David Bowie’s first-ever demo recording found in a bread bin

23 July 2018, 12:36 | Updated: 16 January 2024, 11:20

David Bowie
David Bowie. Picture: PA

Unbelievably, the first known demo recording made by David Bowie has been found by an old bandmate - dating from when the singer was just 16 years old.

David Bowie was originally a saxophonist in The Konrads, but for a 1963 demo recording, he sang lead vocals on a track named ‘I Never Dreamed’.

David Hadfield, who managed and played drums with The Konrads, found the tape (which was thought to have been lost) in a bread bin while he was moving house. The demo was originally made so that the group might win an audition at Decca Records, but the label turned them down.

Hadfield told The Guardian: “We had decided that we would do a couple of guitar instrumentals and one original song. I chose I Never Dreamed as it was the strongest, the other two were a bit weak. I also decided that David was the best person to sing it and give the right interpretation. So this became the very first recording of David Jones singing 55 years ago.”

Bowie was known as David Jones at this point in his career, but changed the name to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees.

The demo tape will auctioned off, and is expected to fetch around £10,000.