Since the beginning of his incredible career, David Bowie intrigued many fans not only with his remarkable songwriting and performances but also with the personas he created, such as Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke. However, something that truly added to his mysterious appearance was his eyes, as one appeared blue while the other seemed green.
Although many fans might think he was born this way, the transformation occurred when he was a teenager and got into a fight with a friend.
How David Bowie ended up with different-colored eyes
Bowie met his friend George Underwood when they were only 9 years old, and they remained close from then on. However, when they were teenagers, at the age of 14, both were attracted to a girl named Carol. She agreed to meet Underwood after a party one night, but Bowie told him that she no longer wanted to go out with him.
Later, someone informed Underwood that Carol was still waiting for him as they had previously arranged. Furious, Underwood punched Bowie in the face, which ultimately paralyzed Bowie’s iris, giving the impression that one of his eyes was a different color. In photographs, it also magnified the red-eye effect from flash photography.
Underwood recalled that story in an interview with BBC, saying: “I decided to go down the youth club anyway a little bit later on because I’d never been there before and her mate came out shouting: ‘Where have you been? Carol’s been waiting for you for over an hour.’ I thought: ‘Uh-oh. David’s told me a porky pie here.”
He recalled that in the following day another friend convinced him saying he should “stick one on him”, he went over and just “just whacked him in the eye”.
“It was just horrible. I didn’t like it at the time. But of course later on, lo and behold, he says I did him a favor. Because it’s given him this enigmatic, otherworldly look,” George Underwood said.
They became friends again shortly after and even played in the same band called The Konrads and they would still later on form King Bees. But ultimately, Bowie achieved success as a solo artist and they remained good friends. He even invited Underwood to go on tour with him as a friend in 1972 and many other times.
Underwood made some of the most famous album covers in Rock history
As a musician, Underwood only released one album under the name of Calvin Jones and decided that the music business wasn’t meant for him. He would later become an illustrator working in books and then in album covers, including some of Bowie’s records.
Some famous album covers made by George Underwood
T. Rex
- “My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair… But Now They’re Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows” (1968)
- “Futuristic Dragon” (1976)
Mott The Hoople
- “All The Young Dudes” (1972)
David Bowie
- “Hunky Dory” (1971)
- “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars