A compilation of quotes that have come back to haunt the Stardusted one, in his own words. (And for someone else's profit, too.) A biography based on Bowie's handling of the media? We all know Bowie lies to the press (or used to), daily (and justifiably so). It's hard to separate fact from fiction.

This is an intriguing view of David Bowie's life when on tour in 1978. It is an view most people do not get to see. It is especially interesting to see who he was then prior to his mega wealth, but at a very popular point in his career. A must for an avid David Bowie fan.

"Backstage Passes" is the story of what happened when two people who had little class or morals (David Bowie and his then-wife Angela) suddenly became very famous and very rich. What happened is that they indulged their lowest animal passions and lived lives that went out of control. All of this would be just one more trashy rock star biography except that Angie Bowie seems to have no regrets and no insights about any of this, even years after the facts. Some show biz bios try to gloss over the ugly excesses of their subjects or attempt to rationalize their moral slovenliness and show that on SOME level that the subject isn't exactly proud of all that he/she did. Not this one. The author just throws it all in the reader's face with a "So what? Who cares?" attitude. This is what made this book fascinatingly vulgar, and unintentionally hilarious. I shared it with a friend and he found it to be one of the funniest things he had read in months. The author seems to be daring ANYONE to object to anything she or David Bowie did with what she must consider to be nothing but moldy and irrelevant moral reservations. I have news for the author: the parade has passed her by. People are tired of irresponsibility, substance abuse, wasteful living, promiscuity, and cheating. David comes across as whacked out on drugs and in need of critical psychiatric help during the period this was written. Did anyone around him-all of those hanging on to his fame and celebrity-bother to help help him? Doesn't look like it from the evidence here. Luckily, he did clean up his life years later-no thanks to his worthless "friends ".

Ya know, you have to take this book with a grain of salt. She is his ex-wife after all. But aside from the occasional "And did I mention this embarrasing sexual problem David has" and the long list of "But look at all the people who wanted to sleep with me!", this was a highly entertaining book. It was well written and witty. Who knows how many of the stories are true, although I have read other Bowie biographies and can confirm from other sources that a good many of them are. Also, it's nice to get the point of view of someone who was so close to it all. Go ahead and read this book. I recommend reading it in conjunction with a very thoroughly researched "Alias David Bowie" or some other such biography in addition. But this really was an enjoyable book. I intend to make several of my friends read it, just for pleasure although they have no particular interest in Bowie. It's just a fun read.

This is the best book on David Bowie I've read, and I've read them all! It is also valuable for being the only firsthand account. Filled with lots of details and ancedotes (not gossip!) about Bowie, it is a very honest portrait of a marriage, a hilarious if often disturbing look into the Bowies' life at home and on the road.

There's very little that seems to be put in the book merely to "shock." Rather it offers candid views of Iggy, Keith, Rod, Marianne, and yes, David and Mick. Angela unabashedly tells you what it was like to be in the middle of Swinging London and the 1970s British Glam-rock scene. She provides a vivid and highly credible portrayal of a loose and decadent time.

Angela is surprisingly modest throughout, since she clearly respects the talent she keeps company with. She never credits herself with David's accomplishments, but does state the obvious in noting she was often his biggest creative spark and contributed significantly to the launching of his career.

Ignore the other reader's comments, the one who doubts Angie's extraordinary life. "There are more things in heaven and earth...." Besides, how can you trust a reader who uses phrases like "more dirtier?" Buy Backstage Passes and decide for yourself. You won't find a better or more unsparing perspective than Angela Bowie's.

Henry Edwards was one of the 22 American journalists flown to London in 1972 especially to interview David and witness the Ziggy Stardust hoopla - even if he does not disclose in the book that the journalist whose 15-minute conversation with David is described in detail is himself. Tony Zanetta worked with David in the 70's as a MainMan employee and got a co-writing credit in this book for his collaboration. This may not be the best book ever written about Bowie (David Buckley's "Strange Fascination" will probably never be surpassed), but it does provide a fascinating angle of his life, especially in the so-called Ziggy years. And most of all, it is the book the movie "Velvet Goldmine" was based on. The book is never credited in the movie, but you just have to read it to realize the connection. Also, the book includes exclusive Polaroid pictures taken by Dana Gillespie which are quite revealing. There is a candid picture of David Bowie and Mick Jagger in 1974 which is literally worth a thousand words!

I found this book to be quite entertaining. True, it tends to focus on Bowie's betrayal of a variety of people who helped his career take off, but there's enough valuable information about his development as artist. Many of the colorful individuals who surrounded Bowie down the years are vividly described, as well as many interesting happenings. The black & white photographs (some quite rare) are truly impressive. The index, discography and bibliography of books and articles make a valuable contribution. It takes the Bowie story up to 1986, and the gossipy writing style is entertaining enough. Not a classic work, but not bad either.

Being a huge fan of David Bowie, I enjoyed this book emensly, getting a good peek at what Davids life was like. Very easily written, I found the book very hard to put down. When I was finished I was left with a feeling of satisfication and a very stronge (stronger?) desire to meet this man. Very highly recommended for a DB fan.

David Bowie is a brilliant genius with brilliant music, but this book does not quite follow in his footsteps. While it includes many good songs, the singles included just are not his best songs. But that's not my real complaint. My real complaint is that it is only notated and not in tablature. Many people have trouble reading a book that has no tablature, and ( i can read music, but tab much faster) many are delayed by having to turn one into the other. Also the piano, guitar 1, guitar 2, etc. parts are not well enough defined. I wish that they would make an effort a more extensive collection of this legend, but also that they would please do a tablature version. I know i would certainly buy it, being a collector and all. I'm not saying don't buy it, just beware before you do that it's not in tablature.

I was browsing for Bowie bios & I recognized this title & decided to help out & review it.

The rating of three stars goes as follows: I would give the full 5 stars except subtract 1 because of the narrow scope of the book and subtract another one simply because it is rather old - only taking the reader up to 1984, as the title says.

This book is almost 100% discography & other historical career facts. It does contain a very brief written bio & trivia section. But most of the 186 pages are dedicated to listing in detail every item ever released in conjunction with Bowie's music / performing career. It is very thorough & complete with any information a collector could want for this time period, including promotional & even bootleg items. Also included are tour dates from the indicated period, though I cannot say with certainty they are 100% complete. In addition, all projects by other artists are listed which involved any participation from The Thin White One (producing, writing, backup vox, etc.).

Quite excellent, really. But again, it is strictly a reference & not for reading per se. And it does not reflect any of the considerable Bowie output post-1984. I don't know if there might be a "companion" reference to follow up this one, but at this point it would be mighty swell if there is.

Also, my copy lists the author's last name on the cover, the spine, & inside as "Kamp".

So if you're looking for some Davy Jones stuff or all those "Heroes" versions or...."Blue Jean" on 12" (I know you're out there!), then this is for you!

Bowie and Immerman posit that "credit for shaping ... strategy (of Cold War) belongs to President Dwight D. Eisenhower." By the end of the Truman Administration, the initial confrontational phase of the Cold War was reaching a steady-state. The Truman Administration set up the basic framework for the American side, but due to crises (foreign and domestic) had not had the time to set longer-term goals. Eisenhower, a man used to a more bureaucratic, organized approach, followed Truman and institutionalized much of what the Truman Administration had begun. Bowie and Immerman continually suggest how Eisenhower personally oversaw what (rhetorically) comes across as a kind of revolutionary retooling of America's Cold War response. But their own thorough use of documentation continually shows what took place under Ike was a bureaucratic evolution, one building upon the Truman Administration's somewhat sparse initial outline. The authors' penchant for "Ike cheerleading" (and to a lesser extent, "Truman diminishing")is a continuous distraction, and is a direct outgrowth of the overblown thesis (or maybe its the other way around.) It is unfortunate that Cold War historiography often gets caught up in this sort of "partisan" behavior, particularly concerning Eisenhower. Ike was unjustly considered to be mediocre for so many years that a large number of historians felt it necessary to resurrect his image. The resurrection has succeeded; Ike certainly had a very good grasp on foreign policy issues and deserves to be ranked among the more effective Presidents ever. But there simply isn't the discontinuity between the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations that is suggested here. An example: the authors go to great detail in showing how the Eisenhower Administration reexamined the goals of the Cold War struggle; they are impressed by the thoroughness and awareness of Ike and his people. What is the result? Containment, the same exact guideline devised under Truman and carried forward to the end of the struggle. NSC-68, which did temporarily occupy the Truman Administration, had mostly been abandoned by Truman by the end of his second term, as seen by the downward revisions of projected military budgets. (If Truman actually believed that 1954 would be the "time of maximum danger," would he have been more concerned with budgetary matters than defense?) The authors point out these things, and yet continue to claim extraordinary achievements under Eisenhower. Ike deserves his due as Cold Warrior (mainly for organizing the bureaucracy and pushing foreign aid), but he was not radically different than what came before him. The authors' research suggests this -- its unfortunate that they seemingly didn't realize what their own research suggested.

So the concept of this book is pretty cool. I know I'm always wondering what the meaning is behind a song's lyrics. *Especially* Bowie's songs because the guy is such an intellectual that a lot of his stuff is filled with crazy references to random philosophers and artists, and a fan like me rarely knows what he's talking about. Jean Genet anyone? Kahlil Gibran?

Unfortunately, this book does a really crappy job of telling the stories behind the song. The author really doesn't know much at all; basically I learned nothing new in this book that I didn't know already. You can find out the same kind of information by browsing around FAQs on the net, or going to alt.fan.david-bowie and asking a question of the people there.

The only thing saving this book from a 1 is that it has pictures, and it takes you along the whole discography path (well, up until 20 years ago at least), and what can I say, Bowie's had an interesting life. If you buy this, though, be prepared to return it... it doesn't do much of a job of serving up the stories.

Before I even owned this book, I knew it didn't deserve 5 stars. A David Bowie book written in 1999 should go a little further than 1980's Scary Monsters! Many Bowie fans will argue that Scary Monsters was his last good album. This statement is prejudice and wrong. Chris Welch needs to realize that 3 pages covering nearly 20 years of music does not earn a book 5 stars. If the publishing would have been delayed a few months, Welch could have written another sentence about "Hours...". However, Welch makes the reader think about things that would usually be overlooked by other biographers. Yet sometimes Chris can get carried away. (My main reason for giving it 3 stars.) For instance, the review of "Fame" is out of control. Now, "Fame" is a great song and deserves a lengthy review since it's David Bowie and John Lennon together. Unfortunately, this certain review is filled with garbage and nonsense. That's the only real bad review in the book that I can recall. Every Bowie fan should still buy it, and there are some quite enjoyable pictures in there as well!

Well, not every David Bowie song, despite what the title says. No, this covers Bowie's RCA period, from Space Oddity up to Scary Monsters. Each section is done per album, and before the song-by-song analysis and description, there is a detailed history of Bowie's life at that point. Bowie's better-known collaborators are given decent print, especially Mick Jagger, Marc Bolan, John Lennon, and Tony Visconti, as are influences such as Kraftwerk for his three Berlin albums, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 for Space Oddity, and George Orwell's 1984 for the Diamond Dogs album. Bowie's inter-album projects, such as his movies and plays are also included in the history. And there's a good deal given about his early life before Space Oddity.

There are certain insights into Bowie concerning his art. He even said, "I don't like a lot of my albums... I like bits and pieces. A bit of it works exceedingly well and a lot of it only works." This mirrors somewhat my feeling on his lesser albums, such as Diamond Dogs and Young Americans, but not on his spectacular ones such as Hunky Dory, The Man Who Sold The World, or Low.

Many of the stories behind the song are revelatory for those not in the know. I wasn't totally aware of the 1984-theme that pervaded Diamond Dogs apart from the "1984" song, but "We Are The Dead" (in 1984, Winston Smith's words to Julia before they are caught by the Thought Police) and "Big Brother/Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family" are two other songs that contribute to that.

To take an example from my favourite 1970's Bowie album, Hunky Dory, I learn that Bob Dylan wasn't exactly happy with the playful tribute "Song For Bob Dylan" because Bowie referred to him by his real name and described his voice akin to "sand and glue." Ouch! However, as I learned, the song was actually calling for Dylan to go back "to writing songs for the 'revolution' and to scour his scrapbook for inspiration if the muse is not upon him."

And it's peppered with colour and black-and-white photos. At the end of the book, a chronology from 1947 to 1980, and a singles and album discography are included, with song listing and album issues and reissues included, as was done under Ryko for the albums being explored in this book.

In the end, Bowie is revealed as a great songwriter, wordsmith, and artist whose creativity knows no bounds, even if he did alienate many of his fans with his shifting musical directions.

After reading the excellently written and extremely well researched "Alias David Bowie", this book is a farce. It has lots of nice big pictures from the Serious Moonlight tour and that is an acceptable reason for buying it. But the person writing it did very little research, and basically has no idea what he's talking about. If you want to know about David Bowie, read "Alias David Bowie" or even "Backstage Passes", which is written by his ex-wife, and which I really quite enjoyed. If you just want some nice David pics, feel free to pick this book up, though. But don't expect any content.

Like the previous review, the pics are great but the writing is inane. Great if you are interested in Bowie during the Serious Moonlight period, but that's about it.