The Lower Third was a British rock band from the mid sixties which formed in 1963. In 1965, it gained lead singer and frontman Davie Jones, calling it Davie Jones & The Lower Third. This was the third band Davie Jones was in, his first being Davie Jones & The King Bees and the second being The Manish Boys.

In 1966, Davie Jones legally changed his name to David Bowie to avoid confusion with the artist Davy Jones of The Monkees. In 1966, the band broke up because of a dispute with their manager. Before the band’s breakup, Bowie recorded three singles with The Lower Third, the first two under the name Davie Jones and the third under the name David Bowie.

After the breakup, David Bowie went on to pursue a solo career, releasing his archaic eponymous debut album a year after in 1967, not to be confused with his eponymous 1969 album.