The Thin White Duke
An early version of this character started to appear in late 1974, during the Philly Soul part of his Diamond Dogs tour. His hair was still orange but shorter, and his stage costumes went from colorful glam outfits to conventional dress clothes. The Thin White Duke was officially mentioned by name in the title track of his next album, Station to Station. He then appeared in that persona during the next Isolar 1976 Tour.
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It was during his “Thin White Duke” period that he struggled with drugs and emotional problems. Author David Buckley wrote that in 1975 Bowie was “living a cocooned existence in Los Angeles, disconnected from the real world.” He was apparently living on a diet of peppers and milk. He did some very strange things, like keep his urine in his refrigerator so that “no other wizard could use it to enchant him.”