I gave David Bowie mismatched eyes in a fight — George Underwood

It all started in 1956 in a south east London Cubs group.

Nine-year-old George Underwood became a member of the 18th Bromley Scouts.

There, he got to know a small child named David Jones, who later went on to become everyone’s favorite, David Bowie.

Even though their friendship was initially sparked by their mutual love of music, the two went on to have a lasting bond that produced some of the best album covers in music history.

‘We hit it off immediately,’ George told Metro.

‘We spoke about music and all the things that interested us and we were in a band together called The Konrads in those early days.

‘We had lots of things in common and this cemented our friendship.’

They would go up and down Bromley high street thinking they were God’s gift, chatting up girls from the north Wimpy bar to the south Wimpy bar.

They remained friends right up until Bowie’s death in 2016 after his 18-month battle with cancer that shocked the world.

After meeting as cubs, the two friends started high school at Bromley Technical High School in 1958, now known as Ravens Wood School.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. In 1962, a row over a girl led to a heated outburst from George.

He ended up punching Bowie in the left eye – leading to a series of operations and even a four-month stay in hospital.

Despite their best efforts, doctors said the damage could not be fully repaired and so Bowie was left with a permanently dilated pupil, which gave a false impression that his iris had changed colour.

This later became part of Bowie’s signature look and his stage persona with one clear blue eye, the other a moody black.

Many believed Bowie’s mismatched eyes were caused by heterochromia, a condition in which a person has two different iris colours but this was definitely not the case.

George’s fingernails had scratched the surface of Bowie’s eyeball and this had paralysed the muscles that contract the iris.

‘He knew he had been in the wrong,’ George joked.

‘I was so angry with him, I just went over and hit him.

‘It wasn’t very nice what he did, so he said sorry and we both made up, were still friends and remained so for the rest of our lives.’

Despite their altercation, Bowie remained on good terms with George, who went on to create the artwork for Bowie’s early albums.

This included era-defining album covers like Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, as well as the first T. Rex album cover.

Throughout George’s friendship with Bowie, he remembered what made him so special and revealed whether there was a moment he knew he would become a music legend.

‘There wasn’t one specific moment as such, I think it was a gradual process,’ George said.

‘I could see David had talent.

‘One thing he was very good at was imitating people or becoming someone else like an actor would.

‘David was always very good at that and used that throughout his career changing his identity and all kinds of things.

‘The music and his songwriting just followed and these were just fantastic.

‘He did reach the stars in the end, didn’t he.

‘He’s now become so big and I’m amazed at what he achieved in his lifetime. It is incredible.’

He added to the BBC: ‘I miss him deeply because he went too soon, as we know, and he was just great to be with, always fun to be with. We laughed a lot.

‘I often wondered whether every time he looked in the mirror whether he thought of me.

‘I’m just a bit worried that I might have it carved on my tombstone.’

George, now 74, is now working with the charity War Child – the only specialist charity for children in conflict.

Along with 33 other artists, George has put together an exhibition and global online auction called Sound & Vision to raise awareness and funds for the children most affected by conflict.

It is close to his heart because Bowie used his creativity to support War Child throughout his career.

Musician and long-term collaborator with Bowie, Brian Eno, and Eno’s wife and music manager Athena, curated ‘Little Pieces from Big Stars’, an exhibition raising funds for War Child and 30 years on this has inspired Sound & Vision.

Talking about helping the charity, George said: ‘I’m hoping this is going to make lots of money for the charity.

‘War Child is such a great charity and I think the more money they can get together for these poor children in conflict then the better the world will be.’

Sound & Vision will be exhibited at 180 Studios from September 26-27.

The global online auction runs from September 17-October 1 via Art on a Postcard.

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