Author:Dylan Jones
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6 JULY, 1972
David Bowie appears on Top of the Pops for a third time.
His quiff is big, bold, and the colour of fire. His make-up is lavish. His jumpsuit is a wild burst of colourful patterns, like a fluorescent fish skin. He carries a brand-new blue acoustic guitar. There's excitement, mixed with incredulity. And then he begins to play.
It's a moment that will change the world of music forever.
This is Ziggy Stardust, what would become Bowie's most famous persona. It's an instant seismic shift in the zeitgeist. This one performance embeds Ziggy Stardust into the nation's consciousness, and music will never be the same again.
In When Ziggy Played Guitar, Dylan Jones looks back at one of the most influential moments in pop history,the birth of an icon, and the myriad unexpected ways that David Bowie reshaped pop culture.
The best music book I have ever read, dislodging Revolution in the Head and England's Dreaming. Superb in every way.
—— Matthew d'AnconaHis blow-by-blow account of the performance is breathless in its fan-boy enthusiasm and much of the rest of When Ziggy Played Guitar is rooted in its personal impressions. “The by-product of Ziggy’s success was the validation of identity, our identity”, Jones writes, and it’s hard not to be moved by his hero worship.
—— New StatesmanJones is a wonderfully fluent writer, with a terrific knack for atmospheric phrasemaking, period detail and juicy factoids.
—— Daily TelegraphDylan Jones’s account of David Bowie’s rise to superstardom. We’ll eat up anything about the greatest pop star who ever walked this planet.
—— The Herald MagazineThis excellent book looks at the background to that memorable TV event, and its enduring legacy.
—— Choice MagazineUnlike previous Bowie biographies, Jones’ book says less about Bowie and more about the time, reading often, and in a very entertaining way, like a culturally-aware history textbook. For every mention of the miners’ strike or Bloody Sunday there’s a full page devoted to The Velvet Underground or A Clockwork Orange – and these pages are needed to help fully explain how Bowie put together this character who proclaimed "let all the children boogie".
—— whiffytidings.comMeticulously researched by GQ editor Dylan Jones…this 214-page tome enlists the help of people like Bono, Neil Tennant, Siouxsie Sioux and ahem, Tony Blackburn to put those 240 glorious seconds into cultural context.
—— Hot Press MagazineA personal view of one of the most influential moments in pop history.
—— Choice magazineJones's engaging personal tribute to Bowie's glittering talent concludes that 'Ziggy is owned by all of us who were touched that day.
—— Daily Mail, Must ReadThe great chronicler of Hollywood in the late twentieth century turns his critical eye to the cinema and television of the twenty first. Essential reading
—— Colin MacCabeA bold, witty, and brilliantly argued analysis of the role pop culture has played in the rise of American extremism
—— Ruth ReichlYour book was . . . like a bag of pot, with me saying, 'I'm not gonna smoke.' But I was insatiable
—— Quentin Tarantino on EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS