Recording: Ching-A-Ling

Feathers’ first recording session took place on 27 November 1968, at London’s Trident Studios.

It followed a previous session by the group’s forerunner, Turquoise, on 24 October, in which they recorded ‘Ching-A-Ling’ and ‘Back To Where You’ve Never Been’ with Tony Visconti producing.

The trio changed their name to Feathers after Tony Hill left and John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson joined. This session was for Hutchinson to add new vocals to ‘Ching-A-Ling’.

Unfortunately within a few days Hill was out of the band and David’s friend John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson was in. I needed another day in the studio to take Hill’s voice off and put Hutch’s voice on. I thought Platz would be over the moon with the results of this session.

‘What’s this? Who’s Feathers? I didn’t know we had a group called Feathers on the label?’

I thought that Denny recorded so much bullshit stuff, wasting so much time and money in the studio I could just slip this session through. I wasn’t a great ’embezzler’ because I didn’t think of writing ‘Joe Cocker’ on the work sheet. Yet again I was severely reprimanded and almost fired.

Also in the studio was Time Out photographer Ray Stevenson, who shot the only known images of Bowie at Trident.