Iconic David Bowie pic set to become most expensive album artwork ever

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This could be the most expensive album artwork ever sold when it goes under the hammer later this month but how did David Bowie come up with the idea for the Aladdin Sane album cover photo?

It is perhaps the most iconic image of David Bowie as his stage alter ego Ziggy Stardust and has been described as the Mona Lisa of pop culture.

But as the original Aladdin Sane album cover photo – shot by fashion photographer Brian Duffy – prepares to be sold at auction, his son Chris has revealed how rock chameleon Bowie simply stole the idea for his famous lightening bolt from Elvis Presley and a 1970s kitchen cooking pot.

The groundbreaking photo could become the most expensive album artwork ever sold when it goes under the hammer later this month with an estimate of £300,000 – hoping to beat the record set by Led Zeppelin’s debut LP artwork, which sold for £240,000 in 2020.

But Chris Duffy says music experts should not look too deeply into Bowie’s “rock pioneer” legacy, revealing he was just a “music magpie” of his day who picked up ideas from his heroes of the 20th century.

In an exclusive interview, he told us: “Bowie always liked the Taking Care of Business (TCB) flash by Elvis and that evolved into his own lightening flash and became his motto. Elvis had the TCB flash on the back of his private jet and he had signet rings with the flash on which he had given his band. David was obsessed with it, he loved that flash.

“I also remember my dad was given a rice cooler one time by his mum. It was made by National Panasonic and the pot had a blue and red flash on it. I remember dad showed that to David one day and he said “Yeah…fantastic.”

The Aladdin Sane image leads the sale of the Duffy archive being sold as part of a global online auction by Bonhams from October 22. It is among 35 items being sold, including the wooden stool Bowie sat on for the 1973 Aladdin Sane album shoot, the original Hasselblad 500C camera used and a photo contact sheet from the session, which is one of only two in existence.

The original inside sleeve artwork – a full-length image of Bowie as Aladdin Sane that was a centrefold for the first 5,000 records sold – is also up for grabs with an estimate of £150,000 to £200,000. But although the album was groundbreaking for its day, spawning UK hit singles such as The Jean Genie and Drive in Saturday, Chris says the album title was not really Bowie’s idea either.

He told us: “I remember when dad was doing the shoot, he asked David what the album was to be called, and David replied “A Lad Insane”. My dad interpreted this as “Aladdin Sane.” I guess a genie vision and thoughts of rubbing an Aladdin’s lamp must have appeared to him. All David gave him was a flash idea for the album so that was a quite difficult ask.”

Brian Duffy got his big break in the world of music photography after starting out as a freelance fashion artist for the magazine Harper’s Bazaar in 1955. He went on to work at British Vogue and with photographers David Bailey and Terrence Donovan – together they became known as the “terrible trio”, capturing London at its height as a cultural capital in the 1960s.

But in 1973 his career changed forever when he began an eight-year working relationship with Bowie. As well as the Aladdin Sane cover, Duffy shot images for Bowie’s albums Lodger album in 1979, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) in 1980 as well as conducting a photoshoot on the set of Bowie’s debut movie, The Man Who Fell To Earth in 1976.

Chris says his father and Bowie worked so well together because they were rebels of their time. He said: “My father was very left wing. He was an anarchist and was an extraordinary thinker and I think that is why he got on with David. They were like from a different dimension and you could not really separate them.

“Dad always said you have to burn your bridges to move forward. And David did that with Ziggy Stardust and so many other periods of his music. Thank God it all didn’t go up in flames. Over 50 years, Bowie’s career evolved organically.”

Chris, who continues to manage his dad’s photographic archive, remembers having a ring side seat when Bowie recorded Aladdin Sane. He says: “I was 17 and I was still living at home. I remember my dad used to get records sent to him every month as he used to shoot loads of bands at the time.

“On a Sunday he had this ritual of playing records on his hi-fi and he had these big speakers in the living room. I came down one Sunday and I thought “Wow, who is that?” It is difficult when you like the same music as your parents as naturally you are supposed to rebel. So I said to him “Who is that?” and he said “It is a guy called David Bowie. You can borrow the record, so long as you don’t scratch it”.

“He then said, “I am shooting his new album cover next week. Do you want to meet him?” I said “Yeah.” He said “Be at Trident Studios next Tuesday at 7pm.”

A few days later, Chris popped along to the studios in London’s thriving Soho district where he came face to face with Bowie and his Spiders from Mars group members Mick Ronson and drummer Woody Woodmansey. He says: “I went down to the studio, rang the bell and said “I am here to meet Duffy”. The door opened and David Bowie was there. He looked me up and down and said “Who are you?” I told him I was Duffy’s son and he said “Your father is a lunatic. Come in”.

Soon after, Chris found himself having intimate family dinners with Bowie who would often turn up at his home in true rock star fashion. “David used to come round and a limo would pull up outside,” says Chris. “He was always on a limited time span but he was such a nice man.

“David was always interested in what you were doing and he wanted to know what you were up to. My dad was exactly the same. But that was David’s way of identifying people to help move his agenda on.”

Chris also remembers the moment his dad garnered Bowie’s face with the infamous red and blue lightning flash when he joined the pair in the studio alongside make-up artist Pierre La Roche. He remembers: “The make-up artist drew a little flash on the side of Bowie’s cheek and dad said “No take that off”. He then got the lipstick from the artist’s box, drew it on his face and said “Fill that in. Aladdin Sane was born and the rest is history.”

Today, Chris says he is happy to sell some of his father’s archive at a time which has seen 90,000 of Bowie’s possessions – including stage costumes and lyrics – take up permanent home at the new V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, London. He says: “My dad and I began establishing the archive in 2006 to ensure that my father’s legacy and his iconic images were preserved and viewed.

“The works in the sale at Bonhams have been exhibited worldwide in museums and galleries. At this key moment of recognition for the iconic Duffy/Bowie collaboration, I feel it’s right that a small but significant part of the Duffy archive collection is available for many to share in this legacy. I thank Bonhams for hosting the exhibition of his work for sale and for their sensitive approach to his unique contribution to pop culture.”

The Mona Lisa of Pop: The Duffy Archive will be on view in a free exhibition at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London from October 22 to November 5. For auction sale details visit www.bonhams.com

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