David Bowie black book

by Barry Miles

Now available once again after being out of print for several years, the David Bowie Black Book remains one of the most elegant books about the iconic superstar ever to have been published. Art directed by acclaimed graphic designer Pierce Marchbank and with text written by former NME journalist and cultural commentator Miles, the David Bowie Black Book contains photographs from every era of Bowie's genre-defining career and was for many years the world's best-selling Bowie book.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Barry Miles is an English author best known for his deep involvement in the 1960s counterculture and for chronicling the era through his prolific writing. He played a key role in shaping and documenting the London underground scene, becoming a central figure among the poets, musicians, and artists who defined the decade’s rebellious spirit. A close associate of figures such as Allen Ginsberg and Paul McCartney, Miles not only witnessed the cultural revolution firsthand but also actively participated in it through ventures like the Indica Gallery and the alternative newspaper International Times.
In the early 1960s, Miles began working at Better Books in London, a progressive bookshop that became a hub for the avant-garde. While there, he was instrumental in organizing the International Poetry Incarnation at the Royal Albert Hall in 1965, an event that marked the emergence of the British underground movement and featured prominent poets like Allen Ginsberg. The same year, Miles co-founded the Indica Bookshop and Gallery, which became a gathering place for creatives and countercultural icons. It was here that John Lennon first met Yoko Ono, at one of her art exhibitions.
Miles also played a role in launching International Times, one of the UK’s first underground newspapers, which Paul McCartney discreetly funded. Miles introduced McCartney to the people behind the project and facilitated many of his early connections with the underground scene. In 1967, he co-organized The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, a legendary multimedia event at Alexandra Palace featuring Pink Floyd, Yoko Ono, and John Lennon, among others.
Later in the decade, Miles took on the management of Zapple Records, an experimental subsidiary of Apple Records. During this time, he produced poetry albums, including one by Richard Brautigan. However, his personal relationship with Brautigan became strained after Miles became romantically involved with Brautigan’s partner, Valerie Estes. The fallout led to communication only through legal representatives. Although Zapple closed before releasing the Brautigan album, it was eventually issued by another label in 1970.
Miles also produced a recording of Allen Ginsberg’s musical interpretation of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, which was released in 1970. He briefly lived with Ginsberg in New York before returning to England following the breakdown of his first marriage. He later married travel writer Rosemary Bailey and continued to live and work in London.
In addition to his memoirs In the Sixties and In the Seventies, Miles has written definitive biographies of cultural icons such as Paul McCartney (Many Years From Now), Frank Zappa, William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, and Allen Ginsberg. He is also the author of Hippie, a visual and narrative exploration of the 1960s counterculture. His writings often reflect a mix of personal experience and historical documentation, offering insight into the worlds of rock, literature, and art.
Miles is known not only for his historical accounts but also for his critical views, including pointed commentary on musicians like Rush and Frank Zappa, examining the political and commercial aspects of their work. With a career that spans over five decades, Barry Miles remains one of the most insightful chroniclers of the countercultural and musical revolutions of the 20th century.

Reviews

[Emilie Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bowie forever baby. Ziggy's stardust blew right into my soul and crept like the spiders from mars through the traffic of my veins, turned blue in my oxygenating heart, and recirculated into my blood system. The entire ecology of the river system in my body became enriched and purified as New Life proliferated. The Bowie I knew (or didn't know) transformed like the quotidian portrait of a late relative in your grandparent's hallway into the living spirit of a venerable ancestor living inside and within you like two layers of turtlenecks sweaters. Even though I had always known of Bowie, had heard Bowie--for the first time in my life I was Hearing Bowie and Knowing Bowie.

A new hobby of musical exploration became my passion. I'd find books about musicians and artists to accompany me in my musical research; reading about their timelines, their experiences, and the inspirations behind their music. Spotify made it possible to listen to any song mentioned while reading about it to get an even closer understanding of what the book was discussing. Reading about Bowie's breakup with his first serious girlfriend Hermione--about how the young David Jones was heartbroken and crestfallen--all while listening to "Letter to Hermione" on his 1969 "David Bowie" album... boy, what a treat. It brings a new layer of fabric to the musical quilt. You become a secret member into the club. You're no longer "just listening" to the song, you've been admitted into a secret passageway behind a bookshelf and now you're sitting in the hot tub version of the song in a secret garden and a serene sunset. I can't imagine what it must be like for true musicians when they listen to music; the seemingly infinite layers of it all... goddamn Joanne's Fabrics status.

The David Bowie Black book was a gorgeous display of images, stories, descriptions, histories, you name it. What an absolute pleasure it was to curl up on chilly New Zealand mornings and peruse through the pages while sipping coffee and licking my ears with sounds I'd never heard Bowie utter before. It was like the feeling you have when you get on a train, find your seat, put snacks within reach, maybe take off your coat--just getting comfortable before the train embarks on a long beautiful adventure to a new place you've never been before. The excited bustle and hum of the other passengers moving about the cars, you simmering on your giddy stovetop as Mystery coquettishly bats her eyelashes at so many undefined expectations. A world, a universe of possibilities lays ahead; ready and waiting patiently for your arrival. And you, looking out the window, knowing very shortly you will know more than just what this train station looks like, ready to begin the journey of discovery.

That metaphor just went lots of convuluted places. This book is what started me on my exploration and appreciation of David Bowie's life and music. Jesus, was that so hard?

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decently comprehensive biography with lots of photos, but it only goes up until 1987.