(�THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE BOWIE BOOK EVER PUBLISHED�/
�12.95/ �REYNOLDS & HEARN�/ ISBN 1-903111-14-5)
Retailing at the surprisingly cheap �12.95, and weighing in at 446 pages, everything you ever wanted to know about David Bowie will be made a joy-to-discover herein. Nicolas Pegg wrote this as a culmination of a lifetime�s interest in his work, going for the �ALL or nothing� device, having tastefully dredged-up every little situation of significance, tracing the ongoing Bowie saga from day one (from his B.day on Jan 8th 1947), right up to 1999�s Net Aid performance, and even last year�s comeback Glastonbury headline slot. Not a bible to be read from front to back: back to front - it stylishly takes the form of a reference �dictionary,� chronicling every single single, album, gig, movie, stint-as-producer etc. etc. Bowie�s ever undertaken. For his most-famous works, you�re near treated to a line-by-line analysis of his lyrics, which arguably quashes the cryptic man of mystery in David, but reaps dividends if you�ve always wanted to know how Ashes To Ashes� �I�ve never done good things, I�ve never done bad things� feeling of inadequacy stemmed from his ongoing drug habit back when the 70�s unceremoniously saw the 80�s flash by, why David felt he couldn�t musically deal with his brother Terry�s suicide before �Jump They Say� (David says, �When you�re living on the edge, and you really want to explore areas that haven�t been explored or places you�re not supposed to go�), or how �Space Oddity� became a world-conquering metaphor for insignificant, personal alienation. Detailed to a DB, I bet it�s become an indispensable guide for the man himself for when he wants to remember what really was thrashing his genius while he was living the high-lighted Low-life in Crack City. �The Complete David Bowie� � it more than does what it promises on the cover, that benefits vibrantly from the ginger-haired slickness of Bowie in full, �Earthling�-era Technicolor. It�s well worth 13 quid� but seek it out in any good library first (Beverley Library, prepare to be inundated with �Reservations�!). (Steve Rudd.19/4/01)
FOR THE painting/sketch/doodle ARTIST in HIM� www.bowieart.com
otherwise have a gander at www.davidbowie.com www.algonet.se/~bassman www.bowiewonderland.com www.teenagewildlife.com www.tonyvisconti.com www.5years.com