Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight were hanging out and broke into song, accompanied by Ava Cherry, a striking black model with bleached-blonde hair. David walked straight up to Ava. “Are you a singer?”

“Yeah,” Ava assured him, stretching the truth a little before a bystander introduced them. “I’ve been listening to your albums for a month,” she told him. “I think they’re incredible.” This was not a total exaggeration; Cherry’s manager had helped engineer the meeting, hoping it would advance her career. But Ava was fascinated by this outlandish figure who was also a model of English charm and good manners, buzzing with energy but content to go with the flow even when she declined his invitation back to the Gramercy. Within the next couple of days, though — during which she went with David to see Charlie Mingus, spent hours with him listening to records and sharing opinions, attended rehearsals, and then had an informal audition where Defries assessed her singing — they became lovers.

“Then the very next day we’re getting up and getting breakfast,” says Cherry, “and all of a sudden the door knocks and it’s Angie. ‘Darling! How are you?’ So I’m standing there and you can picture the look on my face!”

— David Bowie│Starman