Vince Taylor

Vince Taylor is most often recalled as the real-life inspiration behind David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona, as the originator of the 1958 B-side “Brand New Cadillac” (later made famous by the Clash), and as much for his unpredictable conduct on and off stage as for his recorded output in rock & roll. Yet, as Bowie apparently understood, the figure was indispensable; had Taylor never appeared, someone would have needed to create him—and in a sense, that is precisely what happened.

Born Brian Maurice Holden on July 14, 1939, in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, he relocated with his family to New Jersey at the age of seven. Around 1955, after his sister married Hanna-Barbera animation executive Joe Barbera, the household shifted once more, this time to California, where Taylor attended Hollywood High School. At eighteen he became captivated by the high-voltage performances of Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent, began singing at local amateur events, and accompanied his brother-in-law Barbera on a business visit to London. There, in a coffee bar where Tommy Steele was performing, Taylor encountered drummer Tony Meehan and bassist Tex Makins; the trio quickly decided to launch a group called the Playboys. Seeking a more striking stage name than Brian Holden, Taylor borrowed “Vince” from a Pall Mall cigarette packet and thereby became Vince Taylor, self-styled rebel rocker.

The original Playboys proved short-lived, as would every subsequent lineup, owing largely to Taylor’s volatile temperament and mounting drug consumption; on at least one occasion he was dismissed outright. A reconstituted and enlarged edition nevertheless cut “I Like Love” and “Right Behind You Baby” for Parlophone Records in 1958, followed later that year by “Pledgin’ My Love” b/w “Brand New Cadillac.” Neither release met expectations, and Parlophone dropped the act. Taylor and the Playboys next moved to Palette Records, issuing “I’ll Be Your Hero” b/w “Jet Black Machine” in 1960. Two arresting Paris appearances, with Taylor clad in his signature black leather, prompted Eddie Barclay of Barclay Records to offer a six-year contract. Taylor swiftly emerged as a central figure on the French rock & roll circuit, projecting the image of a defiant outsider perhaps more convincingly than he sustained it musically. This configuration of Taylor and the Playboys produced five EPs and one LP for Barclay while headlining tours across the country.

Internal tensions remained constant, however, and by 1963 Taylor was routinely appearing with whatever musicians were available, still billing them as the Playboys. Early in 1964 the Barclay label released the single “Memphis Tennessee” b/w “A Shot of Rhythm and Blues.” Soon afterward, having consumed large quantities of LSD, amphetamines, and alcohol, Taylor grew markedly unstable both in performance and in private life, at one point announcing to a sizable London audience that he was the biblical prophet Matthew. That moment marked the nearest he would come to genuine rock stardom, though a decade later he enjoyed a secondary wave of recognition through his association with Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. Thereafter he drifted as another unsettled victim of the 1960s drug culture, occasionally delivering coherent shows yet more often appearing disoriented and erratic. He subsequently aligned himself with a religious group, a step that further distanced him from any credible rock standing.

Nevertheless, he retained a strong following throughout Europe. Eddie Barclay continued to permit occasional sessions, and scattered concerts and tours took place during the 1970s and 1980s, but Taylor’s period of real cultural and creative influence had ended with the 1960s. He spent his final years in Switzerland employed as an airplane mechanic—having obtained his pilot’s license while still in California high school—and reportedly described those years as the most contented of his life. He died on August 28, 1991.