Bowie at 65: Bookshelf

Looking to read something a bit more substantial about Bowie? How about this:


This is Dave Thompson's To Major Tom, a made-up correspondence between a teenager and Bowie which sees the Dame's career twists reflecting the growing pains of a teenage boy. You can also get it for your Kindle, if you're into that sort of thing.

Angie Bowie has printed a couple of autobiographies, which focus on her time married to Dave. Because, after all, what else would she have to write about? The best one is the earlier, 1981's Free Spirt, which sees Ange claim the credit for mostly everything Bowie ever said or did, and for inventing bisexuality. Oh, and in a spectacular fail for the literature editing business, also makes room for some of Angie's poems.

If you'd like something a bit more considered,Low in the 33 and a third series is a lovely piece of writing about a brilliant album. That's also Kindle-ised.

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Bowie at 65: The Tomorrow Person

A diversion into 1970s kids TV now, and the cross-pollination of ideas between Thames TV's Blake's Year Sevens series The Tomorow People, and Bowie:



[Buy: The Complete Tomorrow People on DVD]

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Bowie at 65: Since I was Six

One of the many tributes-in-song to Bowie. The Brian Jonestown Massacre's (David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six:



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Bowie at 65: Bowie saves 6Music

6Music is currently celebrating Bowie's birthday, as well they should, after he helped fight off closure:



Alright, it's actually Adam Buxton. But still... Bowie would have done it himself, if he could have.

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Bowie at 65: Bowie at 50

With acres of newstime to fill, it's easy to get attention for an anniversary these days - BBC News did a big splash about Steven Hawking's birthday a few minutes ago, which is a lot of attention for a very minor character from The Simpsons, when you think about it.

It wasn't so easy to get a full-on carnival celebration back in the last century, which makes this - BBC Two clearing an evening to mark Bowie's 50th birthday - almost as much of an achievement as the some of the events it chronicled.



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Bowie at 65: The Man Who Sold The World

Yes, yes, you're sick to death of the Lulu cover of the Man Who Sold The World. How about Suede doing it, though?



Bowie still, I think, holds the record for the man who has appeared on the cover of the NME the greatest number of times, including the time he shared the front page with Brett Anderson. "One day, son, all this will be yours" ran the coverline. Anderson has yet to collect.

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Bowie at 65: Twin Peaks

Anybody fancy a quick smattering of Bowie-related tat to mark the great man's 65th birthday? Too bad.

First up, here's Dave stinking up the screen in the Twin Peaks movie, Fire Walk With Me:



You know that something's gone incredibly wrong when one one of your key star's performance is so bad that he's given the "Tom Baker in the Five Doctors" treatment. Even although he actually turned up.

At the time, the claim was that David Lynch had planned a run of Peaks movies, with Bowie's character taking on the central role, but the idea was junked after seeing the rushes.

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This week just gone

The most-read No Rock Bowie stories of all time:

1. Telegraph announces Sting and Bowie plan to launch lapdance boats
2. Evan Davis blames David Bowie for killing the economy
3. Daily Star claims Ziggy Stardust will play Coachella
4. Video: David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails, together, live
5. Bowie considers early retirement
6. Carla Bruni covers Bowie
7. Bowie does Spongebob
8. Bowie joins Polyphonic Spree
9. Pixies to reform, open for Bowie. In 2003
10. Bowie's face up for sale

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These releases came from the week before Christmas crept over the country:


Charlotte Gainsbourg - Stage Whisper

Download Time Of The Assassins



The Music - The Last Dance Live

Download The Last Dance



X - The Unheard Music