Hermione Farthingale
| Hermione Farthingale | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hermione Dennis Kent |
| 💼 Occupation | actress, dancer |
| Stephen Reinhardt Stephen Frankel | |
| 👶 Children | 2 |
Hermione Farthingale (born 1949) is an English dancer.[1][2] She is best known for her relationship with English singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie, and is said to be the inspiration for Bowie’s song Life on Mars.
Early life
Hermione Farthingale was born Hermione Dennis and grew up in Edenbridge, Kent. Her father was a solicitor.[3]
When Farthingale was training to be a ballet dancer, she was a student of the British dancer Lindsay Kemp.[4] She eventually became a classically trained ballet dancer.[5] Farthingale was a dancer for the company Kemp Theatre Group in London.[6]
After becoming a trained dancer, she aspired to be an actress.[7] Her debut was in 1969 in the film Dancing Shoes.[8][2]
Career
Farthingale first met English singer David Bowie in late 1967 in one of Lindsay Kemp’s dancing classes.[9][10] They both starred in the BBC play The Pistol Shot.[3] They began a relationship shortly afterwards and two weeks later they were living in a flat in South Kensington, London, together.[11]
Farthingale, Bowie and guitarist John Hutchinson formed a group named Feathers; between September 1968 and early 1969 the trio gave a small number of concerts combining folk, Merseybeat, poetry, and mime.[12][13] Hutchinson wrote in his autobiography that he thought the band was a matching “set of three”.[14] A photo of the band was taken by Clive Arrowsmith and was later published in article written by Sheila More titled “The Restless Generatoon:2” which included interviews by the band members in The Times on 11 December 1968.[14]
In 1968, Farthingale starred as a dancer in the BBC play The Pistol Shot in the Theatre 625 series.[15]
In 1969, Farthingale ended the relationship with Bowie and focused on starring in the film Song of Norway.[11][16][17]
After the break-up, Bowie wrote the song “Letter to Hermione” to express his feelings which was recorded on his David Bowie (1969 album). Bowie commented about the song:
I once wrote a letter I never sent to Hermione, who was a dancer with the Lindsay Kemp mime company. I thought I’d record it instead and send her the record. I think she’s in Greenwich Village now.
— Disc and Music Echo, 25 October 1969[18]
She is believed to be the “girl with the mousy hair on” Bowie’s song Life on Mars.[11] Also, she is credited for his song An Occasional Dream.[19][20]
A claim has been made that Bowie wrote the song Space Oddity after an argument with Farthingale. However she denies the claim and has stated that he wrote it after reflecting on their break-up.[21]
In 1972, Farthingale appeared in the film The Great Waltz.[22][23]
In 2013, Bowie paid tribute to Farthingale when he wore a t-shirt with the words ‘Song Of Norway‘ on it in the comeback video for ‘Where Are We Now?’.[24]
In 2019, Farthingale spoke about the relationship for the first time on the BBC Two documentary David Bowie: Finding Fame about their relationship, “We missed each other as soul mates, as family, whatever it is that makes people incredibly close and lonely when they are not together. That’s what happens. It wasn’t a one-sided relationship by any means. It was completely mutual.”[19][25][26]
Personal life
Farthingale moved to Papua New Guinea in 1972 and married anthropologist professor Stephen Frankel with whom she had two children.[3]
She now teaches yoga and pilates in Bristol.[11]
Filmography
- Theatre 625 (1964)
- David Bowie: Sell Me A Coat (1966)
- David Bowie: When I Live My Dream (1967)
- David Bowie: Ching-a-Ling (1969)
- Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
- Dancing Shoes (1969)
- Love you till Tuesday (1969)
- Song of Norway (1970)
- Tales of Hoffmann (1970)
- The Great Waltz (1972)
- David Bowie: Finding Fame (2019)
References
- ↑ Margaret Moser; Bill Crawford (1 April 2007). Rock Stars Do The Dumbest Things. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-4299-7838-5. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Paul Morley (3 January 2017). The Age of Bowie. Simon and Schuster. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-5011-5117-0. Search this book on
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "'I inspired David Bowie's top hits, then ditched him and broke his heart'". Daily Record. 31 January 2019.
- ↑ Robert Matthew-Walker (16 September 1985). David Bowie, theatre of music. Kensal Press. p. 150. Search this book on
- ↑ Victoria and Albert Museum (2013). David Bowie is the Subject. V&A Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-85177-735-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Patrick Lemieux (19 March 2018). The David Bowie Chronology, Volume 1 1947 - 1974. Lulu.com. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-387-59432-0. Search this book on
- ↑ Paul Morley (3 January 2017). The Age of Bowie. Simon and Schuster. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-5011-5117-0. Search this book on
- ↑ "Dancing Shoes".
- ↑ Jack Malvern (1 February 2019). The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/young-david-bowie-was-far-from-rock-n-roll-lvgwzpzbf. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Pat Gilbert (November 2017). Bowie: The Illustrated Story. Voyageur Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7603-5266-3. Search this book on
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Stuart Jeffries (1 February 2019). "How uplifting to hear David Bowie's 'girl with the mousy hair' tell her story". The Guardian.
- ↑ David Buckley (24 April 2012). Strange Fascination: David Bowie: The Definitive Story. Ebury Publishing. pp. 49–52. ISBN 978-1-4481-3247-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Barry Lazell (1 April 1989). Rock movers & shakers. Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-8230-7608-6. Search this book on
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 John 'Hutch' Hutchinson (12 June 2014). Bowie & Hutch. Lulu.com. pp. 98–109. ISBN 978-1-291-90403-1. Search this book on
- ↑ Robert Matthew-Walker (16 September 1985). David Bowie, theatre of music. Kensal Press. p. 15. Search this book on
- ↑ "frequently asked questions".
- ↑ Sophie Heawood (8 January 2013). "David Bowie has gone from new to old – and what a beautiful thing it is". The Independent.
- ↑ "THEBOWIEBIBLE".
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Former lover who broke David Bowie's heart recalls hearing his tribute to her". THE IRISH NEWS. 1 February 2019.
- ↑ Chris Welch (1999). David Bowie: Changes, 1970-1980 : the Stories Behind Every David Bowie Song 1970-1980. Carlton. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-85868-810-7. Search this book on
- ↑ "THEBOWIEBIBLE".
- ↑ William T. Leonard (1981). Theatre: Stage to Screen to Television. Scarecrow Press. p. 644. Search this book on
- ↑ John A. Willis (1973). John Willis' Screen World. Crown Publishers. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-517-50415-4. Search this book on
- ↑ "David Bowie's earliest years – as told by the people who knew him best". NME. 6 February 2019.
- ↑ "Hermione Farthingale reads a letter from David Bowie".
- ↑ Roison O’Connor (9 February 2019). "David Bowie: Finding Fame review: BBC documentary thankfully fails to 'make sense' of a man whose appeal was all about mystery". The Independent.
External links
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