David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God

The story of how David Bowie´s search for meaning inspired him to write the music that defined a generation. In this wide-ranging biography, Peter Ormerod explores the quest for spirituality that powered David Bowie´s creativity from his earliest recordings to his death-defying final album. Bowie´s genre-expanding, era-crossing genius had an extraordinary impact on popular culture but his life-long search for spiritual truth and enlightenment has been overlooked. From Bowie´s first musical encounters as a choirboy, this book traces his spiritual obsessions over the years. As a young musician at the start of his career, he was enraptured by Tibetan Buddhism. It was the first step in a spiritual journey that would generate his most profound lyrics and music. From the Kabbalah-influenced tracks of Station to Station to Ziggy Stardust´s messiah complex and the profound affinity between Heroes and Christian thought, Ormerod sheds new light on the spiritual traditions behind Bowie´s genius. Taking Bowie´s spiritual explorations and faith seriously, Ormerod shows us how this quest for meaning propelled him through his darkest moments and biggest successes, lending his music a timelessness and depth that has spoken to so many people across the world. Whether experiencing a dark night of the soul in LA during his occult phase or reciting the Lord´s prayer in front of thousands of concertgoers, Bowie was always searching for that universal truth that lies beyond everyday reality.