IT WASN'T often that David Bowie flew in anything other than a private jet.
So when he took a scheduled flight over Australia - albeit business class - it was sufficiently unusual to merit a quick photograph just before the meal arrived.
Another image shows him relaxing next to the pool at a Melbourne hotel with breakfast and an Australian newspaper just delivered.
In two other pictures he is evidently enjoying the Australian sunshine, one quietly smoking a cigarette and the other in a thong next to a creek at a surprise picnic he organised for friends.
David Bowie poolside at a Melbourne hotel. Photo: Denis O'Regan. Ricochet: David Bowie 1983
The previously unseen intimate pictures were taken during the 1983 Serious Moonlight world tour and are part of a collaborative project between Bowie and tour photographer Denis O'Regan.
They are about to be published for the first time in a new book Ricochet: David Bowie 1983, almost two years after the star died in January 2016.
Such was the friendship between Bowie and the official photographer that the shots are unposed, unguarded and, in the main, offstage.
Reminiscing about the Australian leg of the tour Mr O'Regan told Fairfax that the Melbourne hotel was next to a park known locally as Possum Park.
David Bowie relaxing mid-tour. Photo: Denis O'Regan. Ricochet: David Bowie 1983
"At that hotel David threw a surprise thirtieth birthday party for me at one minute past midnight, accompanied by everyone on the tour. I hadn't guessed what was coming.
"David and I had a slight disagreement in Japan, and to make up for it, a few days later in Australia, David invited me out for a picnic in a nature reserve with a couple of friends. David ordered the picnic and even drove us there himself in a rented car. It was a very sweet gesture, and reiterated a very human side of David."
In Brisbane members of the tour visited a small zoo. "At the show that night to our bemusement - and amusement - David suddenly began to ramble between songs about Tasmanian Devils. David rarely chatted about his day during shows, so it was quite unusual.
David Bowie in Australia Photo: Denis O'Regan
"At a restaurant in Perth during dinner David exposed the mimic in him, when he suddenly said "watch this", and from our table worked his way around the restaurant imitating other diners that he'd been studying while we ate.
"At the Sebel Townhouse in Sydney I introduced David to my old friends Duran Duran again (I'd first done so in France earlier in the tour), but interestingly they spent a lot of time speaking to David's drummer Tony Thompson from Chic. Two years later he joined the Duran Duran offshoot group Power Station."
David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall Photo: Denis O'Regan
Ricochet: David Bowie 1983 is a boxed set of memorabilia or collectables including a remastered vinyl of Let's Dance (Nile Rodgers), a book containing over 300 images from the tour, a book of handwritten lyrics, another book of out-take images and three full-size signed prints of Bowie.
The limited run of 2000 copies is about to be released and the first 250 to purchase receive an extra limited edition signed print and an invitation to the VIP launch party in London in May. There will also be a coffee table book released later in 2018.
Mr O'Regan added: "I published a book with David in 1984 for which he wrote the introduction. We then discussed projects on and off over the next 30 years, culminating in discussions about a pair of substantial books looking back at the two world tours that I covered with him.
"I feel this book documenting 1983 will fulfil my dream of sharing these intimate photographs with collectors and fans, whilst revealing an insight into the real David - as much as anyone can. I am proud and honoured that the book was made with his support and I hope it will do him justice."
