Bonus Episode: Mary Finnigan Reflects on Life as Bowie’s Lover, Landlady and Arts Lab Co-Founder in the 'Psychedelic Suburbia' of 1969

Off The Record: David Bowie

Our latest chapter followed David Bowie in the late ‘60s — a thrilling, colorful time when his creativity soared to new heights. After half a decade of near constant rejection from the mainstream music industry, David had started to rebel. Instead of chasing pop hits, he embraced the avant garde arts scene that was beginning to blossom in London. A key figure in David’s life was Mary Finnigan, his friend, lover and (somewhat unusually) his landlady. A journalist by day, Mary was deeply involved with the London underground scene, a vibrant community of artists and activists looking to shake the populace out of their spiritual complacency. Together, she and David formed a folk club at a local pub called the Three Tuns. Later known as the Beckenham Arts Lab, the venue became a crucial incubator for Bowie, giving him a supportive and enriching environment to find his musical voice. The songs that he wrote in this period would find their way onto breakthrough albums like Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World, and Hunky Dory. Mary recorded her electrifying period with Bowie in a 2016 memoir, Psychedelic Suburbia. She speaks to Jordan about Bowie the lodger, Bowie the Buddhist, Bowie the boyfriend — and much more.

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