Born in Sunshine, Australia, the son of Tom and Evelyn Bowery, he attends Sunshine Primary ft Junior Schools, Sunshine West High School and Melbourne High School. He then studies fashion design at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

In 1980 Leigh moves to London and finds a job at the night-shift at Burger King, The Strand. In 1982 he meets Trojan (né Guy Barnes), and he moves with him into a council flat In London's East End - Leigh sells clothes at Kensington Market.

Leigh performs at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, as part of Performing Clothes Week, in 1983 . Then travels to New York and Japan to present his clothes in fashion shows. In 1984 he performs for the first time (with Trojan) at Hall Mary Club, London. Leigh meets Boy George and dancer and choreographer Michael Clark at club night "Circus".

On January 31, 1985, with club entrepreneur Tony Gordon, opens "Taboo" In Leicester Square, where he meets Nicola Bateman, who begins to work for Bowery on his designs. In 1986 Angus Cook introduces Bowery to painter Lucian Freud at Taboo; "Taboo" closes down; Trojan dies of an accidental drug overdose.

In 1987, Leigh returns to Australia for the first time as a member of Michael Clark's dance company in "Because We Must", Melbourne Town Hall. Then Leigh performs in the window of Parco department store Tokyo, wearing a different costume each day;he performs In John Maybury's short film Read Only Memory and at the Serpentine Gallery, London, presenting a week-long solo performance at the Anthony d'Offay Gallery. London. Leigh is diagnosed H I V positive.

Leigh begins to model for Freud in 1990, and appears as a prostitute In the video for Boy George's single Generations of Love, directed by Baillie Walsh; art directs the video for Massive Attack's single Unfinished Sympathy. He begins to collaborate on videos with New York artist and filmmaker Charles Atlas, a long-time collaborator with Michael Clark.

On May 13, 1994, Leigh marries Nicola Bateman. The same year Leigh dies in Middlesex Hospital, London; soon after, he is buried in Australia.