano player for The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and Jeff Beck. The title, arriving on Sept. 18, 2026, via Parlophone, is available to order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here and here. (A red vinyl edition is available at Bowie’s website.)

As the musician and music historian Alec Palao puts it in his comprehensive sleeve notes that accompany the album, “David Bowie the artist is a book of chapters, the turn of each page delivering something completely different and unexpected from the last. And in perusal, a cardinal error would be to pit any of these episodes against the others, when in fact each fascinating phase in his career should be considered complementary. This collection, a primary chapter if not the very earliest instalment in David’s musical journey, deserves legitimate consideration. It is invariably tempting to search for clues in an artist’s tentative beginnings, and Bowie’s juvenilia has been dissected more than most, but this has rarely been done within the proper context. The sounds here should not be judged by the standards of his later career, but by the standards of what was happening in Britain at that precise point in time. In which case, they speak as loudly of the excitement of London and its music scene in that pivotal year of 1965 as they do for the launch of its brightest future star.”

From the July 15 announcement: Bowie and Talmy first encountered each other while frequenting London’s Denmark Street, which is now a guitar aficionado’s paradise but was then the center of the British music industry, where budding songwriters sold their songs to the big publishers of the day. Talmy had already achieved huge success with The Who, The Kinks, and others, but was now branching out on his own to develop new talent. Talmy signed David and the Manish Boys in December 1964 and set about recording them, but Bowie was already moving on, forming Davie Jones & The Lower Third. The majority of the recordings Bowie made with Talmy featured The Lower Third or were solo demos. Talmy’s studio of choice was invariably IBC in Portland Place, also a favorite of The Who, who later recorded Tommy there. Glyn Johns, later to work with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, among others, was the engineer, and the producer had enough confidence in The Manish Boys to bring in just the one outside player. Jimmy Page was the precocious guitar-slinger Talmy used to supercharge the more anemic of his acts, and in this period, the future Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin great would frequently bring along his new toy, a custom-built fuzz pedal, to add extra bite. For The Lower Third’s IBC session, Nicky Hopkins was featured on keyboards.

Listen to the previously unheard “I Want Your Love”

“I thought he absolutely was going to make it. The only unfortunate thing is that he and I were about six years ahead of the market.” Shel Talmy, 2017. [Our tribute to the producer, who died in 2024 at age 87.]

This year in Bowie’s career clearly held great importance to him; in 1973, when he recorded the Pin-Ups album, it was very much a love letter to that time in his life and to the sound of the bands that had inspired him. No fewer than four titles on Pin-Ups (by The Kinks, The Who and The Easybeats) were originally produced by Talmy. Featured on this new collection are tracks such as “You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving” and “Baby Loves That Way,” originally released as singles on Parlophone, that Bowie would return to later in his career.

By the end of September 1965, Davie Jones was now David Bowie, and he was once more writing another musical chapter.

David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings CD Track Listing

You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving (2026 Remaster)^
I Want Your Love *^
Cupid *^
I Pity The Fool (2026 Remaster)+
Baby Loves That Way (2026 Remaster)^
Keep Up With The Jones (Instrumental) *^
Leave Her To Me *^
I’ll Follow You^
You Gotta Tell Her (2026 Remaster)*^
Take My Tip (2026 Remaster)+
Certain Woman *^
Today (Demo) *-
I Want My Baby Back (Demo) (2026 Remaster)-
I Live In Dreams (Demo) *-
Bars Of The County Jail (Demo)-
That’s Where My Heart Is (Demo) (2026 Remaster)-
I Do Believe I Love You (Demo) *-
You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving (Alternative overdub/vocal) (2026 Remaster)^
I Pity The Fool (Alternative vocal take) (2026 Remaster)+
Baby Loves That Way (Alternative vocal take) *^
Take My Tip (Alternative vocal take) (2026 Remaster)+

*Previously Unreleased
^ Davie Jones & The Lower Third
+ The Manish Boys
– Davie Jones