Bowie Odyssey 72

by Simon Goddard

A new year for David Bowie means new clothes, new boots, new hair and a new Ziggy Stardust. To the gloomy blacked-out Britain of powercuts and three-day weeks he may as well be from outer space – if that’s what it takes to make him famous, far be it from him to tell anyone he isn’t. Bowie’s success as the bisexual Starman soon rubs off on his new friends Mott The Hoople and his hero Lou Reed as 1972 becomes Annus Glamrockus. Music, fashion and the old codes of gender will never be the same again. But as his runaway fame quickly blurs all lines between fantasy and reality, neither will David. The third volume of the Bowie Odyssey series offers a wild and revelatory snapshot of the year of Ziggy as Simon Goddard continues his vivid real-time journey through the decade Bowie changed pop forever.

Genres: Music

192 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2022

About the author

Simon Goddard was born in Cardiff in 1971.

He is the author of over a dozen books, most prominently the Bowie Odyssey series.

He is not religious and ought not be confused with anyone of the same name on Goodreads who has written religious stuff.

agent: thenorthlitagency.com

Reviews

[Emma]

Read this as a standalone, but so good, so interesting that I've had to order the previous books and so will be heading back t0 1970 now.
Love the context of social history, the links to other pop stars - Bolan, Slade, Mott the Hoople, and the tales of Ziggy Stardust.

[Davey]

Terrible

Boring and disjointed at the same time, jumping from Bowie to some irrelevant story of the time and back again without explanation or good reason. Really wanted to carry on with Bowie Odyssey but won't be bothering now.

[Jonathan Rogers]

and i continue to get through this fabulous series, my love of Bowie may influence my review but if you want to learn about Bowie in the early years and what was going on in the decade then this is the book series to read.

[Mark waite]

A brilliant read perfectly captures the time and every bit as good as it's predicesor

[Nigel Thomas]

Instalment number three in Goddard’s brave project to deal with Bowie’s life a year at a time.

1972 was really the year that Bowie took off. The Ziggy image appeared, and the Ziggy Stardust album was released in June.Bowie’s audiences begin to grow. During the year, he revitalised Mott the Hoople by giving them “All the young dudes” and produced Lou Reed’s seminal Transformer album with Mick Ronson.

Goddard maintains his impressionistic style which perhaps makes his books not for everyone, but I find them hugely entertaining and enjoyable. There’s a great section in this one where Iggy Pop lands in London.

Possibly confusing for someone coming new to Bowie, but for the fan indispensable.