Music
13 musicians’ jobs before they were famous
They say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. Well, before they found fame and began earning a living from their passion, these musicians were just like the rest of us, working in shops, restaurants and offices. Prepare to be shocked when you find out what these 13 rock stars did before they were famous.
- David Bowie was a delivery boy for the local butchery from the age of 13. He used the money he earned to pay for saxophone lessons with iconic saxophonist Ronnie Ross, whom he later collaborated with.
- Ozzy Osborne worked in an abattoir prior to finding fame as a member of Black Sabbath. “I had to slice open the cow carcasses and get all the gunk out of their stomachs,” he says. “I used to vomit every day; the smell was something else.” Gross!
- Mick Jagger had a part-time job at Bexley Psychiatric Hospital as a porter at the age of 18. He earned four pounds, 10 shillings each week (about $125 today).
- Debbie Harry was a Playboy bunny in the ‘70s. To deal with the creepy men who often frequented the New York club, Harry says she “fooled around with drugs and was consequently often half-asleep.”
- Freddie Mercury owned a stall at the Kensington Market from 1969, selling artwork he created as well as second-hand clothes. Queen drummer Roger Taylor often helped out at the stall, which Mercury kept running even after the release of the band’s debut album.
- Rod Stewart had many jobs prior to becoming a rock star, including as a silk screen printer, newspaper delivery boy, fence builder, sign writer, funeral parlour worker and he also worked as a labourer at a London cemetery.
- Patti Smith worked in a toy factory, but the rocker says it wasn’t all fun and games. “The stuff those women did to me in that factory was horrible. They’d gang up on me and stick my head in a toilet.”
- Keith Richards was a ball boy at the local tennis club. “My parents played tennis and I was dragged every weekend to the court as their ball boy, so I got to know the ins and outs of the game!”
- Art Garfunkel was a maths teacher when “Bridge Over Troubled Water” hit the top spot on the charts. He worked at a private school in Connecticut after Simon & Garfunkel broke up in 1970.
- Jon Bon Jovi used to design and make Christmas decorations and often spent his childhood summers selling newspapers in Pennsylvania. He was working as a janitor at his cousin’s recording studio when he made his first record.
- Madonna worked as a showgirl in France before making it big in the US and the rest of the world. She also had a job at a donut store but was reportedly fired for squirting jam at a customer.
- Cyndi Lauper was a dog walker before she hit the big time, and also had jobs piercing ears, mending clothes, sorting mail, dancing, modelling for an art class and worked as a receptionist at a publishing company.
- Gene Simmons had an editorial assistant job at two high-profile magazines, Glamour and Vogue, which explains how he was able to create the iconic looks of KISS.
Which of these musicians’ former jobs surprised you the most? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Related links:
The surprising original names of famous bands
7 actors we didn’t know were also musicians