10 Unearthed Photos of David Bowie on the Edge of Fame

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

The icon died after a cancer battle in January 2016 as a champion for the weird and a musical hero for rock stars and mortals alike. But when he debuted with his self-titled LP on June 1, 1967, he did so as David Bowie. While the collection landed with minimal fanfare, the photos taken during its cover shoot have resurfaced, offering a new look at the then-20-year-old as he was still finding his makeup-loving, dramatic-posing, avant-garde identity.

Shot by Gerald Fearnley, brother of Bowie's bandmate Dek, the images will now be published in a new photo book, Bowie Unseen: Portraits of an Artist as a Young Man (ACC Editions). Scroll through to see nine other cuts from that early-career shoot.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

Born David Jones, the singer changed his name to Bowie in order to avoid any potential confusion with Davy Jones, the lead singer of the Monkees.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

Bowie began his solo career with the help of just one bandmate: Derek "Dek" Fearnley.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

In his foreword, the photographer remembers how he met Bowie through Dek. "My brother always loved music," he writes. "He'd always have people back to the house to practice or write songs. I remember waking up in the mornings, never knowing who'd be sleeping in the front room. David was often sacked out on the couch. But he was always very polite."

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

David Bowie debuted on June 1, 1967, the same day the Beatles dropped the seminal Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club in the U.S. It failed on the charts, and Bowie and the band he'd assembled soon split up.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

Just five years later, Bowie would release his earth-shaking album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

"I was a still life photographer, working on my own, in a studio right off of Oxford Street," Fearnley recalls, also in his foreword, of how he got plucked for the shoot. "I don't remember how it happened, but I was enlisted to take photographs of David for the cover. I was probably the only person he knew with a studio and a camera."

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

Seen here, the young artist's pose foreshadows his transformation into the icon.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

The debut LP was written entirely by Bowie. Dek was enlisted for help with the set's arrangements.

David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley

Bowie released 25 studio albums during his career. His final set, Blackstar, dropped two days prior to his death and was almost universally applauded as one of his finest collections.