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Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie
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“A superb biography” William Boyd
“(A) bold and enlightening exploration of Bowie's later career. Sensitive, witty and often very affecting” The Times
“A genuine must buy, as rich in critical appraisal as it is in personal history *****” Classic Pop
“An engrossing, entertaining and informative read” Classic Rock
A major new biography of David Bowie on the 10th anniversary of his death, exploring the second half of his career from commercial failures to critical rebirth in the 21st century.
When David Bowie died on 10 January 2016, aged 69, his death was greeted with the greatest display of public mourning since Princess Diana three decades before.
Twenty-five years before, Bowie appeared to be washed up. His Eighties career had been a slow descent into self-parody, his attempts to diversify into hard rock with the had been disastrous, and the art-rock music with which he had made his name was badly out of fashion. The Thin White Duke needed a miracle if he was not only going to be able to assume his rightful place at the top of the rock music firmament, but even to continue his career. And a miracle – a resurrection from the dead – is precisely what happened.
The Second Coming of David Bowie is the first biography of Bowie that tells the full and candid story of what happened in between those two apparently unbridgeable points. With new and exclusive interviews with the musicians, filmmakers and cultural figures who worked with and befriended Bowie throughout this period, Lazarus is the definitive account of the previously overlooked and fascinating latter half of a great and distinguished career. A career that climaxed with his final masterpiece, Blackstar, and the unprecedented theatrical flourish of his departure from the stage as he passed into legend.
“A superb biography” William Boyd
“(A) bold and enlightening exploration of Bowie's later career. Sensitive, witty and often very affecting” The Times
“A genuine must buy, as rich in critical appraisal as it is in personal history *****” Classic Pop
“An engrossing, entertaining and informative read” Classic Rock
A major new biography of David Bowie on the 10th anniversary of his death, exploring the second half of his career from commercial failures to critical rebirth in the 21st century.
When David Bowie died on 10 January 2016, aged 69, his death was greeted with the greatest display of public mourning since Princess Diana three decades before.
Twenty-five years before, Bowie appeared to be washed up. His Eighties career had been a slow descent into self-parody, his attempts to diversify into hard rock with the had been disastrous, and the art-rock music with which he had made his name was badly out of fashion. The Thin White Duke needed a miracle if he was not only going to be able to assume his rightful place at the top of the rock music firmament, but even to continue his career. And a miracle – a resurrection from the dead – is precisely what happened.
The Second Coming of David Bowie is the first biography of Bowie that tells the full and candid story of what happened in between those two apparently unbridgeable points. With new and exclusive interviews with the musicians, filmmakers and cultural figures who worked with and befriended Bowie throughout this period, Lazarus is the definitive account of the previously overlooked and fascinating latter half of a great and distinguished career. A career that climaxed with his final masterpiece, Blackstar, and the unprecedented theatrical flourish of his departure from the stage as he passed into legend.
- GenresBiographyMusicNonfiction
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2026
About the author
Alexander Larman
13 books112 followersAlexander Larman is an author, historian and journalist. After reading English at Oxford, from where he graduated with a First, he ghost-wrote and edited various memoirs and biographies, including the late artist and flâneur Sebastian Horsley’s Dandy In The Underworld. His involvement with the book led Horsley to say ‘there is no man in London more capable of genius – or a flop – than Alexander Larman’.
He began his own writing career with Blazing Star (Head of Zeus, 2014), a biography of the 17th century poet and libertine Lord Rochester, and followed this with Restoration (Head of Zeus, 2016) a social history of the year 1666, and Byron’s Women (Head of Zeus, 2016), an ‘anti-biography’ of the poet Lord Byron and the significant women in his life. His next book, The Crown in Crisis (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020) was a revisionist history of the abdication saga. It was selected by the Times, Daily Mail and Daily Express as one of their best books of the year and led to significant international media coverage of the new revelations about the event.
As a journalist, Larman regularly contributes to titles including The Observer, The Critic, the Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and The Chap, for which he serves as literary editor. He lives in Oxford with his wife and daughter.
He began his own writing career with Blazing Star (Head of Zeus, 2014), a biography of the 17th century poet and libertine Lord Rochester, and followed this with Restoration (Head of Zeus, 2016) a social history of the year 1666, and Byron’s Women (Head of Zeus, 2016), an ‘anti-biography’ of the poet Lord Byron and the significant women in his life. His next book, The Crown in Crisis (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020) was a revisionist history of the abdication saga. It was selected by the Times, Daily Mail and Daily Express as one of their best books of the year and led to significant international media coverage of the new revelations about the event.
As a journalist, Larman regularly contributes to titles including The Observer, The Critic, the Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and The Chap, for which he serves as literary editor. He lives in Oxford with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 13, 2026
Overall decently researched with a few minor errors that only a native New Yorker would cringe at (his home wasn't in Tribeca, nor SoHo).
I also felt the author positioned his opinion and critique of some of Bowie's later albums too front and center. We get it, we know you dislike Earthling.
I also felt the author positioned his opinion and critique of some of Bowie's later albums too front and center. We get it, we know you dislike Earthling.
February 17, 2026
Because this book is purely about Bowies life and work from the 90s onwards I found it a very welcome change from the usual tired biographies that tend to just focus on the so called golden years. It's now up there with my favourite Bowie books and beaten only by Strange Facination, Bowie in Berlin and When Ziggy played guitar. A great read and much enjoyed by me.
Review of advance copy
I really enjoyed this one, which I read on the back of the BBC Lazarus documentary which I watched the previous week. The author is a bit younger than me, and I think that one’s relationship with Bowie and his music is much influenced by how and when you first encountered him and his music. For me it was the horizon changing moment that Starman with the blue guitar played on Lift Off With Ayesha on ITV in 1972. I was 11. I was bought into the spell at that moment and like Larman sought for enduring affirmations or repetitions of the thrill and chill of such iconic moments through the eighties, nineties and noughties and it felt as though those moments were few and far between….. until Next Day / Blackstar. Lazarus has really made me revisit the albums of those times and with Larman’s guidance, to listen with new ears. A really valuable friend of a read.
April 21, 2026
Alexander Larman ‘Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie’ – uskrsnuće prije smrti
Pišući prije dva tjedna o ovogodišnjoj knjizi Roberta Polita “After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan’s Memory Palace” koja se bavi kasnom fazom karijere Nobelom nagrađenog kantautora i njegovim pronalaženjem nove vizije nakon podugačkog razdoblja kreativne krize spomenuo sam kako je otprilike istovremeno objavljena i knjiga o Davidu Bowieju slične tematike nazvana “Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie” autora Alexandera Larmana. Također sam natuknuo da bi upravo ona mogla biti temom sljedeće književne recenzije i evo nas ovdje.
Zanimljivo je da obje knjige počinju u istom razdoblju, 1991. godine, kad su oba umjetnika bila na niskim točkama svojih karijera. Dylan je tada primao Grammy za životno djelo govoreći o tome kako “moguće je postati toliko oskrnavljen u ovom svijetu da će te napustiti vlastiti majka i otac,” što je svakako zvučalo kao vapaj u bezizlaznoj situaciji u kojoj nije na obzoru bilo umjetničkog povratka koji će doživjeti do kraja desetljeća, a Bowie je tavorio u svom neslavnom pokušaju oživljavanja svoje zapinjuće karijere kao pjevač u ne pretjerano uspješnom bendu Tin Machine.
No putanja njihovih povrataka u panteon popularne glazbe ipak je drugačija. Dylan je nadahnuće pronašao na svojoj beskonačnoj turneji i ono praktički od albuma “Time Out of Mind” do danas nije presešuilo, dok se Bowiejev put sastojao od više traženja i albuma koji su kvalieteom varirali sve dok pred kraj života nije objavio dva megauspješna izdanja nakon povratka iz desetogodišnje mirovine, “The Next Day” i svoje za mnoge ultimativno remek-djelo, mračni pozdrav od života “Blackstar” koje će izaći samo par dana prije njegove smrti.
Larman, inače autor povijesnih biografija, strastveni je obožavatelj Bowieja, ali daleko od toga da je nekritičan prema radu svog glazbenog idola. Njegovi stavovi su snažno izraženi, pa se tako katkad čini suviše strogim prema određenim albumima. Primjerice u “Earthling” nalazi vrlo malo toga što bi se moglo nazvati pozitivnim, a po mom mišljenju strog je i prema “Hours…”, pogotovo prema njegovom najavnom singlu “Thursday’s Child”.
S druge strane, neka izdanja koja se inače ne smatra naširoko Bowiejevim klasičnim djelima, poput recimo soundtracka “Buddha of Suburbia”, možda pretjerano hvali. Ali unatoč tome s mnogo citata iz razgovora s brojnim Davidovim suradnicima (Mike Garson, Reeves Gabrels i Gail Ann Dorsey posebno su zastupljeni), mora se priznati da stvara prilično točnu sliku Bowiejevog “drugog dolaska”, kako je ovo razdoblje nazvao u naslovu svoje knjige.
Osim rada na albumima, Larman prati i druge Bowiejeve aktivnosti poput njegovog skupljanja umjetničkih djela, pa i bavljenja kritikom i novinarstvom na tom području, njegov pionirski ulazak u svijet interneta i, naravno, njegova pojavljivanja na filmu, pogotovo u razdoblju nakon srčanog udara 2005. koji ga je natjerao da prekine tada aktualni A Reality Tour i uđe u ono što će izgledati kao konačna mirovina prije nego iz tajnosti pošalje posljednje darove obožavateljima i svijetu u obliku posljednja dva spomenuta albuma.
Prikaz Bowiejava karaktera uglavnom je prenesen kroz dojmove suradnika koji ga redovno opisuju kao vedrog, zabavnog i zaigranog genijalca, dok se njegove negativne strane obično svode upravo na odnos prema tim istim glazbenicima kao gotovo potrošnoj robi koju koristi samo kad se uklapaju u njegovu viziju projekta na kojemu trenutno radi, iako je i u tim slučajevima prilično obziran i trudi se da ih ne povrijedi previše kad im kaže da mu neće biti potrebni.
Usudio bih se reći da Larmanova knjiga postaje svve bolja kako se približava Bowiejevo “uskrsnuće prje smrti” i neka od najzanimljivijih njezinih otkrića bave se stavrima koje su se odvijale u strogoj tajnosti za vrijeme snimanja albuma “The Next Day”, a ubrzo zatim i “Blackstar”, te produkcije avangardnog mjuzikla “Lazarus” temeljenog na njegovoj ideji i glazbi, a u kojoj nije mogao u potpunosti sudjelovati zbog svojeg sve slabijag zdravlja i neupitno galopirajuće smrti koju nije smio navjestiti svijetu nikako drugačije nego svojim posljednjom glazbenom porukom, a u čijim silnim lovorikama na koncu nije dobio priliku uživati.
“Lazarus” je tako knjiga iz pera obožavatelja, ali i povjesničara koji ne dopušta da mu njegova ljubav prema Bowiejevoj glazbi stane na put realističnog prikaza razdoblja o kojemu piše. Ipak, dubinu njegovog divljena Bowieju doznajemo u epilogu knjige koji govori o danima neposredno nakon smrti glazbenika, a koji su koincidirali s rođenjem Larmanove kćeri. Ona, naime, nosi ime Rose Evelyn Bowie Larman kao dvostruku posvetu Starmanu, jer osim što je Bowie jedno od njezinih imena, prva slova ispisuju i “REBL” u sjećanje na slavni hit “Rebel, Rebel” s albuma “Diamond Dogs”.
Ako vam deset godina nakon smrti David Bowie još uvijek nedostaje, “Lazarus” je knjiga dostojna obilježavanja ove obljetnice. I nećemo vas kriviti ako usput osjetite i nostalgiju za nekim normalnijim vremenima, jer kako je poznati internetski meme odavno naznačio, cijeli svijet je otišao kvragu upravo nakon što je Bowie umro.
(New Modern, tvrdi uvez, 370 stranica, 2026.)
Pišući prije dva tjedna o ovogodišnjoj knjizi Roberta Polita “After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan’s Memory Palace” koja se bavi kasnom fazom karijere Nobelom nagrađenog kantautora i njegovim pronalaženjem nove vizije nakon podugačkog razdoblja kreativne krize spomenuo sam kako je otprilike istovremeno objavljena i knjiga o Davidu Bowieju slične tematike nazvana “Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie” autora Alexandera Larmana. Također sam natuknuo da bi upravo ona mogla biti temom sljedeće književne recenzije i evo nas ovdje.
Zanimljivo je da obje knjige počinju u istom razdoblju, 1991. godine, kad su oba umjetnika bila na niskim točkama svojih karijera. Dylan je tada primao Grammy za životno djelo govoreći o tome kako “moguće je postati toliko oskrnavljen u ovom svijetu da će te napustiti vlastiti majka i otac,” što je svakako zvučalo kao vapaj u bezizlaznoj situaciji u kojoj nije na obzoru bilo umjetničkog povratka koji će doživjeti do kraja desetljeća, a Bowie je tavorio u svom neslavnom pokušaju oživljavanja svoje zapinjuće karijere kao pjevač u ne pretjerano uspješnom bendu Tin Machine.
No putanja njihovih povrataka u panteon popularne glazbe ipak je drugačija. Dylan je nadahnuće pronašao na svojoj beskonačnoj turneji i ono praktički od albuma “Time Out of Mind” do danas nije presešuilo, dok se Bowiejev put sastojao od više traženja i albuma koji su kvalieteom varirali sve dok pred kraj života nije objavio dva megauspješna izdanja nakon povratka iz desetogodišnje mirovine, “The Next Day” i svoje za mnoge ultimativno remek-djelo, mračni pozdrav od života “Blackstar” koje će izaći samo par dana prije njegove smrti.
Larman, inače autor povijesnih biografija, strastveni je obožavatelj Bowieja, ali daleko od toga da je nekritičan prema radu svog glazbenog idola. Njegovi stavovi su snažno izraženi, pa se tako katkad čini suviše strogim prema određenim albumima. Primjerice u “Earthling” nalazi vrlo malo toga što bi se moglo nazvati pozitivnim, a po mom mišljenju strog je i prema “Hours…”, pogotovo prema njegovom najavnom singlu “Thursday’s Child”.
S druge strane, neka izdanja koja se inače ne smatra naširoko Bowiejevim klasičnim djelima, poput recimo soundtracka “Buddha of Suburbia”, možda pretjerano hvali. Ali unatoč tome s mnogo citata iz razgovora s brojnim Davidovim suradnicima (Mike Garson, Reeves Gabrels i Gail Ann Dorsey posebno su zastupljeni), mora se priznati da stvara prilično točnu sliku Bowiejevog “drugog dolaska”, kako je ovo razdoblje nazvao u naslovu svoje knjige.
Osim rada na albumima, Larman prati i druge Bowiejeve aktivnosti poput njegovog skupljanja umjetničkih djela, pa i bavljenja kritikom i novinarstvom na tom području, njegov pionirski ulazak u svijet interneta i, naravno, njegova pojavljivanja na filmu, pogotovo u razdoblju nakon srčanog udara 2005. koji ga je natjerao da prekine tada aktualni A Reality Tour i uđe u ono što će izgledati kao konačna mirovina prije nego iz tajnosti pošalje posljednje darove obožavateljima i svijetu u obliku posljednja dva spomenuta albuma.
Prikaz Bowiejava karaktera uglavnom je prenesen kroz dojmove suradnika koji ga redovno opisuju kao vedrog, zabavnog i zaigranog genijalca, dok se njegove negativne strane obično svode upravo na odnos prema tim istim glazbenicima kao gotovo potrošnoj robi koju koristi samo kad se uklapaju u njegovu viziju projekta na kojemu trenutno radi, iako je i u tim slučajevima prilično obziran i trudi se da ih ne povrijedi previše kad im kaže da mu neće biti potrebni.
Usudio bih se reći da Larmanova knjiga postaje svve bolja kako se približava Bowiejevo “uskrsnuće prje smrti” i neka od najzanimljivijih njezinih otkrića bave se stavrima koje su se odvijale u strogoj tajnosti za vrijeme snimanja albuma “The Next Day”, a ubrzo zatim i “Blackstar”, te produkcije avangardnog mjuzikla “Lazarus” temeljenog na njegovoj ideji i glazbi, a u kojoj nije mogao u potpunosti sudjelovati zbog svojeg sve slabijag zdravlja i neupitno galopirajuće smrti koju nije smio navjestiti svijetu nikako drugačije nego svojim posljednjom glazbenom porukom, a u čijim silnim lovorikama na koncu nije dobio priliku uživati.
“Lazarus” je tako knjiga iz pera obožavatelja, ali i povjesničara koji ne dopušta da mu njegova ljubav prema Bowiejevoj glazbi stane na put realističnog prikaza razdoblja o kojemu piše. Ipak, dubinu njegovog divljena Bowieju doznajemo u epilogu knjige koji govori o danima neposredno nakon smrti glazbenika, a koji su koincidirali s rođenjem Larmanove kćeri. Ona, naime, nosi ime Rose Evelyn Bowie Larman kao dvostruku posvetu Starmanu, jer osim što je Bowie jedno od njezinih imena, prva slova ispisuju i “REBL” u sjećanje na slavni hit “Rebel, Rebel” s albuma “Diamond Dogs”.
Ako vam deset godina nakon smrti David Bowie još uvijek nedostaje, “Lazarus” je knjiga dostojna obilježavanja ove obljetnice. I nećemo vas kriviti ako usput osjetite i nostalgiju za nekim normalnijim vremenima, jer kako je poznati internetski meme odavno naznačio, cijeli svijet je otišao kvragu upravo nakon što je Bowie umro.
(New Modern, tvrdi uvez, 370 stranica, 2026.)
March 8, 2026
This book starts from the irrefutable and entirely reasonable premise that David Bowie was the absolute GOAT, that we are fabulously fortunate to have lived at the same as him, and that we can better ourselves by learning more about his art and his life as he entered middle age and eventually left us to drift alone without his presence. If any of that sounds untrue or unappealing in any way, then this book is not for you, but if agree then it's worth reading.
It is a serious work, with lots of scholarly research and an unsensational tone. It pays homage to its hero, but does not fawn over him, or paper over his faults, missteps, errors, or other human lapses. It attempts to put the artist's work in the context of a larger career, one spanning decades with over 2 dozen albums, appearances in a bunch of films, and various other side projects and endeavours.
Anyone expecting "shocking revelations" or salacious details will be disappointed. The author is respectful of Bowie's desire for privacy as his health failed, and does not provide any sordid details. Similarly there is almost no speculation about his family life that were deemed to be off-limits. But thanks to extensive investigation into publicly available information and interviews with people involved with Bowie at various stages of his career, we still get some keen insight into the thought processes that motivated Bowie in his later years.
So while neither a trashy tell-all nor a gushing fan tribute, the book stands as a thoughtful tribute to a great man, often quirky and enigmatic, frustrated and frustrating, a person who struggled with the competing efforts of constant reinvention and continuity, stardom and normalcy.
It is a serious work, with lots of scholarly research and an unsensational tone. It pays homage to its hero, but does not fawn over him, or paper over his faults, missteps, errors, or other human lapses. It attempts to put the artist's work in the context of a larger career, one spanning decades with over 2 dozen albums, appearances in a bunch of films, and various other side projects and endeavours.
Anyone expecting "shocking revelations" or salacious details will be disappointed. The author is respectful of Bowie's desire for privacy as his health failed, and does not provide any sordid details. Similarly there is almost no speculation about his family life that were deemed to be off-limits. But thanks to extensive investigation into publicly available information and interviews with people involved with Bowie at various stages of his career, we still get some keen insight into the thought processes that motivated Bowie in his later years.
So while neither a trashy tell-all nor a gushing fan tribute, the book stands as a thoughtful tribute to a great man, often quirky and enigmatic, frustrated and frustrating, a person who struggled with the competing efforts of constant reinvention and continuity, stardom and normalcy.
April 9, 2026
So much information.....amazing what the author dug up. Not all flattering but seemed very real. No one ever said Bowie was without flaws no matter how adored he is/was. I learned a lot. Some chapters I skimmed and some (like Lazarus) I devoured. I became a huge fan after he passed altho one of his very first releases (Cat People) had me hooked from the start and on the path, adoring Wild is the Wind and so many more. What a life he led and Im thrilled he found peace and love in his later yrs. Fascinating how that medium predicted his death so accurately. Very glad I read this.DB remarked in one of his many interviews that there (at that time) were 63 biographies of his life and not many can say that.
March 26, 2026
"Langt de fleste bøger dvæler ved 1970’ernes Bowie, som bestemt også er meget interessant, men det er styrken ved Lazarus, at den begrænser sig til det føromtalte tidsrum. For vi kender jo ”alle” Bowie fra ”storhedstiden” i 1970’erne, som tonsvis af bøger beskæftiger sig med."
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March 16, 2026
A very good look at a period of Bowie’s music and life often ignored. The 90s were a baffling time for a Bowie fan but they’re done justice by Larman and the large and high profile interviewees they gained access to.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews