Why Bowie Matters

Dr Will Brooker thought he could decode and unlock Bowie by dressing like him, listening to the music he liked, read his books and visit the places he lived. That’s all very well but with the best will in the world, there are so many other factors that no amount of research will reveal. Wandering round present day Beckenham to soak up the atmosphere that influenced Bowie is like wandering around Disneyland and musing what the swamps were like before they built it.I don’t have an issue with Brooker applying a scholarly approach to Bowie, but I just found the conceit that if you replicate aspects of Bowie you will gain some great insight into a very complex and private man. He reiterates that he’s not trying to be David Bowie, but keeps on about being interviewed by the world’s media including such TV heavyweights as Eamonn Holmes!!!!The big difference was that Bowie was an innovator and not an imitator.

An excellent, highly insightful and very well written study. Along with his previous book Forever Stardust (also excellent) this is to my mind one of the very best Bowie books out there. Don't be put off by the fact that Will Brooker is a professor, as this is far from being a dry academic study. In fact he's my kind of academic, clearly a very knowledgeable man but one who feels no need to wave his knowledge in your face at every opportunity. By contrast, he uses theory sparingly and only when it deepens understanding of his point. The result is an exceptionally good, intelligent read, and I *thoroughly* recommend it.

Reading this book is, like having a clever informed friend, take you on a journey of their connection to Bowie. There's a constant snobbery when it comes to books written about our musical heroes especially by 'super fans', and though Dr. Brooker is an academic, the theory he applies is weaved in to his prose in an accessible way. I am a big Bowie fan but I by no means is his biggest fan. This book reveals our hero as a man, a determined man who had the talent but also the drive and imagination to succeed. Bowie matters because he never gave up. A great lesson to us all.

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I am a third of the way though this book and I have enjoyed toe content so far. Really good points about his influences and his personal research.