ST LEONARDS-ON-SEA.- Fifty years after the release of David Bowie's landmark album Station to Station, a collection of previously unseen photographs is offering a rare glimpse into the recording sessions that helped shape one of the most fascinating periods of his career. Taken by Geoff MacCormack, one of Bowie's oldest friends and closest collaborators, the images are being presented at Lucy Bell Gallery in an exhibition running from October 16 through November 21, 2026.

The photographs transport viewers back to late 1975, when Bowie was living in Los Angeles after completing work on Nicolas Roeg's film The Man Who Fell to Earth. He had begun recording what would become Station to Station at Cherokee Studios, working with a group of musicians that included guitarist Carlos Alomar, bassist George Murray and drummer Dennis Davis. The resulting album, released in January 1976, would mark a turning point in Bowie's musical evolution, bridging the soul-influenced sound of Young Americans with the experimental European direction he would explore in subsequent years.

MacCormack, also known professionally as Warren Peace, was there throughout this remarkable period. A childhood friend of Bowie from Bromley, he had joined the singer's touring band as a backing vocalist following the success of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Their friendship developed into a creative partnership that would span multiple albums, tours and recording sessions.

During the making of Station to Station, MacCormack was staying with Bowie in a rented house in Bel Air. He occasionally visited Cherokee Studios, where he contributed backing vocals and offered encouragement as the recordings progressed. Photography, however, was not his primary concern.

As MacCormack recalls, he had no intention of systematically documenting the sessions. On the relatively few occasions when he brought his camera into the studio, he simply photographed moments that caught his attention. Those seemingly casual snapshots have now become valuable visual records of Bowie at work.

The photographs capture the atmosphere of the recording studio, from Bowie standing at the microphone to moments spent listening to playback, working at the mixing desk and interacting with fellow musicians. Other images show the singer writing lyrics and experimenting with his saxophone, revealing the concentration and creative energy behind an album that remains central to his artistic legacy.

What makes these photographs particularly compelling is their intimacy. Rather than presenting Bowie as the carefully constructed public figure familiar from album covers and publicity campaigns, MacCormack's images reveal a musician absorbed in the everyday process of making music. They offer an unguarded perspective made possible by the photographer's unusually close relationship with his subject.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of David Bowie: Music Lover, a new book written by MacCormack and French music journalist Jérôme Soligny, released on September 28, 2026. The publication approaches Bowie's legacy from a different angle, exploring the artists and recordings that inspired him throughout his life.

Drawing on MacCormack's personal memories and Soligny's extensive knowledge of Bowie's career, the book identifies more than 100 musicians whose work found its way onto Bowie's turntable. The selection ranges across classical music, Delta blues, electronic music and Britpop, reflecting the restless curiosity that characterized his approach to music.

The journey begins with Little Richard, whose records captured Bowie's imagination during childhood, and extends to Kendrick Lamar, whose music Bowie listened to during the creation of his final studio album, Blackstar. Released in January 2016, just two days before his death, that record demonstrated how his appetite for musical discovery remained undiminished until the end.

Together, the book and exhibition illuminate a side of Bowie that is sometimes overshadowed by his constantly changing visual identities. Behind the elaborate costumes, theatrical performances and celebrated personas was an attentive listener, someone whose artistic evolution depended in part on his willingness to absorb new sounds and unexpected influences.

MacCormack's photographs also extend beyond the recording studio. His friendship with Bowie took him on extraordinary journeys across the United States, Japan, Russia and Europe. Because Bowie was reluctant to travel by air, the pair frequently journeyed by ship, train and road, experiences that produced another remarkable collection of personal photographs.

Among these images are scenes from their travels aboard the Trans-Siberian Express in 1973, as well as photographs taken during the filming of The Man Who Fell to Earth in New Mexico. Together, they document the life of a musician whose relentless movement between places, cultures and artistic disciplines helped define his work.

MacCormack's association with Bowie included recording contributions to albums from Aladdin Sane through Station to Station. He also co-wrote Rock 'n' Roll With Me for Diamond Dogs and collaborated with Bowie on Turn Blue, recorded by Iggy Pop for Lust for Life.

For MacCormack, the significance of these images lies partly in their spontaneity. Taken without any expectation that they would eventually appear in a gallery, they preserve moments of friendship and creativity that might otherwise have disappeared into memory.

The exhibition at Lucy Bell Gallery opened with a preview and book signing on October 16. Signed copies of David Bowie: Music Lover are available through the gallery for £25, while limited-edition photographic prints are offered beginning at £195.

Half a century after Station to Station first reached listeners, these photographs provide something that even the most extensively documented musical careers can rarely offer: an opportunity to see a celebrated artist through the eyes of someone who knew him not simply as David Bowie, the international star, but as a lifelong friend.