Previously unheard David Bowie tracks from 1960s set for release

Ten previously unheard David Bowie recordings from the years before he settled on that name will be issued on 18 September 2026, in a Parlophone package that also includes six unheard songs on vinyl and a limited-edition red vinyl pressing. David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings collects Bowie’s sessions with producer Shel Talmy, with contributions from guitarist Jimmy Page and pianist Nicky Hopkins.

The material reaches back to the period when Bowie was still recording as Davie Jones. Bowie and Talmy first met on Denmark Street in London, then a hub of the British music business, and Talmy signed Bowie and the Manish Boys in December 1964 before Bowie moved on to form Davie Jones & The Lower Third. The set includes newly unheard songs including I Want Your Love, Cupid, Leave Her to Me, You Gotta Tell Her, Certain Woman, Today, I Live in Dreams and I Do Believe I Love You, alongside previously issued Bowie tracks and demos such as Can’t Help Thinking About Me and Do Anything You Say.

Music historian Alec Palao writes in the sleeve notes that the recordings belong in the context of Britain in 1965, when the pop market was crowded with acts competing for the same attention and young musicians were still defining their identities. Talmy, whose reputation had already been built on landmark work with The Kinks and The Who, said, “I thought Bowie was going to make it and that they were about six years ahead of the market.”

Bowie changed his name to David Bowie in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees.