David Bowie (October 5, 1974) – “You’re Gonna Forget About Bowie Next Year” Feature - Melody Maker
This major Melody Maker feature centres on producer Elliott Mazer and his work with David Bowie during the recording of Young Americans. In a provocative headline, Mazer argues that Bowie may soon move beyond the image and expectations that had defined his earlier success, while discussing the artist's constant evolution and refusal to remain creatively static.
Publication: Melody Maker
Date: October 5, 1974
Country: United Kingdom
Under the dramatic headline "You're Gonna Forget About Bowie Next Year", the article focuses on producer Elliott Mazer, who had been working with David Bowie on material that would eventually form part of the Young Americans project.
Mazer explains that Bowie was undergoing a significant artistic transformation and suggests that audiences expecting another version of Ziggy Stardust would be surprised by the music being created. Rather than repeating past successes, Bowie was exploring new musical territory influenced by American soul, rhythm and blues and contemporary Black music.
The producer discusses Bowie's working methods and describes him as an artist unwilling to remain fixed in a single identity. According to Mazer, every major stage of Bowie's career represented a deliberate attempt to move forward creatively. The article suggests that this constant reinvention was likely to continue, regardless of audience expectations.
Throughout the piece, Mazer reflects on the recording process and the musicians involved in the sessions. References are made to American studios, session players and Bowie's increasing interest in soul-based arrangements. The feature presents Bowie as an artist actively distancing himself from earlier glam-rock associations in favour of a more contemporary and musically diverse sound.
Large accompanying photographs of Bowie dominate the page, including a striking close-up portrait wearing dark glasses and additional images connected to the recording sessions. The visual presentation reinforces the article's theme of transition and artistic change.
CONTEXT AND NOTES
Published during the period between Diamond Dogs and Young Americans, the article captures Bowie at one of the most important turning points of his career. Many fans still associated him primarily with Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and glam rock, yet the material he was developing pointed in a radically different direction.
The headline is particularly notable because it reflects the belief that Bowie's future would depend upon continual change rather than nostalgia. Rather than predicting decline, Mazer argues that Bowie would leave old identities behind in pursuit of something entirely new.
With hindsight, the article proved remarkably insightful, as Bowie would continue to reinvent himself repeatedly throughout the remainder of the decade and beyond.
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS
Event: Elliott Mazer discusses David Bowie's evolving musical direction
Era: 1974 Young Americans recording era
Tone: Analytical and forward-looking
Photography: Large portrait photograph of David Bowie with additional recording-session images
WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS
• Elliott Mazer discussing David Bowie and the Young Americans sessions
• Commentary on Bowie's move away from glam rock
• Discussion of soul and R&B influences in new recordings
• Large portrait and studio-related photographs of David Bowie
• The headline prediction: "You're Gonna Forget About Bowie Next Year"
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