David Bowie (Lives of the Musicians)

by Robert Dimery

A relentless innovator, scoring chart hits while simultaneously incorporating radical and ground-breaking elements into his work.

As with all great pop stars, Bowie's image changed with almost every new album release. This appetite for reinvention, both musically and visually, saw him dubbed the 'chameleon of pop'. But Bowie's influence extended well beyond his discography and make-up drawer. His androgynous qualities and public statements on his sexuality proved liberating for those who were uncertain about their own. Lives of the Musicians: David Bowie covers the years he spent struggling to find the right artistic outlet to the dramatic breakthrough in 1972 with Ziggy Stardust - and afterwards, the excessive lifestyle that nearly cost him his sanity. It continues with his artistic rebirth in Berlin during the late Seventies, the mainstream success he achieved with Let's Dance in 1983 and the artistic price that he paid for it.

• ISBN10: 1786278006
• ISBN13: 9781786278005
• Publish Date: 4 February 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Laurence King Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 168
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

David Bowie is a new bio about the iconic entertainer/artist . Due out 9th Feb 2021 from Laurence King publishing, it's 156 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

The biography follows Bowie's life and career chronologically from his childhood through his chameleon-like stylistic reinventions and the personas he created. The biographer does a good job of avoiding info-dumping dry facts and provides a lot of back-story anecdotes and behind-the-scenes glimpses of Bowie's interactions and friendships and collaborations.

It's difficult to overestimate the cultural impact Bowie had on modern music and art. The author spends a fair bit of content delineating his artistic periods and documenting them, but the book doesn't only talk about Bowie in a creative vacuum. I also enjoyed very much the stories behind his amazing collaborations with other musicians, actors, and visual artists, and the massive body of work he left behind with so very many talented people.

There isn't much here about his personal life, marriages, or family life with his children. For readers looking for the TMZ version of Bowie's life or conquests, this book will be something of a disappointment. For readers looking for a concise and succinct music history of Bowie and how he shaped modern music through his collaborations, this will be much more appealing.

There are some useful appendices included in the book: a chronological discography, abbreviated bibliography, and cross referenced index. There are also a number of publicity and press photos included, but very little personal photography.

Four stars. This would also be a good support text for classroom instruction on modern music history, culture, and allied subjects.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.