- Active: '60s, '70s
- Genres: Rock
- Instrument: Art Direction
Biography
George Underwood was rhythm guitarist and harmonica player in the first band that David Bowie recorded with, Davie Jones and the King Bees. Underwood, a childhood friend of Bowie's, had been playing music with him since the late 1950s. Their friendship must have been strong, as it survived a fight over a girl when they were schoolboys that left Bowie's left pupil paralyzed. Underwood is on the sole Davie Jones & the King Bees single, "Liza Jane"/"Louie Louie Go Home," issued in June 1964. Shortly after it flopped, the King Bees disbanded, with Bowie (at that time known as David Jones) moving on to other bands, and then a solo career.Underwood was the only one of the King Bees to play a role in Bowie's subsequent career, as he did the painting of Bowie that appeared on the back of the singer's 1969 David Bowie album, and worked for Bowie's management company, Mainman, as a designer and graphic artist. He also did design work for album covers by T. Rex and Procol Harum. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
