Diana Rigg evicted David Bowie from this Maida Vale block
David Bowie at Rules Restaurant after receiving a presentation of six discs from RCA Records to mark the occasion of having six albums in the charts in 1973 - Credit: PA Archive/Press Association Images
A flat is currently available for sale in the building where David Bowie and family lived during the early 1970s
Vale Court, Maida Vale, W9, where David Bowie lived in 1973 - Credit: Archant
David Bowie, may be more closely associated with Brixton and Bromley in south London, but for six months in 1973 he lived in an apartment in Maida Vale.
Forced to leave Beckenham by fans making eager pilgrimages to his front door, the groundbreaking pop star, who died yesterday, moved into Bond actress Diana Rigg’s flat in Vale Court, W9, with his wife, Angie, and their son.
Diana Rigg and her husband, artist Manachen Gueffen - Credit: PA Archive/Press Association Images
Bowie was at the peak of his theatrical glam incarnation and released Aladdin Sane, his first chart-topping album, in 1973. Hit singles from the time include The Jean Genie, Life on Mars?, and Sorrow.
At the end of that year he was recognised for having had six albums in the Top 40 at the same time.
Vale Court, Maida Vale, W9, where David Bowie lived in 1973 - Credit: Archant
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The BBC’s Maida Vale studios, where Bowie had recorded several sessions, was also round the corner from the property.
The family lived in the flat for six months until October 4, 1973 when they were served a notice by the Game of Thrones and Avengers star’s managers complaining about “excessive noise”.
Vale Court, Maida Vale, W9, where David Bowie lived in 1973 - Credit: Archant
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So ended Bowie’s brief dalliance with north London. A short spell in Chelsea followed before Bowie moved away from the UK, to America and Berlin, never returning to live full time in London again.
There is currently a four-bedroom flat for sale in the mansion block, for any superfans hoping to soak up a little Ziggy Stardust.
The four-bedroom flat is on the raised ground floor of the Edwardian building and boasts ornate decorated ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and a large double reception room.
With an asking price of £2,395,000 it’s unlikely that the new neighbours will have noise complaints about an androgynous glam rock icon living upstairs – more’s the pity.
