Mark Pritchard (The Riot Squad)
Mark Pritchard was the bassist for The Riot Squad, the short-lived but historically important London band that featured David Bowie during 1967.
The Riot Squad represent Bowie’s final attempt to function within a conventional rock band structure before committing fully to a solo career. Pritchard’s bass playing anchored the group’s heavier, more aggressive sound.
- Name: Mark Pritchard
- Band: The Riot Squad
- Role: Bass guitar
- With Bowie: 1967
- Era: Post-mod / pre-solo transition
- Context: Bowie’s last pre-solo band
Where Mark Pritchard fits in Bowie’s timeline
Mark Pritchard’s role in Bowie’s history is tied to a moment of uncertainty and experimentation. By 1967, Bowie was searching for a viable path forward after the collapse of several earlier bands.
The Riot Squad briefly offered a return to raw, guitar-led rock at a time when British music was rapidly shifting toward psychedelia and heavier sounds.
The Riot Squad sound
The Riot Squad were markedly tougher than Bowie’s previous groups. Their music leaned toward hard rock, with prominent bass and guitar driving the arrangements.
Pritchard’s bass provided a solid foundation for this approach, grounding the band’s aggressive style and supporting Bowie’s increasingly restless vocals.
Bowie’s brief involvement
Bowie’s time with The Riot Squad was short-lived. While he performed with the band, he was already mentally moving beyond the limitations of another group-based identity.
This internal conflict makes the period significant: Bowie was learning what he no longer wanted to be.
The end of the band
The Riot Squad failed to gain industry traction and soon dissolved. Bowie left shortly thereafter, choosing to pursue a solo contract and a more experimental, personal form of songwriting.
Within a year, this decision would lead directly to Space Oddity and Bowie’s emergence as a singular creative voice.
Historical importance
Mark Pritchard’s contribution lies in anchoring one of Bowie’s final band-based experiments. The Riot Squad represent a clear endpoint rather than a beginning.
From this moment on, Bowie would no longer define himself through bands, but through concepts, personas, and fully realised solo projects.