As we approach the tenth anniversary of David Bowie’s passing, the plethora of Bowie-related books just keep coming; heaven knows what next year will look like. Here we pick three of the Bowie highlights from the last few months, each providing fascinating new details into Bowie’s life, and each put together with passion and love for the artist. Whilst many Bowie books simply re-hash the same story over and over, each of these publications takes the reader somewhere new, uncovering new facets of the Bowie story, whether through photographs or sheer detail.
First up we have Simon Goddard’s sixth instalment in his acclaimed Bowie Odyssey (Omnibus) series, one year/one book at a time. This years focusses on 1975, a year that should have been a career high with Bowies’ first starring role in a major film, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and chart-topping success around the globe. But the year ended on a very different kind of high with Bowie descending into a bottomless pit of cocaine addiction and becoming enveloped with his new alter-ego, the Thin White Duke.
As with Goddard’s previous books in the series, he crafts a vivid and detailed account of the year, not just the detail of Bowie’s year but situates this in the context of what was happening in 1975. So, alongside Bowie taking the role of Thomas Jerome Newton, in The Man Who Fell to Earth, we are reminded that Telly Savalas was all over our screens as Kojak, that whilst Bowie performs on the Cher TV show, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McClaren open their infamous SEX shop on the King’s Road and, tragically, Britain was witnessing the rise of Margaret Thatcher!
At the heart of this book is a year that many would describe as one of Bowie’s most creative, despite the dark witchcraft and seemingly endless supplies of white nose powder. 1975 saw Bowie release the Young Americans album in the spring before travelling to New Mexico to film The Man Who Fell to Earth movie, in the summer and subsequently record the seminal Station to Station album in the autumn. He also managed to score his first UK no.1, ‘Space Oddity’ (reissued). If you compare this to many artists today who take several years to record a single album, you get the idea that this was one hell of a year. Sadly, Bowie himself remembers little of the year due to his drug intake so the story is told drawing on a rich tapestry of Bowie anecdotes, interviews and sources. Despite the heaviness of Bowie’s year, Goddard finds time for equal measures of poignancy, humour and adoration as he gives a sharp and thorough account of 1975. The fact Goddard is regularly invited to speak at the annual Bowie convention speaks volumes about the esteem he, and his books, are held in by Bowie fans.
Next up we have, part one, of Chris O’Leary’s magnum opus Rebel Rebel – The Songs of David Bowie 1963-1976. To describe this book as meticulous would be an understatement, the level of detail contained is perhaps only second to Nicholas Pegg’s The Complete David Bowie, and that is high praise indeed!
The Bowie legacy is ever-growing, but at the last count was just over 450 songs recorded over a half century. Many have become known across the globe, but many have only been released, officially at least, since his death and some of these remained unreleased for a reason! This new edition offers a huge number of updates which considers the plethora of box sets and demo’s which have seen the light, officially this time, since Bowie passed away in 2016. This edition is significantly enhanced by a wealth of new information shedding light on his creative process and, sometimes to a lesser degree, the man at the heart of these songs. It is all-too easy to forget that Bowie’s career was a slow-burner, it takes 120 detailed pages before we even get to ‘Space Oddity’, which many casual listeners think of as his first single – they’re wrong. But this book isn’t for the casual reader, it is aimed at the die-hard fans who need to know how many times ‘All the Young Dudes’ has appeared on a Bowie album and what TV shows ‘Wild is the Wind’ was performed on.
Like Goddard’s 1975, Rebel Rebel situates Bowie’s music with the times. O’Leary explores Bowie’s ever-growing obsession with novels, notably Orwell, Bradbury and Burroughs and how these all informed his music. Here’s hoping O’Leary finds the time to update part 2, Ashes to Ashes, which covers the second half of Bowie’s illustrious career.
Lastly, we are treated to one of the most stunning and possibly heaviest books in the Bowie canon. David Bowie by Denis O’Regan showcases O’Regan’s unprecedented access to Bowie as a photographer and follows his previous photo book of Bowie’s 1983 tour Ricochet. O’Regan was so well respected that he was invited along to the whole of the 1983 Serious Moonlight tour, 1987’s Glass Spider tour as well as photographing 1978’s Newcastle City Hall show, 1992’s Tin Machine Tour and one of the magnificent 1995 Wembley Arena Outside tour shows. But whereas most photographers were allowed limited access to Bowie, O’Regan was granted full access whilst Bowie traversed the globe, capturing the combination of Bowie as a regular bloke (if that is possible) and Bowie on stage as a global superstar
Whilst many of the images have become ubiquitous it is the wealth of off-stage and previously unseen photos which offer a real glimpse into who Bowie was, and in particular what a wicked sense of humour he had. Images of Bowie wearing a red nose, years ahead of red-nose day, or getting off a plane carrying his ghetto-blaster or sitting around listening to his Walkman, eating a roast dinner, or sporting a dodgy 80’s hair cut whilst wearing a lilac dressing gown!! These stunning photos are beautifully presented in this hard-back 12” 270+ page book, and are accompanied by O’Regan’s first-person account of their time together.
https://www.accartbooks.com/uk/book/david-bowie-by-denis-oregan/
Each of these three books offers a different glimpse into the work of Bowie, whether its 1975 drug-addled actor, late 60’s struggling musician or late 80’s global superstar. But what each share is the loving detail that each of the authors has managed to capture. If you’re a Bowie fanatic you will want/need all three but for the casual fan, take your pick you wont be disappointed by any of them.
