Description
Scarce copy of Creem magazine from June 1974. Printed in the USA.
A bit like OZ #28 ‘the School Kids‘ , this wasn’t rare at the time, it sold the same amount of copies as the previous issue but notoriety and decades of collecting have made it rarer & valuable.
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“The Naked Bowie! Exclusive Poster” advertised on the cover, was in fact the uncensored Diamond Dogs artwork by Guy Peelaert. The original artwork had the dog genitals intact but at the last minute they were airbrushed over. While no uncensored sleeves were printed in the UK, they were in US and were ordered to be destroyed. However, a handful were sent to the RCA print department as samples, these are the only known copies to have survived, making it one of the rarest records in the world. According to Popsike one sold for $5000.00 in 2013.
When Bowie took the Diamond Dogs on tour in the US, the same artwork was used for the tour programmes. Instead of being carefully airbrushed, a black blob was crudely over printed , only drawing extra attend over the ‘offending area’.
So, other than buying an original (if you can find one) this is the most affordable way of acquiring the uncensored artwork -as printed at the time. It has been used on reissues but that doesn’t count :~) Complete copies of Creem, with the Bowie pin up centrefold intact, are now scarce. The accompanying article is also excellent, with great photos of Angie as Marilyn. Plus there’s a great Roxy Music article, which fans regard as worthwhile, despite of the Bowie price tag.
Search “Bowie” for many more items of ephemera, including all 3 variations of the US only Diamond Dogs tour programme.
