Chameleon, entertainer, actor, and iconoclast. It would be difficult to think of a rock star who has had a more varied and influential career than David Bowie. From Nirvana – who covered the ‘Man Who Sold The World’ on MTV Unplugged – to Nine Inch Nails, the list of bands and musicians who have been influenced by Bowie reads like an A to Z of popular music. But Bowie himself has skilfully and consistently maintained his credibility as the most innovative performer of his generation by staying one jump ahead of the many who seek to imitate him.
While his many artistic incarnations are known, few know David Bowie the man. One of his closest friends, the late Mick Ronson, once famously described him as “everybody and nobody.” What he implied is that Bowie is an enigma even to those who know him, a man who appears to change his muse as easily as he changes his clothes. But it is precisely this attitude that is responsible for Bowie's success. However diverse he becomes you can be sure that Bowie’s albums always push at the envelope of technology, innovation and artistry.
As this book will show, through its exploration of his diverse body of work, the only real constant factors in his career are his incredible voice, his imagination and his supreme talent for artistic reincarnation.
