David Bowie's journey through the Soviet Union
July 4, 2023
David Bowie had just become a genuine global rock star. In 1972, he had his major international breakthrough with the album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," and the world tour in support of the record continued until 1973.
The final date of the tour took place in Yokohama, Japan. Bowie, who suffered from a fear of flying, decided to take an unconventional route back home to England: going from Japan to Siberia on the passenger ship SS Felix Dzerzhinsky, then a week-long rail journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway, followed by further train connections through Poland, Germany and France.
Exhibition of photographs by Geoff MacCormack
Now the late rock star's unusual trip through what was then the USSR is the subject of an exhibition titled "David Bowie in the Soviet Union" at the Wende Museum in Culver City, California. The Wende is an art museum, cultural center and archive of the Cold War, which, according to its website, "explores social, political, and cultural change." The photos in the exhibition are by Geoff MacCormack, a member of Bowie's band and a childhood friend.
MacCormack and Bowie met in the 1950s while playing in the London suburb of Bromley, where they both grew up, and they fast became inseparable.
In a video interview published on the Wende Museum website, MacCormack recalls growing up with Bowie, their time together at school, in the Cub Scouts and the church choir — and their trip through the Soviet Union. MacCormack describes vividly how the two boys fell under the spell of rock 'n' roll, calling it "a force of nature" that "blew us away."
They shared that love of music into adulthood. So when Bowie was about to embark on the 1972/73 tour, he recruited MacCormack as a backing vocalist, percussionist and dancer. "He phoned me up and told me I was joining his band; he didn't ask me," MacCormack tells Joes Segal, curator of the Wende Museum, in the interview.
New experiences, drinking sessions and a May Day parade
Aside from music, MacCormack's great passion is photography. And thanks to the closeness he shared with Bowie, he was able to capture images of the rock star on that train journey that others couldn't: a Bowie relaxed, lost in thought, focused, and excited by all the new experiences the trip brought them.
Traveling as they did allowed the two to really engage with the country and its people. There were repeated drinking sessions with soldiers, sailors and tourists; and the bleary mornings-after were captured by MacCormack's lens. He also recalls singing along with Bowie to an ever-present cassette of "cheesy" Russian cover versions of Beatles songs.
One of the highlights of the journey was their two-day stop in Moscow, where they visited the Kremlin and the socialist showpiece department store GUM — and avidly watched the traditional May Day Parade.
A special soundtrack for the exhibition
The non-profit Los Angeles radio station dublab has created a playlist especially for the exhibition. It features songs from the time of that trip, as well as Bowie's once and future collaborators, including Mott the Hoople, Lou Reed, Brian Eno and Queen.
"This mix offers a glimpse into what he most likely was being influenced by at that moment, and later went on to define work such as 'Low' and 'Station to Station.' With a heavy dose of Krautrock, a foot in experimental music, and a solid presence in the so-called 'glam-rock' scene of that era," writes Alejandro Cohen, executive director of dublab, on the museum website.
The exhibition of MacCormack's photos is completed by Bowie's own 16mm film "The Long Way Home," which captures several elements of the journey, including the visit to the Moscow May Day parade.
The photos on show are also collected in Geoff MacCormack's current book, "David Bowie: Rock 'n' Roll with Me," published this year.
The exhibition "David Bowie in the Soviet Union" at the Wende Museum in Culver City, USA runs through October 22, 2023.
This article was originally written in German.