The Astronettes
Photo: Unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons / Discog — Discog
The Astronettes were a backing vocal trio assembled around David Bowie in late 1973 and early 1974. The group consisted of Ava Cherry, Jason Guess, and Geoff (Geoffrey) MacCormack.
Bowie produced sessions for the trio in London during the months leading into the Diamond Dogs period. The resulting recordings were shelved at the time, but later surfaced as People From Bad Homes (released in 1995) and in later reissues.
- Members: Ava Cherry, Jason Guess, Geoff (Geoffrey) MacCormack
- Role: Backing vocal trio
- Produced by: David Bowie
- Recorded: Late 1973 – early 1974 (London)
- Release: People From Bad Homes (1995)
Where The Astronettes fit in Bowie’s timeline
The Astronettes sessions belong to a fascinating hinge-moment in Bowie’s career: the period after Pin Ups and around the time Bowie was preparing the next phase that would become Diamond Dogs.
Instead of focusing solely on a Bowie solo project, he attempted to develop a separate act: a vocal trio built around soulful harmonies and a modern, forward-looking pop sensibility.
Members and inner-circle context
The trio included Ava Cherry (closely connected to Bowie at the time), Jason Guess, and Geoff MacCormack (also known by the nickname “Warren Peace” in Bowie circles).
This wasn’t an anonymous studio experiment. It was tied directly to Bowie’s touring and creative environment in the early-to-mid 1970s.
Bowie as producer
Bowie’s role was not peripheral: he was actively producing the project, shaping arrangements, and testing song ideas in a different vocal setting than his own albums.
The Astronettes sessions show how Bowie used side-projects as laboratories—places where lyrical fragments, chord movements, and melodic hooks could be tried without the pressure of a “David Bowie” release.
Shared recordings and key songs
- “I Am a Laser” — recorded for The Astronettes project and later reworked by Bowie into “Scream Like a Baby” (released in 1980).
- “God Only Knows” — a notable cover recorded during the Astronettes sessions.
- People From Bad Homes — the later-released collection of these recordings (1995).
Why the project was shelved
The Astronettes album never received an official 1970s release. The sessions were ultimately abandoned as Bowie’s attention moved toward his own rapidly changing priorities—especially the intense focus required to build the Diamond Dogs world.
As with many Bowie side-roads, the project wasn’t “wasted”: it left behind musical DNA that resurfaced later.
Later release and historical value
When the recordings appeared years later as People From Bad Homes (1995), they became valuable not as a mainstream classic, but as a window into Bowie’s process—how he developed songs, and how closely his writing could be connected to specific musicians and vocal textures.
For Bowie listeners, the Astronettes material is especially revealing because it captures early drafts of ideas that Bowie would later transform into something darker and more angular.
Place within Bowie’s universe
Within David Bowie’s extended creative universe, The Astronettes represent a rare kind of collaboration: not a “guest spot” on a Bowie track, but a Bowie-produced act where his songwriting and production instincts were tested in a different voice—literally.
The project sits in the shadows of the Diamond Dogs era, yet it offers a uniquely intimate snapshot of Bowie thinking forward, experimenting, and leaving trails for his future self to follow.