doesn't she also have a bowie tattoo?

Hes her number 1 inspiration

yea she a crazy stan, salute

Before Iman, there was Cherry ...

It’s February 7, 1973

Coming right off the buzz of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie meets back then just a young model Ava Cherry in NYC at the nightclub Genesis where she was hanging out with Stevie Wonder (who was dating her friend Coco)

Her manager had told and hyped her about this Bowie British eccentric fella and gave her a copy of Ziggy which she played on repeat, fascinated by this new exciting sound, so tonight was the night:

Her manager introduces them and right off the bat they hit it off, Ava Cherry caught Bowies curiosity with her look that stood out “I love your blonde hair, you're different. Would you like to go on a tour in Japan with me?"

Of course she wasn’t a professional singer (just yet) but how could she turn it down? Bowie sends her copies of Ziggy and Aladdin Sane and tells her which songs she needs to work on in which she put all her energy into, unfortunately the tour fell off because Bowie got sick.

It messed up Cherry bad who had dropped everything for this: job, apartment, but she wouldn’t gave up, there was something, so she tracked him down the best she could.

Almost a year later they reconnect in France, spend some time together, Bowie wants to produce her so they do some demos to show her skills to his manager Tony Defries then head back up to London and starts the recording sessions with the Astronettes from December to January 1974 at the Trident Studios, here are the songs they recorded:

Seven Days
Highway Blues
How Could I Be Such A Fool
Having A Good Time
Only Me
I am A Laser
Things To Do
God Only Knows
People From Bad Homes
In The Mood For Love
Spirits In The Night

The sessions didn’t last, altho the main reason was due to management issue (Bowie went onto a legal battle with his ex manager Tony Defries - that long frustration later became the source of inspiration for Fame, but we’ll get back to that in due time) but also because shortly within January the birth of Diamond Dogs picked up real quick, so fast that Bowie recorded and finished the whole album within just three days: it was a departure as Bowie recorded all the guitar on it by himself, leaving legendary Mick Ronson behind therefor a fun fact for you while we’re at it: the riff of Rebel, Rebel is all Bowie himself, composed and performed! and the inspiration for the song, who is he talking about? none other than queen Ava Cherry.

But despite the album falling off Bowie kept the Astronettes and his now lover Ava Cherry, the relationship ended in 1975 when Bowie started to go down spiral into his d**** use, altho he kept her as a backup vocal all the way to 1978.

So what’s left of that legacy? a very important one actually mind you that is underrated, the album sessions are well documented now, they’re not officially released but kinda are so it’s easy to revisit.

If listening now the album “work in progress” doesn’t sound amazing it definitely is a key to the Bowie lore as it laid layers, played as a vital bridge for him to explore his creativity onto Young Americans or even the groove of Station To Station, even beyond the simple inspiration as he actually did rework some of the songs he wrote for this album later and released on his albums.

Bowie and Ava Cherry during the last show as his Ziggy Stardust persona filmed at The Marquee Club in London, October 18, 1973.

(1/2) @Lawdie @AudioConsulting @Soupvillain

Because yes they are Bowie compositions or drafts at least in which you can also hear him do some vocals, 4 of them along side covers of The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, Roy Harper, Bruce Springsteen and more.

“I Am Divine” which later became “Somebody Up There Likes Me” for the album Young Americans:

“I Am a Laser” transformed half a decade later into “Scream Like a Baby” for the album Scary Monsters and Super Creeps:

Also a cover of “God Only Knows” that we know Bowie ended up covering himself on the album Tonight precisely a decade later:

And even “People From Bad Homes” altho on this one Bowie only kept the song title to use it as a lyric for what became “Fashion” (Scary Monsters and Super Creeps)

January 8, 1975: Bowie spent his birthday night with Ava Cherry, Coco Schwab and a thousand invited guests including Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers, Yoko Ono, Roman Polanski, Karl Lagerfeld, Lance Loud and artist Richard Bernstein.

In 1974 while gearing full onto Young Americans era, Bowie performs a reworked cover of Footstompin’ by The Flairs, listen, doesn’t that guitar riff sounds familiar?

Exactly! just like you, Bowie thought that sounded too hard asl to leave it just for a cover so he asked his guitarist Carlos Alomar who came up with it to take it to the studio, in one of those sessions John Lennon stopped by and while jamming that funky riff all together would sing over and over “aaaiimm” on top of it to which Bowie picked on it and reworked as the hook “faaaaame”, the rest is history.

What this has to do with Ava? as you can see in the video she does a full highlighted dance at the end of it stealing the show, she was there all along as Bowie’s muse, she was there during the recording of Fame too (ofc she’s all over the album) and harmonizes on it at the end, she was there in the shadows, she was the blueprint all along for all of this iconic material: from Diamond Dogs all the way to Scary Monsters.

Did you and David feel you were judged at all as an interracial couple back in the 1970s?

We never discussed race, we never discussed color, we never discussed whether people might not like it. We didn't really give a s***, to tell you the truth. We really did not care. And I mean that. It was a subject that never, ever came up ever.

Obviously you and Bowie had a great love affair. What kind of a lover was he?

I don't think I can explain exactly how good of a lover he was, except let me tell you I was deeply, deeply in love. Read between the lines, my friend.

(2/2) @deepsleep @Goo @Cookies

For the album artwork cover of Young Americans Bowie went for a design based on the cover of the latest issue of After Dark, a hand tinted portrait of his tour choreographer Toni Basil by photographer Eric Stephen Jacobs that evoked old Hollywood glamour:

Ava Cherry still to this day gracefully gives her love to Bowie in amazing performances

@Ithaka i enjoyed that

god bless king thank you, took me way too long just did some little redits to make it better after some reread btw

@Ithaka top quality content ty for the mention!

thank you boss meant a lot to me to put this together and share a light on this unsung hero of his vision, without her that run he had wouldn’t be crafted as such

s*** was hard

rwina approved thank you and everyone else taking a minute to read it

Great read ithaka. That “ I am A Lazer” session was great

yeah great groove, how real also of him to have gone back this almost a decade later, speaks volume on what an authentic mf he was

@Ithaka amazing trivia and read as always my man
this thread really would be quite nothing without your posts and input, sometimes feels like you were right there with him

still learning so much about this man and his life through this, much appreciated

Aww psh this guy

Thank you tho 😳😌

@MrIndigo96 @theDonandOnly feel like you would like this read

wtf this is amazing. don't usually get stories like this.
great job @Ithaka

@Ithaka that was amazing

Beware of the Diamond Dogs

January 30, 1974

Bowie is at a hotel with Belgian painter Guy Peellaert to brainstorm about what the cover for Diamond Dogs would be, they both then go to join Terry O'Neill at a photography studio to start the shoot.

It was only when we were at the session that he finally asked me if I would do a painting for him. The idea was so interesting I couldn't refuse.

• Guy Peellaert

Bowie and Peellaert unveils the final album cover.

Later in October of the same year, “It's Only Rock 'n Roll” by The Rolling Stones is released with a painting by Guy Peellaert for the album cover.

(1/2)

• 2002, shot by Markus Klinko

I keep going back to these, surely it’s intended reference?

Funny story: This is actually not David Bowie’s own body on those photos lol he was unfortunately unavailable for the shoot so they agreed to use a body double and photoshop Bowie’s from outtakes of photos Markus took for the Heathen album cover photo shoot sessions.

lmao never realized it wasn't his body but now that you said it, you kinda can't unsee it
wasn't that heathen era?

Yessir