How Vince Taylor Became The Inspiration for Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie [mini-documentary] 

He looked much alike Elvis, lived like Jim Morrison and finished as Syd Barret... a real Rolling Stone.

Ziggy Stardust makes a lot more sense, now. It was a brilliant album. Starman, Hang on to Yourself, Suffragette City- some of the best music ever made.

How interesting, I am bewildered that this figure went so forgotten throughout the years. Bowie’s voice, enthusiastically presenting this guy, shows that this topic is to be taken into serious account.

What a gripping story. I'll bet most of the people who were saying "Who the hell was Vince Taylor?" at the start of this video won't be asking that again. Thanks for posting!

He made three great singles, the second for Parlophone, Brand New Cadillac, and both sides of his two Palette singles. But apart from that, he recorded virtually all covers of well known hits from other artists. But on stage, he put his own stamp into them, and made them sound wild, which is obviously what excited his fans. His most intelligent compilation is the one on the Ace label, but he also has compilations on Bear Family and Universal/Palette.

What a fabulous rockumentary! You’ve really excelled yourself this time. To see London and other places like that, with the cars and fashions of those times, with a great story to tell as well, made this an unexpected joy and a first class treat. I had heard Vince Taylor mentioned by Bowie and others and heard he was crazy, but you joined all the dots together that I had had as a brief outline and you brought it all to life for me and all the other viewers. There should be some sort of award for independent productions like this on RU-vid. And you should win it - hands down! 👍👍

This was a fantastic episode, it really is... bloody brilliant. Also a sad story, in a sense, beautifully explained. It easily deserves a place in the Top 3 of your videos! Did I tell you I *adore* your channel? 💖

Bowie also mentioned that label mate The legendary stardust cowboy is where he got the name

Fascinating!! I hadn't been aware of this story. R.I.P.

It’s an incredible story, no wonder Bowie picked up on it. “Brand New Cadillac” is brilliant. Thank you for this.

This was fascinating! As a longtime fan of Golden Earring, I knew of Vince Taylor from the band’s tribute song, but had absolutely no clue his life was the inspiration for Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. What a dreadful shame Vince burned out so early, he was original. Elvis was surely watching Vince’s stage antics too, he certainly borrowed heavily from them. I know I’ve said it before YP, but this was exceptional and I thank you kindly for the exhaustive hours you must spend researching, in order to bring these videos to us.

Although before my time, this was another very engaging and informative episode. Once again, it shows thorough afterthought! I had heard of Vince Taylor and enjoyed Golden Earring and the Clash being briefly touched upon. Amusingly, I found the lady who wiped the floor with the Teddy Boys! Glad she wasn't my mother 😂! And then the riots in Belgium and the Netherlands! Even before the Rolling Stones at the Scheveningen Kurhaus in 1964 so! Also interesting that you discuss the friendship between Stash de Rola, Brian Jones, Vince Taylor and the other Stones members. Too bad his life eventually ended dramatically like Brian Jones'...

Oh wow! I just watched a documentary about Vince last night!…cool, also I definitely would not mess with that lady who punched up the Teddy😂

I had heard his named mentioned when I was younger..heard about Brand New Cadillac. With RU-vid I managed to see a couple of documentaries about him and they were good. Yours is the best yet..a very concise and respectful overview of the man. It's too bad it ended so badly...but what a character. Well done.

This episode is brilliant in so many ways!

Normally, I'm a writer of too many words. I'm left with only, such a shame. A talent whose claim to fame will forever be a few moments of glory and a lasting influence on many others. Thanks, YP

For that matter, Bobbie Clarke (who died in 2014 age 74) is obviously a very important figure with a long, distinguished, and varied career. If you went by Nik Cohn, the only famous drummer in London with the surname Clarke or Clark was Dave.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw that Paris show was Jim Morrison and The Doors.

Absolutely brilliant! I realise now how influential he was to David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust.

Great showman and rock and roll singer no one moved like Taylor first acquired a copy of Jet Black Machine in 1962 a very unusual and outstanding recording

Great one, i remember reading about him once ,there was a magazine doing one on nutters, syd barrett, roky erickson , alex harvey, and others. Whenever I am in the supermarket and i see Mateus Rose in that flat round bottle i think of Vince Taylor.

here in the U.S. i dont think Vince was really known at all, i first learned about him in the early 90s because i was very into Rockabilly and the vintage acts and i used t get a lot of things from Norton records and buy the Ugly Things magazines etc.. but still i only knew that he looked great and had some serious mental issues. this was really interesting.

I know a guy that had the same reaction to LSD. If so.eone cant handle it or maybe its a chemistry thing but the mind is nothing to just play with. Anyway, his girlfriend put acid in his drink and he was like mental for the rest of his life. I had known this guy for hears before it happened. Childhood, neighborhood friends. Going to the roller rink with him and his brither, my brother and just all friends. He was outgoing, funny and not a shy guy. Next time I saw him I smiled and said hey JD, and he looked at me and I thought he was joking. He looked so serious and just stared at me for a while and I said hello again and he nods at me but he got all quiet and someone took me aside and had to tell me he had been in a bad way since like a few weeks now after LSD..well it never got better it just got worse ..I basically lost the friend I knew and he was replaced with someone else that didnt seem to know me and I didnt know him!! Very sad.

Oh love this episode. So we’ll done. We start to get more obscure rockabilly hits from the 50s. I really hope you cover the 50s as well moving forward. Easily one of my favorite music channels on RU-vid. No one is doing what you do.

This was fantastic Your best video so far Keep up the great content

Wow. Don’t know where to begin with this one. First of all, I’d like to say that, at a very formative stage when I was very young, I read Nik Cohn’s book “Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom” (originally published here in the States as “Rock From the Beginning”) so many times that my paperback copy fell apart and I had to carry around with me in a plastic sandwich bag to hold it together. Cohn’s writing style and judgments were really cool to me at the time; they have since palled considerably. I no longer find his anarchic and self-indulgent manner in that book at all appealing. And he was simply flat wrong about many, many things, including the importance and staying power of many bands; for example, the Grateful Dead who, whether you love them or not, became the quintessential American rock and roll band and earn not even a mention in even the revised early ‘70s edition of Cohn’s book. The fact that Cohn and I agree that The Rolling Stones are our favorite rock band does not diminish my present-day disillusionment with the book. What is most galling about Cohn’s book is the myriad number of glaring omissions he made. Here I am in my late 60s and, until this video, had barely heard of Vince Taylor, though he quite obviously was an important influence in ‘60s London rock, especially for the very young David Jones/Bowie. Taylor rates not a single mention in Cohn’s ostensibly canonical opus. That said, the fascinating and sad saga of Vince Taylor was quite illuminating. Thank you again, YP, for this.

Thanks for picking up where BBC Arena left off. As a 50s music freak it's been a delight to discover all these groundbreaking artists across the pond, pre Beatles

I had no idea about this guy, incredibly. I know Bowie was also very intrigued by Syd Barrett and I'm familiar with the fascination with the tragedy of these people with schizophrenia who have a burst of intense artistic brilliance before the illness makes it impossible for them to work. Peter Green too, of course. Obviously not everyone with the illness is creative. But often those who are are particularly different to the other artistic stuff going on around them.

What a great little documentary! You edited this one perfectly.

Saw Golden Earring twice as a backup band to a major band, and both times they blew away the main act. Ziggy Stardust remains my favorite Bowie Album. Never HEARD of this guy! Thank you!!!

Punk before punk. I can see more Sid Vicious than Ziggy in Vince. But I can see the trajectory of Vince in Ziggy..’when the kids had killed the man…” and Rock and Roll Suicide. Awesome vid, thoroughly enjoyed it.

6:57 The guitar solo in "Jet Black Machine" was played by Joe Moretti. Moretti also played the solo on "Shakin' All Over" by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. -Bear Family Records

Thank you for another incredible video… The story was extraordinarily fascinating. As much as I know about music, especially English music, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this guy…

this was so fun. i knew of vince taylor and heard some of his stuff. but this video really showcased his ability and rapturous energy. plus i just love all those fun graphics...holy editing software, batman! that lady who didn't like teddy boys really had nothing to do with this topic but she may have been my favorite part.

Vince Taylor was born in England but was raised in New Jersey. His older sister married the Barbera half of cartoon moguls Hanna & Barbera and the whole family relocated to California. Barbera actually financed Vince’s venture to England to become a musician.

Rather a dark story, but a hidden jigsaw piece of the scene.

Fantastic doc, thanks so much for this.

Once again an informative video. Thanks for the hard work.

Wow , more history I was unaware of. Great job !

Five stars to this video, no less. Tony Sheridan, Jimmy Page, "You know my name" and so on... Amazing great job, once again. Hats off.

Entertaining and informative as always. Teaching me something I didn't know.

Another fascinating presentation. Thankyou xxx.

Vince was great and he had a great band. A true badass, especially for the time. Drummer was one of the original double-kick drummers in a rock band and he actually used them.

No need to ask where Alvin Stardust's persona came from!

Superb video!!! Top-notch research, writing and presentation/production. Incredibly enjoyed and appreciated.

Amazing story. Terrific production

Fascinating episode - yet another! Thank you

Lovely out going piano version of Ziggy. Great work as usual

You do such good work. Always a pleasure to view your stuff. Absolutely top shelf!

Yesterday, this was awesome!! A lot I didn’t know and some killer footage and photos I’ve never seen before! Excellent job!! Top notch!!! Cheers!!!

That was fascinating. I was glued to the screen the whole time. It held my attention.

Wonder if Vince Taylor inspired the Jetsons character Jet Screamer as well.

Great documentary. Channel just keeps getting better.

Tremendous job. We really enjoyed this. History truly rocks!

I worked for Hanna Barbara in Hollywood at one time, but never knew of this connection with Vince Taylor. Mr. Barbara was a pretty straight-laced guy.

Thank you for featuring eye & ear opening chapters on Vince, David Such & ,in particular, Guy Stevens. I hope this series on the “lesser lights” continues. Greatly enjoyed the brief “ziggy” piano outro.

Wow! Great video

Well done!!!!

Wow. Learned a lot. Ziggy Stardust makes so much more sense now.

Cool. How about a mention of the namesake of Ziggy, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy? Love all you do.

"Vince Taylor used to live here/No one's even heard of him/Just who he was/Just where he fits in" -- "Goin' Down Geneva (Van Morrison)

Great documentary, thanks

I didn't really know about Vince Taylor ... but now I do. Excellent video.

Fascinating. Thank you.

Damn! That is one heck of a mini doc, YP. I'm not unfamiliar with Vince or his story BUT... this presentation was top tier. Loved it (and you!) 🙏❤🔥

Nice work!

His career would have nosedived. Even Elvis himself had trouble staying relevant in the wake of the British explosion. Either way it's sad that the drugs took his mind as they so nearly took Bowie's years later. Drugs have taken a few talents and lives away prematurely down the years. Drugs, including alcohol take far more than they give.

Moon tan was one of my favourite albums back in the day and I always wondered, who was this Vince Taylor. Thanks to this incredible documentary, now I know, along with its connection to the stellar Ziggy Stardust album and the legendary David Bowie.

Wow ! I love his onstage rolling and falling about more than the music ! But what a wonderful character ! Never heard of him before now .

Fantastic!

What a great rockumentary. YP does it again.

Wow, that was great. What a story, it would make a great movie!

For a moment I thought that strange woman at 4.30 talking about punching Teddy Boys on the nose was Peter Cook in drag from the Pete and Dud Show.

The internet was invented for content like this. Thank you so much Monsieur Yesterdays Papers! ❤❤❤💯 By the way, Iggy and Lust For Life are Vince Taylor-ish as well, no?

I think Vince could’ve also been the inspiration for Alvin Stardust especially with the black glove

I like these documentary type vids, the Johnny Kidd one was great too, more like this please!

Thanks for sharing. 😁👍

He was something else. Even if he recorded only BRAND NEW CADILLAC, great song, THE CLASH did a great version

Thanks! 👍👍👍

interesting and well done, Sir.

Great!! thanks!!

Brand New Cadillac remains one of the greatest British rock 'n' roll songs ever released

Vince Taylor was a 50's crazy rocker. I love his music.🎉🎉🎉🎉

Brilliant!

Well done

Apparently he was a baggage handler at the Geneva Airport towards the end of his life.

Probably he would say Thanks Dylan for sent me to madness. Great documentary, I really enjoyed

It has to be in the top 25 Rock albums. Like Deep Purple Machine Head, Mott the Hoople - Mott, Dark Side of the Moon, Chicago II

Fantastic story, and beautifully produced ! A great YP# A few notes … 4:29 nothing has change, the cycle goes on and on. I’ve heard the same bigot crap about youth since I’m old enough to talk. The kid’s job is to shake old things ! 11:43 Right then, I was living only 20 minutes away from the Olympia, too bad I was only 7 😥 20:10 Vince Taylor didn’t reach the critical mass as did the Beatles when he claimed he was Jesus 😉

well done

“Just Like Vince Taylor” was NOT included on the U.S. release of ‘Moontan’ - only the UK/Euro release. The US version included a whole re-recording of the amazing ‘Tull’ influenced “Big Tree Blue Sea” complete with Ian Anderson inspired flute played by Barry. However, for fans like me who bought the US ‘Moontan’ Album, we already had the track “Just Like Vince Taylor” because it was the ‘B’ side of the original full length UK single ‘Radar Love’ in 1973.

Super informativ! Danke! 👍👍👍

Thanks for the rock history. I always thought Ziggy was inspired by Alice Cooper's early band, The Spiders

If I'm not mistaken the term "cadillac" may have been slang term for overdose at the time rather than the car. Guy was way ahead of his time and clearly an electric performer from various footage I've seen. Should have been a bigger star. Rock On!

I'd heard Bowie say Taylor was the influence for Ziggy Stardust years ago but this is still interesting to see ❤.

I knew of Vince at Dylan's party but I didn't know Nico was there as well. Of course her downfall was heroin. But at least John Cale kept her career going the best he could. Just a shame about Vince. He didn't even get a Syd Barrett kind of legacy.

Both the Replacements and Vince lit their money on fire

So Vince Taylor was wearing leather pants and rolling around on the stage five years before Jim Morrison. Interesting.

great!

Bowie had an elder brother - "Terry Jones" who was institutionalised his whole life...must have had a big effect as well on david (Man Who Sold the World album etc)