Tim Renwick – David Bowie Guitarist and Trusted Collaborator
Photo: Raph_PH / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0
Tim Renwick (born 7 August 1949) is one of Britain’s most respected guitarists and a long-overlooked but important figure in David Bowie’s musical world.
His Bowie connection stretches from the Space Oddity era through live performances with Junior’s Eyes and later major tours, making him far more than a one-session contributor.
- Born: 7 August 1949, Cambridge, England
- Instrument: Guitar
- Bowie connection: Space Oddity era, Junior’s Eyes, Diamond Dogs, Glass Spider
- Associated acts: Pink Floyd, Al Stewart, Elton John
Early career
Renwick emerged from the fertile late-1960s British scene as a gifted guitarist with a rare balance of technique and taste. He became associated with Junior’s Eyes, the band that would soon intersect with Bowie’s world.
That connection would prove important both in the studio and on stage during one of the most formative periods of Bowie’s career.
Working with David Bowie
Although lead guitar on Space Oddity is primarily associated with Mick Wayne, Renwick was part of the wider musical circle around those sessions and the musicians who helped shape Bowie’s early sound.
Renwick later recalled the sessions at Trident Studios as revealing a still-young Bowie who was talented, ambitious — and often surprisingly nervous.
More importantly, Renwick’s connection deepened when Bowie asked Junior’s Eyes to back him for early Scottish live dates, giving Renwick a front-row view of Bowie’s return to performance.
Renwick remembered: “We made Space Oddity at Trident Studios in London… David was very easy to work with, but rather nervous in the studio.”
He also described Bowie recruiting Junior’s Eyes for several Scottish shows in places such as Dunfermline, where audiences were often unsure what to make of this unconventional performer.
According to Renwick, they also played BBC sessions and a South Bank performance where Bowie suffered intense stage fright: “I’d never seen anyone have such bad stage fright.”
These memories offer a fascinating glimpse of Bowie before myth had fully overtaken the man.
Beyond the Space Oddity era
Although Renwick did not become a long-term member of Bowie’s later touring bands, his role in Bowie’s formative years was more substantial than many realise. Through Junior’s Eyes, early live dates and BBC performances, he was present at a crucial moment when Bowie was evolving from cult outsider into major artist.
Renwick’s recollections of Bowie’s stage fright, ambition and unpredictability offer rare firsthand insight into the young Bowie before the mythology fully formed.
Few guitarists can claim to have witnessed Bowie so close to the beginning. That alone makes Tim Renwick an important figure in Bowie history.
A respected session musician
Outside Bowie, Renwick became one of Britain’s great session guitarists. His work with Al Stewart, the Sutherland Brothers and later Pink Floyd made him quietly legendary among musicians.
He performed on major Floyd tours and appeared at Live 8 in 2005, reinforcing his status as a guitarist trusted by giants.
Musical style and legacy
Renwick’s playing has always been defined less by virtuoso display than by intelligence, texture and musical empathy. That subtlety is precisely why so many major artists sought him out.
Within Bowie’s universe he represents something invaluable: the kind of musician who helped build the work without ever demanding the spotlight.
From early Scottish theatres to Glass Spider stadiums, Tim Renwick was part of more Bowie history than many realise.