BOOK REVIEW: THE AGE OF BOWIE by Paul Morley

BOOK REVIEW: THE AGE OF BOWIE by Paul Morley

Simon & Schuster Australia
August 2016
Hardcover, $45.00
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

Biography / Entertainment

8/10

Respected music writer Paul Morley, when contacted for comment on the passing of pop icon David Bowie in January of this year, turned off his phone and rapidly decided that he did, indeed, have a lot to say about the man who influenced not only popular music, but also our society at large – so much to say, in fact, that only a full book could encompass all his thoughts.

Here, then, is 470 pages of Morley remembering David Bowie, what the man and his music meant to his own life, and how he impacted the world in which we live.

“Everyone has their own Bowie,” Morley suggests, claiming that in the chameleon-like nature of his career, “even Bowie himself was only a contributor.” Even though Morley is a self-confessed Bowie obsessive, and his book is as much a love letter the man and his work, these are not overly bold claims: the outpouring of grief following Bowie’s death is testament to the impact he had on so many.

The Age Of Bowie may well be the only way Morley could make sense of his idol’s death, and it should help many others, even the less obsessive, come to terms with what Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, Jareth the Goblin King and all his other personas meant to them as well.

Category: Book Reviews