Rocky Shahan – Bassist in The Kon-rads and Early David Jones Bandmate
Image: David Bowie World collection / editorial use
Rocky Shahan, born Shahan Chowdhury, was a bassist best known in Bowie history for his membership of The Kon-rads, the first serious band to include the future David Bowie.
Although far less is known about Shahan than many later Bowie collaborators, his place in the story remains historically significant because he shared the stage and rehearsal rooms with David Jones during the earliest phase of his musical development.
Long before international fame, Bowie was still learning his craft within local beat groups. Rocky Shahan was one of the young musicians who formed part of that environment.
- Real name: Shahan Chowdhury
- Born: 1944, Pakistan
- Moved to London: Late 1950s
- Instrument: Bass guitar
- Band: The Kon-rads
- Bowie connection: Early bandmate of David Jones
- Later achievement: Represented Pakistan at the V Festival Internacional da Canção (Rio, 1970)
From Pakistan to London
Shahan Chowdhury was born in Pakistan in 1944 and moved to London during the late 1950s. His arrival coincided with a period of enormous cultural change in Britain, when rock ’n’ roll, skiffle and beat music were transforming the lives of young musicians across the country.
By the early 1960s he had become involved in the local music scene and eventually joined The Kon-rads, one of the many aspiring groups emerging from South London and Kent.
The Kon-rads
The Kon-rads occupy an important place in David Bowie history because they provided the future star with his first serious band environment. During this period David Jones was still primarily known as a saxophone player, although he was gradually becoming more involved as a singer.
Rocky Shahan served as the group’s bassist, helping provide the rhythmic foundation for rehearsals and performances. Like the other members, he was part of a collective effort to establish the band within the competitive local beat scene.
While individual contributions from every member are not extensively documented, Shahan’s presence within the line-up places him among the musicians who shared Bowie’s earliest experiences as a performing artist.
Playing alongside David Jones
One of the most interesting aspects of Rocky Shahan‘s story is that he knew David Bowie before the world knew him as David Bowie. At the time, he was simply David Jones: an ambitious teenager fascinated by music, performance and self-expression.
Bandmates from the Kon-rads years often remembered Jones as energetic, creative and constantly full of ideas. These characteristics would later become central to Bowie’s career, but during the early 1960s they were still developing within the context of a local beat group.
Shahan therefore belongs to a very small circle of musicians who witnessed Bowie before fame, before major record contracts and before the artistic reinventions that would later define him.
The Bromley beat scene
Like many young groups of the era, The Kon-rads performed at local venues, youth clubs, church halls and community events. These performances provided valuable experience for all involved and helped young musicians learn the realities of live performance.
The environment was modest compared with the international stages Bowie would later command, but it was an essential training ground. Musicians such as Rocky Shahan contributed to the group dynamic that allowed those experiences to take place.
Life after The Kon-rads
Unlike David Bowie, Rocky Shahan did not become a global superstar. Nevertheless, he continued pursuing music beyond his Kon-rads years and built a career that extended beyond his association with Bowie.
His most notable documented achievement came in 1970 when he represented Pakistan at the prestigious V Festival Internacional da Canção in Rio de Janeiro with the song The Best Man.
This achievement illustrates that Shahan’s musical ambitions extended well beyond his early days in South London and demonstrates a career path independent of his brief Bowie connection.
Legacy
Rocky Shahan‘s place in Bowie history is necessarily modest, but it is genuine. He was part of The Kon-rads during one of the most formative periods of David Jones‘s life and therefore belongs to the earliest chapter of the Bowie story.
His importance lies not in later fame or major artistic collaboration, but in his role as one of the young musicians who shared Bowie’s first serious experiences within a working band.
Within the broader history of David Bowie, Rocky Shahan represents the foundation years — the period before stardom, when David Jones was still learning, experimenting and searching for his future direction.