Titles

Bowie - A Biography

Marc Spitz
Crown, October 2009
ISBN: 978-0307393968

Following Bowie's life from his start as David Jones, a struggling mod kid from suburban Bromley, England, to his rise to rock 'n' roll aristocracy as David Bowie, author and journalist Marc Spitz reveals how much Bowie's music has influenced other musicians and forever changed the landscape of popular culture. Along the way, Bowie takes an in-depth look at the culture of postwar England, the youth movements of London in the sixties, and the sex and drug-fueled glitter scene of the early seventies when "Ziggy Stardust" was born. Then comes Bowie's re-branding in the 80s and his current role as elder statesman of alternative culture. In putting each incarnation of David Bowie into the context of its era, a cultural time line is created that encompasses every person and pivotal event in the life of one of rock's most influential players.

Based on a hundred original interviews with those who have known him best, including ex-wife Angie Bowie, former Bowie producer and manager Kenn Pitt, Siouxsie Sioux, former Warhol Factory artists, and Peter Frampton, Bowie offers not only a portrait of one of the most important artists in the last century, but also an honest examination of a truly revolutionary human being, and the unique impact he's had across generations.

Author Bio

Marc Spitz is a former Senior Writer at Spin magazine, the author of the novels Too Much, Too Late, and How Soon Is Never, the co-author of the oral history We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of LA Punk (with Brendan Mullen), and the author of Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day. His writing on music has also appeared in Nylon, the New York Post, the Washington Post, and GQ. Spitz lives in New York City.