Unearthed Bowie audio adds lustre to Unilever brand history

Long before Unilever finalised its multibillion-pound sell-off of Elida Beauty to private equity in June 2024, the company was making the most of broadcasting rules to dominate the consumer market. 

During this era, Elida operated as Unilever's dedicated hair care and personal hygiene incubator. To bypass strict UK commercial broadcasting bans, Unilever poured capital into offshore pirate radio, creating The Elida Show. This high-profile sponsored broadcast was transmitted to millions of listeners on the pirate station Radio London, with the sole commercial goal of pushing Unilever's trending "Sea Witch" hair colour directly to a booming teenage market.

While Unilever viewed the broadcast as a vehicle to drive market share, the surfaced studio master reveals a staggering double-bill of future rock icons. First, a raw, 19 year old David Bowie (then front man with The Buzz) is interviewed by host Johnny Moran, pitching his early mod single I Dig Everything. Bowie was asked about his songwriting and announced that he was working on a musical with his A&R manager Tony Hatch - Hatch had signed the teenager to Pye Records in late 1965. Bowie then shared his plans to work in cabaret.

Neither the musical nor the cabaret ever came to fruition.

The full broadcast can be heard here. 

In a second historical twist, the exact same broadcast features an interview with chart-climbing pop band Episode Six - then in the charts with a cover of The Beatles' Here, There and Everywhere. This lineup featured a young Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, who would exit the group three years later to front the definitive "Mark II" lineup of heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple.

The "Elida" name remained a foundational part of Unilever's portfolio for over half a century. In 2020, Unilever resurrected the moniker globally, spinning its personal care portfolio into a standalone business unit called Elida Beauty. Unilever ultimately completed the sale of the division to US private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners.