Bowie: A Biography - JFK247

More documents

Recommendations

Info

technically living? Do you age? Do you have money and hair? Do you see pictures of Jap girls in synthesis? <strong>Bowie</strong> made me consider existentialism before I even knew what it meant to be alive (and before I ever really thought about my death). It was much easier to reckon with the Grease soundtrack and put off the inevitable, but I already knew even then that <strong>Bowie</strong>’s music had permanently changed me.
Page 3 and 4: Introduction T he idea was not even
Page 5 and 6: photo book, David Bowie has not wri
Page 7 and 8: that I do own and am currently tryi
Page 9 and 10: ‘David, David, David,’ I do ove
Page 11 and 12: apartment building and the Modern G
Page 13 and 14: unlikely was it that someone as sup
Page 16 and 17: Prologue I T WAS THE SECOND NIGHT o
Page 18 and 19: darker end of Simon & Garfunkel or
Page 20: energized in a way that Fashion Roc
Page 23 and 24: World War II, this home is static.
Page 25 and 26: more likely to develop the disease.
Page 27 and 28: claim the baby but was rebuffed by
Page 29 and 30: with him,” Hilda Sullivan said,
Page 31 and 32: early ’46. Once his legal papers
Page 33 and 34: all accounts, he became the greates
Page 36 and 37: 2. T HE HIGH STREET in the southern
Page 38 and 39: West Indian immigrants settled and
Page 40 and 41: imagination and, eventually, by ste
Page 42 and 43: ads rounds the panel out). Dinah in
Page 44 and 45: Terry may have been the one who pro
Page 46 and 47: he finds a patch of yellow marigold
Page 48 and 49: white tube, with its small screen a
Page 50 and 51: British space program mission heade
Page 52 and 53: mother’s generation, once again,
Page 56 and 57: 3. D AVID SEEMED TO EVOLVE quickly
Page 58 and 59: searching, Dean was American rock
Page 60 and 61: This was no Danny Kaye. “A wop bo
Page 62 and 63: Richard and rock ’n’ roll. Give
Page 64 and 65: of hardworking industrialized drone
Page 66 and 67: soon the British newspapers got in
Page 68 and 69: ’n’ roll enthusiasts at Brom Te
Page 70 and 71: shop, where David first took a part
Page 72 and 73: David had an instinctive feel and a
Page 74 and 75: Through the Beats, David was also o
Page 76 and 77: art room. It was a safe space in wh
Page 78 and 79: Playboy interview in ’76. “It d
Page 80 and 81: secretary’s office, where the inj
Page 83 and 84: 4. D AVID LEFT BROMLEY in the summe
Page 85 and 86: that at least if he spent a year or
Page 87 and 88: for young rockers like David, Georg
Page 89 and 90: Summers, later of the Police), Geor
Page 91 and 92: clean lines nowadays. All these fri
Page 93 and 94: course, lost in translation. “Whe
Page 95 and 96: Hampstead for a session. They recor
Page 97 and 98: The Soho rhythm and blues clubs lik
Page 99 and 100: and wrote him a letter.” David to
Page 101 and 102: the instruments bleed, the backgrou
Page 104 and 105:
5. D AVID JONES WASN’T the only s
Page 106 and 107:
front door and you were in this hug
Page 108 and 109:
and later, of course, obsessed fans
Page 110 and 111:
(suggesting his time with the Wizar
Page 112 and 113:
eferring to him routinely as “the
Page 114 and 115:
It was with the Manish Boys that Da
Page 116 and 117:
the Manish Boys, he knew he’d fou
Page 118 and 119:
men of a certain generation still h
Page 120 and 121:
“My first memory of him was meeti
Page 122 and 123:
something to thrill over, but a col
Page 124 and 125:
een in. At least they reflected his
Page 126 and 127:
sell his star and began looking for
Page 128 and 129:
playing, the set that we’d set of
Page 131 and 132:
6. K ENNETH PITT WAS already nearin
Page 133 and 134:
Warmly lit, comfortably appointed a
Page 135 and 136:
transcend the London pop scene and
Page 137 and 138:
Scorsese’s Bob Dylan documentary,
Page 139 and 140:
of the worst lines I’ve ever writ
Page 141 and 142:
in the company. I personally loved
Page 143 and 144:
sexy or romantic without using hack
Page 145 and 146:
away; he would also do the mid-peri
Page 147 and 148:
ambition. “I want to act,” he a
Page 149 and 150:
Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catc
Page 151 and 152:
like the Doors, Love and the aforem
Page 153 and 154:
troubled man to the ground. When he
Page 155 and 156:
meditation was not a pop fad but ra
Page 157 and 158:
“She’s Got Medals” (which is
Page 159 and 160:
egard to his family seemed to be vi
Page 161 and 162:
edgy literature like Jean Genet’s
Page 163 and 164:
view of the fact that his earnings
Page 165 and 166:
designer Natasha Korniloff has said
Page 167 and 168:
Bohemians, an elegy for Edie Sedgwi
Page 169 and 170:
for the glittery early 1970s and to
Page 172 and 173:
7. “M OD WAS FINISHED, then the h
Page 174 and 175:
pursed. She had a dancer’s body,
Page 176 and 177:
featured both dressed in powdered w
Page 178 and 179:
mother and father, were relegated t
Page 180 and 181:
invited and there were just a handf
Page 182 and 183:
that seemed authentic and no longer
Page 184 and 185:
thing in taking a photo is the beau
Page 186 and 187:
Hutchinson in Feathers. “She was
Page 188 and 189:
much a rock ’n’ roll sort of ch
Page 190 and 191:
complete the Feathers section of
Page 192 and 193:
considered to be an essential requi
Page 194 and 195:
often dialogue-free images meant:
Page 196 and 197:
eally made an impression on an audi
Page 198 and 199:
Once it was finished, Lee, the tech
Page 201 and 202:
8. T HE THERE TUNS PUB, in the Lond
Page 203 and 204:
the UK pop world, signed to his thi
Page 205 and 206:
eighties and nineties, a reaction t
Page 207 and 208:
transactions were frowned upon but
Page 209 and 210:
according to different people’s r
Page 211:
I also wish to mention that Randy J
Page 214 and 215:
three years and you want to treat t
Page 216 and 217:
was in my room had one of those old
Page 218 and 219:
A self-described “Europhile,” A
Page 220 and 221:
indispensable to Calvin and Lou as
Page 222 and 223:
were good together. You can’t hav
Page 224 and 225:
put off by Pitt or in emotional nee
Page 226 and 227:
contended appearance, his father to
Page 228:
arrive at that warmer and happier p
Page 231 and 232:
had great ears for singles, and to
Page 233 and 234:
on. It was already a hit in my view
Page 235 and 236:
have just died the same as the firs
Page 237 and 238:
“His name was never again mention
Page 239 and 240:
scrubbed the tile in the fireplace.
Page 241 and 242:
Tremlett. “To use the legal cerem
Page 243 and 244:
In the old days, we had a fireplace
Page 245 and 246:
door and talking her into it. Mick
Page 247 and 248:
says. “Never had any idea. When y
Page 249 and 250:
That spring Alice Cooper, and his D
Page 251 and 252:
when I got involved with David’s
Page 253 and 254:
1970. “Musically it was a great g
Page 255 and 256:
was to whine a lot and resist passi
Page 257 and 258:
down. Whether this was a temporary
Page 259 and 260:
and cleanly. In Defries’s eyes it
Page 261 and 262:
landscape was Visconti’s. The ban
Page 263 and 264:
upset upon first hearing it but cam
Page 265 and 266:
cover of their “Have You Seen You
Page 267:
converted into a parking lot. Haddo
Page 270 and 271:
ase any rational fear on. While he
Page 272 and 273:
“He was wide eyed,” Oberman say
Page 274 and 275:
show. Bowie was met in Los Angeles
Page 276 and 277:
was ill and down on his luck, but l
Page 278 and 279:
writers Oberman had reached out to,
Page 280 and 281:
when compared to the lives of his n
Page 282 and 283:
tantamount to tracing a line in the
Page 284 and 285:
paid off all the outstanding debt h
Page 286 and 287:
events that caused something amazin
Page 288 and 289:
There was no room for a piano in hi
Page 290 and 291:
will remain the stuff of best-of li
Page 292 and 293:
place of my own. Having said that,
Page 294 and 295:
12. I N THE SUMMER OF 1971, at La M
Page 296 and 297:
Mother’s residence. “What’s t
Page 298 and 299:
or offstage. So David very much cla
Page 300 and 301:
further with their scene. That we w
Page 302 and 303:
as Ziggy Stardust. Buretti, backed
Page 304 and 305:
perfect for the label and as a resu
Page 306 and 307:
Wearing a floppy black hat and bagg
Page 308 and 309:
was more practical and that they we
Page 310 and 311:
couldn’t take it anymore. Iggy wa
Page 312 and 313:
doing. You’re just acting crazy,
Page 314:
and unpleasant international activi
Page 317 and 318:
had the notion to fashion together
Page 319 and 320:
autobiography to accompany the sing
Page 321 and 322:
London (in this case ordered by boo
Page 323 and 324:
Bowie as well. Magazines were produ
Page 325 and 326:
story was picked up by proper tablo
Page 327 and 328:
interviews and he was a favorite of
Page 329 and 330:
provocative at the same time. He ma
Page 331 and 332:
in a certain mood and I will say th
Page 333:
“David sensed there was something
Page 336 and 337:
pedestrian, fat, skinny, tall or sh
Page 338 and 339:
theme of transformation from Lady S
Page 340 and 341:
makeup thing by being told the big
Page 342 and 343:
set plagued with technical problems
Page 344 and 345:
Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, th
Page 346 and 347:
felt and still feel that there was
Page 348 and 349:
taking photos of Bowie almost immed
Page 350 and 351:
searching for a guitar move to call
Page 352 and 353:
everything? By Friday? So I wrote t
Page 354 and 355:
Crondston into a small furnished ap
Page 356 and 357:
fatigue and desperation become sexy
Page 358 and 359:
and quips. The event has passed int
Page 361 and 362:
15. I T’S HARD TO BELIEVE NOW, wi
Page 363 and 364:
anticipation. While in New York and
Page 365 and 366:
his Spiders were a leaner, fiercer
Page 367 and 368:
eing America, there was much made o
Page 369 and 370:
to read. The forty-six-person U.S.
Page 371 and 372:
said ‘David would like to have a
Page 373 and 374:
witnessed at the E. Club and the fe
Page 375 and 376:
his late father’s employer, Dr. B
Page 377 and 378:
challenging if not utterly dubious.
Page 379 and 380:
“They weren’t just launching a
Page 381 and 382:
Power had been released in early 19
Page 383 and 384:
perfectly with the loss of equilibr
Page 385 and 386:
Beetle, plays a mean hand of canast
Page 387 and 388:
going on. At the time I had this gi
Page 389 and 390:
a pair of briefs. While the Bowies
Page 391 and 392:
organization or the scene. Defries
Page 393 and 394:
MainMan’s attentions as a solo ar
Page 395 and 396:
sacking offense.” John Hutchinson
Page 397 and 398:
them up Ziggy style. The album’s
Page 399 and 400:
ehind to grab his breasts. It was t
Page 402 and 403:
16. A LTHOUGH THERE’S NO WAY to m
Page 404 and 405:
he bargained for.” Cocaine helped
Page 406 and 407:
hotel, he said to me, in very heate
Page 408 and 409:
technique, as he informed Burroughs
Page 410 and 411:
unattractive at the time.” Diamon
Page 412 and 413:
capers,” Bowie warns on the track
Page 414 and 415:
introduced him to Michael Bennett,
Page 416 and 417:
silk-screened paper skyscrapers, ea
Page 418 and 419:
flared up and hit the mirrors just
Page 420 and 421:
ought something entirely new to the
Page 422:
child, most of it via eight-track t
Page 425 and 426:
indeed “gone disco,” causing ma
Page 427 and 428:
eligiously. And it was no wonder th
Page 429 and 430:
grabbed their instrument, intent on
Page 431 and 432:
much in tune with a generation who
Page 433 and 434:
AM, with him patiently demonstratin
Page 435 and 436:
the only one I know who has appeare
Page 437 and 438:
cast in any direction.” Cavett fi
Page 439 and 440:
Defries figured that Mick Ronson wo
Page 441 and 442:
first half of the decade. Bowie dec
Page 443 and 444:
though the agreement remains confid
Page 445 and 446:
espond to such portrayals and condu
Page 447 and 448:
een Angie Bowie. It’s never been
Page 449 and 450:
that the profound and undeniably se
Page 451 and 452:
avenue. It’s very calm. It’s a
Page 453 and 454:
And be the lintel blest And bless t
Page 455:
is where I’m destined to be Billy
Page 458 and 459:
uncommon even for a rich rock ’n
Page 460 and 461:
ecall. “And there were pieces of
Page 462 and 463:
the emptiness of some awful cold bl
Page 464 and 465:
that it started to bubble and smoke
Page 466 and 467:
shoot, away from his dealers and ha
Page 468 and 469:
to know more about your partner, or
Page 470 and 471:
exclusive club in L.A.” Both Keit
Page 472 and 473:
an array of candles, symbols and bu
Page 474 and 475:
at him at all, almost as if they’
Page 476 and 477:
Michael Lipp man was reportedly bla
Page 478 and 479:
“Iggy is very stupid,” Lou Reed
Page 480 and 481:
foul in the air at the moment is to
Page 482 and 483:
“Berlin trilogy” as that record
Page 484 and 485:
“I probably didn’t really reali
Page 486 and 487:
Like Low it’s aimed squarely at t
Page 489 and 490:
19. I N JANUARY OF 1975 Brian Eno,
Page 491 and 492:
he would bring to his next band. As
Page 493 and 494:
about and decided I had to start wr
Page 495 and 496:
instrumentation. “Then, as now, t
Page 497 and 498:
movement with an air of art and enn
Page 499 and 500:
had any misgivings concerning its a
Page 502 and 503:
20. T HE NEIGHBORHOOD ALONG the Hau
Page 504 and 505:
created. “It had larger spaces. I
Page 506 and 507:
e. There was a lot of distrust near
Page 508 and 509:
thereby reinforce the lyrics. “I
Page 510 and 511:
ecame obvious why they were so frie
Page 512 and 513:
during the New York City power fail
Page 514 and 515:
Bolan was killed in a car accident
Page 516 and 517:
for a version of Prokofiev’s Pete
Page 518 and 519:
autobiography, published in 1993, p
Page 520 and 521:
ather, David tried to talk to Frank
Page 522:
composing avant-garde pop singles.
Page 525 and 526:
movies rolled into one.” Perhaps
Page 527 and 528:
produced with Eno), the David Byrne
Page 529 and 530:
the Human League’s or Gary Numan
Page 531 and 532:
slight and balding but worked that
Page 533 and 534:
also produced by Eno) and the bass-
Page 535 and 536:
Nomi happily ceded the spotlight to
Page 537 and 538:
the musicians in on what he would b
Page 539:
party, at One Fifth Avenue in Green
Page 542 and 543:
anywhere else. “Companies can mes
Page 544 and 545:
me banned from school. I was a stra
Page 546 and 547:
images of the Nazi Blitzkrieg, and
Page 548 and 549:
Bowie liked the move and used it la
Page 550 and 551:
one of the album’s four singles,
Page 552 and 553:
to London to view the body cast of
Page 554 and 555:
Lennon, as it did to any fan of roc
Page 556 and 557:
its review. “But the point is mor
Page 558:
emove all competition, old (the Sto
Page 561 and 562:
than Huey Lewis or Pat Benatar or M
Page 563 and 564:
stuck in adolescent crisis. They wa
Page 565 and 566:
Michael Jackson, Blondie and Prince
Page 567 and 568:
shoulder. I was doing lots of acid.
Page 569 and 570:
e ashamed to say you do not love it
Page 571 and 572:
from the bar circuits thanks to hig
Page 573 and 574:
Pretenders and U2). Bowie, Van Hale
Page 575 and 576:
“He’s buried and he’s dying a
Page 577 and 578:
I remember seeing the “Let’s Da
Page 579 and 580:
and could not be David Bowie. By th
Page 581 and 582:
Within a year John Travolta and a l
Page 583 and 584:
Also very strong, it suggests what
Page 585 and 586:
maneuvering his hair dryer) and id
Page 587 and 588:
Millions of Bowie fans and tabloid
Page 589 and 590:
dockyards, is the camp-off that Bow
Page 591 and 592:
for the ten minutes that it took to
Page 593 and 594:
pal Hoggle; the bog gives off a del
Page 595 and 596:
actually gives a toss for what’s
Page 597 and 598:
wail of “Let’s Dance”). “Ob
Page 599 and 600:
stinging reviews seemed to snap Bow
Page 601:
manages to keep a straight face whi
Page 604 and 605:
ut as he celebrated his forty-first
Page 606 and 607:
Tin Machine was guitarist Reeves Ga
Page 608 and 609:
make and didn’t feel like his aud
Page 610 and 611:
angular sharp-edged indie rock soun
Page 612 and 613:
shot a video clip with Gus Van Sant
Page 614 and 615:
Stadium on April 20, 1992. He took
Page 616:
God bless you,” as the surviving
Page 619 and 620:
holding her own. If you didn’t kn
Page 621 and 622:
eady to experiment with the kind of
Page 623 and 624:
their mutual celebrity stock. He ga
Page 625 and 626:
producer of his biggest-selling alb
Page 627 and 628:
that Morrissey, an avowed fan of Ro
Page 629 and 630:
punk and New Wave, came as those in
Page 631 and 632:
calms you down. He’s always in th
Page 633 and 634:
tone for Microsoft’s Windows prog
Page 635 and 636:
On “We Prick You,” Bowie demand
Page 637 and 638:
Peter Schwartz rounded out the line
Page 639 and 640:
wasn’t having it.” When the Out
Page 641 and 642:
including Dennis Hopper, who was am
Page 643 and 644:
‘What’s securitization?’” P
Page 645 and 646:
Nobody thought of this. Then they s
Page 648 and 649:
27. L IKE THE MOD MOVEMENT followin
Page 650 and 651:
etrayed a certain measure of shame
Page 652 and 653:
carry around with him in his bag.
Page 654 and 655:
ambition, however, he didn’t care
Page 656 and 657:
eally cool if we were all on the sa
Page 658 and 659:
Bowie had been using a personal com
Page 660 and 661:
Miller, an editor at Wired magazine
Page 662 and 663:
vaguely campy speech. Bowie looked
Page 664:
women like shit. Good Marc had to c
Page 667 and 668:
important and seldom-acknowledged t
Page 669 and 670:
director (for another stylistic hom
Page 671 and 672:
Diamond Dogs. We used ‘Baby’s o
Page 673 and 674:
iconography from the Berlin Wall to
Page 675 and 676:
Bowie and Gabrels would record the
Page 677 and 678:
seemed the first instance of Bowie
Page 679 and 680:
the years since producing Scary Mon
Page 681 and 682:
worried about him. I think his fath
Page 683 and 684:
hard to continue to avoid reading i
Page 685 and 686:
and an offer to headline the second
Page 687:
New Romantic and Britpop, Bowie dre
Page 690 and 691:
immortal “Pablo Picasso” (alrea
Page 692 and 693:
extended well into 2004 and Bowie w
Page 694 and 695:
had been a success, according to re
Page 696 and 697:
an episode from season two of the c
Page 698 and 699:
poet Ken Nordine, the Polyphonic Sp
Page 700 and 701:
excited about it,” Tibbitt explai
Page 702 and 703:
for me, the chance to design a Bowi
Page 704 and 705:
in upstate New York. He doesn’t e
Page 706 and 707:
Savage asking me when discussing th
Page 708 and 709:
this David Jones, I wrote a book fo
Page 710:
it’s all right to miss him. But r
Page 714 and 715:
BOOKS Anger, Kenneth. Hollywood Bab
Page 716 and 717:
York: Grove Press, 1996. Meyers, Pa
Page 719 and 720:
PERIODICALS Bromley Kentish Times,
Page 721:
WEBSITES bowiewonderworld.com teena
Page 724 and 725:
weren’t they? Jim keeps me from g
Page 726 and 727:
McElfresh and everyone at budgettra
Page 728 and 729:
Copyright © 2009 by Marc Spitz All
show all

Bowie: A Biography - JFK247

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?