Bowie attended Bromley Technical High School, an unusual school, where he studied art, music, and design. His half-brother Terry Burns introduced him to modern jazz, and his mother gave him a Grafton saxophone in 1961. He then took lessons from Ronnie Ross, the baritone saxophonist.
During his school career, Bowie befriended future musician Peter Frampton, whose father was Bowie’s art teacher. They bonded over music and remained close until Bowie’s death.
Different Eyes?
People often claim that Bowie had heterochromia – a genetic condition that results in two different colored eyes. But that's actually not true. Both of his eyes are, in fact, blue. The actual condition is called anisocoria, and it manifests in a permanently dilated pupil.
This happened to Bowie when he was only 15 years old as a result of getting into a physical altercation with a friend from school, George Underwood.
Another Incident…
Bowie endured a series of operations during a four-month hospitalization period when his doctors ultimately resolved that the damage couldn’t be repaired. Thus, Bowie was left with a pupil that was permanently dilated and faulty depth perception. This became one of Bowie’s most recognizable features.
Then, in 2004, Bowie's eye was involved in another incident. While performing in Oslo, Norway, a crowd member threw a lollipop onto the stage. It managed to strike Bowie right in the eye — and got stuck. A member of his stage crew had to help him remove it, and they could continue with the concert.
Becoming Ziggy Stardust
"If someone's wearing a pink hat and a red nose, and it plays a guitar upside down, I will go and look at it. I love to see people being dangerous." This was Bowie's sentiment as he set out to create the most celebrated alter ego the pop world has ever seen: Ziggy Stardust.
By the end of 1972, he rose to stardom. Within a few months, he transitioned from a merely adequate pop singer to a cultural phenomenon in a new form – Ziggy Stardust. Bowie said. “I always felt a bit out of my element, which is a ridiculously [grandiose] way of looking at it. When I look back, I now realize that from ‘72 through to about ‘76, I was the ultimate rock star.”
David and a Couple of Pals
Back in their teens, in the days when Bowie was still David Jones, and Elton John was still Reginald Kenneth Dwight, the rising stars became good friends. But not long after Bowie’s death, John admitted they lost touch and hadn’t spoken much for about 40 years.
Fun fact: Bowie was also a dear long-time friend of Iggy Pop. The two even shared an apartment for some time in Berlin during the 1970s.