A Nice Pair: David Bowie

It’s Sunday which means we’re back with A Nice Pair, our weekly book and vinyl series. As we celebrate Pride here in Perth, we figured David Bowie would be a great feature so we’re pairing the book Biographic Bowie by Liz Flavell with his album Aladdin Sane.

Biographic Bowie is part of the Biographic series by publisher Ammonite Press. The series presents a new way of looking at artists and thinkers through infographics. This particular book takes a comprehensive look at David Bowie’s life and death, his achievements, fashion, relationships and inspirations. It’s a nice switch from the typical musician memoir and presents a good range of lesser-known facts about this cultural icon. For example, did you know that Bowie once considered becoming a monk? That a plane he was travelling on once was struck by lightning? That he was at one point the president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men? That he was an avid reader, sometimes reading a book a day? These quick facts are further enhanced with additional context and the aforementioned infographics, making it easily digestible in a fun but informative format.

Aladdin Sane was Bowie’s sixth studio album and features one of the most iconic images of him. It’s the first album he wrote after achieving stardom and features a predominantly glam rock sound with an edge. It features hits such as The Jean Jeanie and Drive-In Saturday.