David Bowie


Book Description

This value-priced reissue of Bowie at 75 (2022) celebrates the beloved rock star with expert commentary and hundreds of images. Hendrix, Joplin, Mercury…few rock artists garner as much adulation after passing as they did in life. In David Bowie, veteran rock journalist Martin Popoff examines the rocker’s extraordinary life through the lens of 75 significant career achievements and life events, guiding you through all 27 studio albums, as well as a curated selection of earworm singles. But Popoff delves deeper to reveal the events that helped chart the course of Bowie’s career: Guest appearances with artists like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Tina Turner, and Queen Key performances such as Live Aid Collaborations with an incredible roster of guitarists that included Mick Ronson, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nile Rodgers, and Earl Slick Film and television roles Romance…and more. From his eponymous 1967 debut LP and ending with Blackstar, released just two days before his death, Bowie is regarded as one of the most influential musicians and performers of the previous five decades, during which he constantly redefined himself. In examining 75 touchstones, Popoff gives you a unique view of Bowie’s career arc from folkie to the breakthrough single “Space Oddity” to his flamboyant glam rock alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, and beyond. Illustrated with live concert and candid offstage photography and more, this book is a stunning tribute to one of the most influential and admired stars in rock history.




Backstage Passes


Book Description

Having outlasted the gag order that was part of their divorce agreement, Angela Bowie produced this memoir of her turbulent life with David.




Spider from Mars


Book Description

A band member recounts his experience with David Bowie during the early years: “Those interested in rock history won’t want to miss this.” —Publishers Weekly For millions of people, David Bowie was an icon celebrated for his music, his film and theatrical roles, and his trendsetting influence on fashion and gender norms. But until now, no one from Bowie’s inner circle has told the story of how David Jones—a young folksinger, dancer, and aspiring mime—became one of the most influential artists of our time. Drummer Woody Woodmansey’s Spider from Mars reveals what it was like to be at the white-hot center of a star’s self-creation. With never-before-told stories and never-before-seen photographs, Woodmansey offers details of the album sessions for The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardustand the Spiders from Mars, and Aladdin Sane: the four albums that made Bowie a cult figure. And, as fame beckoned and eventually consumed Bowie, Woodmansey recalls the wild tours, eccentric characters, and rock ‘n’ roll excess that eventually drove the band apart. A vivid and unique evocation of a transformative musical era and the enigmatic, visionary musician at the center of it, with a foreword by legendary music producer Tony Visconti and an afterword from Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot, Spider from Mars is a close-up portrait of David Bowie, by one of the people who knew him best. “Wild tours, behind-the-scenes drama, and album sessions . . . revealing.” —USA Today “An engaging behind-the-scenes look at an early phase in the life of one of rock’s most triumphant figures.” —Booklist




Bowie's Piano Man


Book Description

Pianist Mike Garson was David Bowie's most frequent musician, on record and onstage throughout Bowie's life. They played over a thousand shows together between 1972 and 2004, and Garson is featured on over 20 of Bowie's albums. Bowie's Piano Man is the first-ever biography of Mike Garson, written by Clifford Slapper, a fellow pianist who also played for Bowie, working closely with him on his last-ever television appearance. The book explores the special relationship between Garson and Bowie, beginning with the extraordinary story of how Garson went overnight from playing in tiny jazz clubs to touring the world on arena rock tours with Bowie after one short phone call and audition. A noted master of jazz, classical, and other genres, Garson has composed thousands of original works and has taught countless students, acting as mentor to many. Bowie's Piano Man explores his roots and childhood in Brooklyn, his ongoing strong presence in the jazz world, and his collaborations with a huge range of other artists in addition to Bowie. Touring and recording with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails are given in-depth attention, as is his approach to teaching and creating music. Explored in detail in particular is his commitment to improvisation as a form of composition, a manifestation of his more general dedication to living in the moment and always moving forward – a trait he shared with Bowie.




Bowie on Bowie


Book Description

Over the Rainbow Selection 2016 David Bowie has been one of pop music's greatest interviewees since January 1972, when he famously risked career death by asserting to Melody Maker that he was gay. Although he wasn't yet a big star, it was a groundbreaking moment. And over the years, Bowie has failed to give an uninteresting interview. It might be said that he has habitually used the media for his own ends, but he has paradoxically also been searingly honest, declining to ever be coy about his ambitions, his private life, and even his occasional ennui. Bowie on Bowie presents some of the best interviews Bowie has granted in his near five-decade career. Each interview traces a new step in his unique journey, successively freezing him in time as young novelty hit-maker, hairy hippie, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, plastic soul man, fragile Germanic exile, godfather of the New Romantics, eighties sellout, Tin Machinist, and, finally, permanently, artistically reborn beloved elder statesman of challenging popular music. In all of these iterations he is remarkably articulate. He is also preternaturally polite—almost every interviewer remarks upon his charm. The features in this book come from outlets both prestigious (MelodyMaker, Mojo, New Musical Express,Q, Rolling Stone) and less well-known (The Drummer, Guitar,Ikon, Mr. Showbiz). In all cases, Bowie enables the reader to approach the nerve center of his ferociously creative and prolific output.




David Bowie


Book Description

The most significant collection of David Bowie images ever assembledA luxurious opus published to coincide with the 5th anniversary of David Bowie's deathImpeccably printed, sumptuously designed, large format hardback bookTop photographers, iconic images, wonderful surprisesMajor marketing campaign, including radio, print and online promotionsEvents with photographers, including on-stage Q&As and book signingsTie-in to exhibitions at galleries, globally David Bowie: Icon gathers the greatest images of one of the greatest stars in history, into a single, luxurious volume. The result is the most important anthology of David Bowie images that has ever been compiled. Featuring work from many of the greatest names in photography, this book showcases an incredible portfolio of imagery, featuring the iconic, the awe inspiring, the candid and the surprising.Follow the visual evolution of Bowie over the years, through the lenses of his famous photographer collaborators.Photography and text by: Gerald Fearnley, Justin de Villeneuve, Terry O'Neill, Masayoshi Sukita, Norman Parkinson, Kevin Cummins, Janet Macoska, Lynn Goldsmith, Geoff MacCormack, Alec Byrne, Brian Aris, Andrew Kent, Vernon Dewhurst, Gavin Evans, Fernando Aceves, Barry Schultz, Ray Stevenson, Chalkie Davies, Markus Klinko, Greg Gorman, John Scarisbrick, Denis O'Regan, Mick Rock, Philippe Auliac, Steve Schapiro. When David Bowie passed away on 10 January 2016, the world lost an icon. And yet, his legacy lives on. From his humble origins as a teen musician in the 1960s up until the very end, David Bowie's music, lyrics and provocative performances inspired not only his generation, but every generation that followed. While his sound and style underwent several alterations throughout his career, two facts never changed. He was an innovator, and photographers adored him. This book pays homage to this once-in-a-lifetime icon.




David Bowie's Low


Book Description

"One day I blew my nose and half my brains came out." Los Angeles, 1976. David Bowie is holed up in his Bel-Air mansion, drifting into drug-induced paranoia and confusion. Obsessed with black magic and the Holy Grail, he's built an altar in the living room and keeps his fingernail clippings in the fridge. There are occasional trips out to visit his friend Iggy Pop in a mental institution. His latest album is the cocaine-fuelled Station To Station (Bowie: "I know it was recorded in LA because I read it was"), which welds R&B rhythms to lyrics that mix the occult with a yearning for Europe, after three mad years in the New World. Bowie has long been haunted by the angst-ridden, emotional work of the Die Brucke movement and the Expressionists. Berlin is their spiritual home, and after a chaotic world tour, Bowie adopts this city as his new sanctuary. Immediately he sets to work on Low, his own expressionist mood-piece.




David Bowie


Book Description

A sumptuously photographed tribute to the spirit of reinvention that marked the iconic performing artist's career explores his groundbreaking music albums and living embodiments of vivid characters from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke to evaluate his ongoing cultural influence.




Who Was David Bowie?


Book Description

Find out how this English singer-songwriter and actor who constantly reinvented his look and sound became one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century in this new book from the #1 New York Times bestselling series. David Bowie, born David Robert Jones, wasn't just an incredible singer; he had an amazing talent for keeping his fans happily guessing about what he would do next. He alternated between musical genres with ease, established a successful acting career, and even created a legendary persona--the rocker alien Ziggy Stardust--that people still dress up as for Halloween each year. Author Margaret Gurevich takes readers through David Bowie's life and shows exactly why he is an inspiration to many people and is celebrated all over the world.




Bowie


Book Description

Follow every step of David Bowie’s career; from Ziggy Stardust to Tin Machine, from “Space Oddity” to Let’s Dance to Blackstar, in Bowie: The Illustrated Story. David Bowie released an incredible 27 studio albums, beginning with his eponymous 1967 debut and ending with Blackstar, released just two days before his untimely death in January 2016. Widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians and performers of the previous five decades, Bowie demolished what were thought to be the limitations of stagecraft in rock music, as well as proving it possible for an artist to constantly--and successfully--redefine himself. As a result, Bowie has been credited with inspiring genres as disparate as glam and punk rock. This sharply written and gorgeously designed retrospective follows Bowie’s career from the folkie baroque rock of his debut, to his breakthrough single “Space Oddity,” and on to his flamboyant glam rock alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. Author Pat Gilbert continues through Bowie’s soul phase, his electronic Berlin trilogy, his massive pop success in the 1980s, and his turn to electronica in the 1990s, as well as subsequent tours, notable performances, collaborations, and accolades. Nearly every page is illustrated with stunning concert and candid offstage photography, including gig posters, 7-inch picture sleeves, concert ticket stubs, and more. The result is a fitting tribute to one of the most influential and admired stars in rock history.