Book Club: Bowie: A Biography
Marc Spitz on one of his heroes
By Erin Clements
Author:Bryan Smith
Had you always thought about writing a Bowie bio?
I didn't ever think that I would write a book about David Bowie, actually. I didn't really feel like I was up to it. It's that whole Wayne's World thing—I'm not worthy. I could handle Green Day, because its part of my generation. I can remember when their first record came out. But Bowie's the top of the mountain.
In the introduction, you mention an incident that convinced you to make Bowie the subject of your next book. Was that true?
I was walking home from the Cedar Tavern, which is this old New York literary hangout, and literally I walked into David Bowie. Friends of mine have read the book and said, "That didn't really happen, right? You can tell me." And I'm like, "No it really happened. He appeared, like the Virgin Mary on a tortilla, except it was David Bowie on 10th Street in front of the Chase bank." And I said, well that's the sign that you're looking for—whatever it takes, you're going to commit yourself to it.
What kind of preparation was involved?
I read probably close to 100 books. I carried these books like I was in junior high again, in a knapsack with a laptop. The best things about writing the book were meeting some of these people in person and travel. You can't write a book about David Bowie from New York City. He's this international figure. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but I also think it's the best thing I've ever written.
What made you decide to include the dozen or so personal anecdotes that end many of the chapters?
There's no rule that says if you're writing a serious biography you have to be a robot. And there had to be a way of dealing with the fact that I'm a true disciple of Bowie. I'm just not capable of writing an antiseptic, clinical book. So I thought, we'll treat them as interludes, palate cleansers, comic relief. The other part was to have a sort of calling card, something that people can talk about. Otherwise, what if it's just a mediocre book about David Bowie? At least now it's a mediocre book with some funky anecdotes that might give you a chuckle or make you say "this guy went through what I went through."
Why is now a good time to revisit the conversation on why he's significant?
Well, the obvious answer is that he's sort of this phantom figure now. He was so prolific, through even the '60s, and through the '70s, one milestone album after another. And even in the '80s and '90s, he was always looking to be engaged and excited, whether it was business or the Internet or the Britpop movement. And then he unfortunately had a health scare after releasing a very strong album and having what I believe was the highest-grossing tour of 2004. And then, nothing. You see him in flashes on the red carpet or on YouTube, but you don't see him the way you used to see him. When someone's absent, people tend to remember the brilliant stuff—Michael Jackson, case in point. So there's a pristine quality to his myth.
How did the process of writing the book change your perspective on Bowie?
You get really close to any subject, and when you happen to hear their music on the radio, they get in your head. A good writer doesn't get paranoid and knows that the earworms will go away. You'll stop hearing the songs in your dreams, but you will leave with a fondness for the subject. I read every interview he ever gave to anyone, 1962 onward. I had a library in my apartment, piling up books and magazines on furniture. I became a fan of those little flag-size Post-its. There were thousands of them, and only I understood them. It was like A Beautiful Mind, when they find him in the garage. But I'm not quite sure I got to know him since I didn't interview him—and that was a conscious decision.
Why didn't you?
When I did the Green Day book, they authorized it, and then they deauthorized it because they thought an unauthorized book would be "cooler." I had a conversation with Billie Joe, and he was really psyched, but then I was basically fending for myself to get into the shows. In their defense, they got so huge during that process—they went from being a big band to being a U2-size band. But that really disoriented me. So I was just like, okay, I'm not going to go after that again, but I have to interview people and read everything and watch every piece of film and basically become a Bowie figure in my head so I can understand him—it had a Citizen Kane element to it—you become a detective a little bit.
How difficult was it getting access to Angie Bowie, Peter Frampton, Ken Pitt, and the rest of the subjects for the hundred or so interviews you did do?
It was harder than I thought because a lot of these people have talked to [journalists] in the past and been burned by them—I had to win the trust of a lot of people. Some knew my byline and they were like "Okay, I will talk to you, because I know that you've done good work and are a straight shooter. And then there were people who didn't know me from a hole in the wall and were like, "Mark Spitz, the swimmer?" Every key person who I got had their own demands, but they're like targets. You see on The Sopranos, the FBI had the family on the wall and they have the capo and the underbosses; I had a wall like that, and if I got someone, I'd cross them out with an X.
What do you think is Bowie's most underrated contribution to pop culture?
Musically speaking, because he's such a beautiful physical specimen and such a fashion plate and the music is so dramatic and theatrical, he doesn't always get credit for being a wonderful writer. If you listen to his lyrics, he was a poet. He could probably go toe-to-toe with someone like Paul Simon or Paul McCartney. He's underrated as a writer and as a thinker.
What up-and-coming artists today are most influenced by Bowie?
Lady Gaga, hands down. Kanye, but he's approaching '76 Bowie when he starts saying stupid shit in the press and it upstages the brilliant work he's doing. I did try to get Kanye into the book, and his manager said "sounds intriguing, but we're busy conquering the world." But there continue to be cultural and sexual and intellectual revolutionaries... he's there.
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