Bowie PDF Book from JFK247

had a big effect on the whole family. It was very, very
sad.’
Numbed by this family tragedy, seeking to
escape the tabloid press, David stayed holed up in
Switzerland for most of the spring of 1985. Around
May, Julien Temple had a crew ready for a video
shoot for ‘Loving the Alien’. Bowie, the reliable
showbiz trouper, did not turn up. When they finally
met up there was no haughtiness or grand excuses:
David told him he simply couldn’t do it. ‘He was very
down. He was open about how he felt, about not
feeling vibed up to be able to do the video.’
If David was in a mental tailspin, it would be fevered
activity that pulled him out of it. By June, Temple had
finally managed to obtain backing for Absolute
Beginners, his film based on Colin MacInness’s
1958 novel. Temple pursued Bowie subtly for the
role, but David proved an easy sell, enthused by the
role of ad exec Vendice Partners. His character’s
name was a reference to Vance Packard, author of
The Hidden Persuaders, the definitive fifties work
on media manipulation – in fact, the movie
encapsulated most of Bowie’s obsessions, including
the fifties, the birth of the youth culture that had
liberated him, the notion of being British, rather than
American, and also the advent of modern marketing,
the ‘branding’ that David understood so intuitively.
‘David was hugely into this, the simultaneous birth of
the teenager, and the creation of a market,’ says
Temple. ‘And like everything he does, there was total
commitment.’ Bowie learned to tap-dance for his