Rebel Rebel

David Bowie: every single song. Everything you want to know, everything you didn't know.

The legacy of David Bowie is roughly 450 songs, which he recorded or performed over half a century. They range from cabaret to psychedelia to folk rock to glam rock to Philadelphia soul, from avant-garde instrumentals to stadium anthems. Cataloging Bowie’s songs from the dawn of his career in 1963 to his Hollywood stardom in 1976, examining them in the order of their composition and recording, and digging into what makes them work, Rebel Rebel and its sequel Ashes to Ashes have become standard references for Bowie fans.

The new edition of Rebel Rebel is a fully-updated revision, taking into account Bowie demos and alternate takes released in the years after his death. It’s enhanced by a decade’s worth of new information about Bowie’s recording process, his influences, his contemporaries, and his live performances, all of which shed light onto the evolution of his songwriting. It shows how Bowie exploited studio innovations, and delves into the roles of his supporting musicians, particularly major collaborators like Mick Ronson and Tony Visconti.

This book aligns Bowie’s music with his times, planting his work in the context of its era. You’ll see what Bowie’s work owes to novelists like Keith Waterhouse, Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, and William S. Burroughs. To films like Performance, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange. To rival songwriters and performers like Marc Bolan, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Scott Walker, Elvis Presley, the Bee Gees, Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Pete Townshend, and John Lennon. With guest appearances by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Cher."The best writing on David Bowie bar none."
– Bob Stanley

"Must-have must-read must-devour for any Bowie fan. Or fan of music writing or creative criticism. Or being alive on earth. Really for everyone. Ever."
– Matt Fraction

"The level of scholarship, reporting and critique is both extraordinary and depressing. If paid culture journalists took as much care with their work as O’Leary does — insert your stock Death of Journalism oath here."
– Sasha Frere Jones, Los Angeles Times

"O’Leary’s weightless writing inflames rather than kills your interest in the music."
– Ryan Gibley, The New Statesman

"Rebel Rebel is the Lipstick Traces of Bowie studies, and Chris O’Leary its unchallenged dean."
– Mark Dery

"For any self-respecting Bowie fan, it’s essential."
– Mayer Nassim, Digital Spy

"The detail is, at times, breathtaking, the cultural contextualizing mostly secure, and the analysis quirky and honest."
– David Buckley, Mojo

"A fantastic voyage through Bowie’s career song by song."
– Unherd"The best writing on David Bowie bar none."
– Bob Stanley

"Must-have must-read must-devour for any Bowie fan. Or fan of music writing or creative criticism. Or being alive on earth. Really for everyone. Ever."
– Matt Fraction

"The level of scholarship, reporting and critique is both extraordinary and depressing. If paid culture journalists took as much care with their work as O’Leary does — insert your stock Death of Journalism oath here."
– Sasha Frere Jones, Los Angeles Times

"O’Leary’s weightless writing inflames rather than kills your interest in the music."
– Ryan Gibley, The New Statesman

"Rebel Rebel is the Lipstick Traces of Bowie studies, and Chris O’Leary its unchallenged dean."
– Mark Dery

"For any self-respecting Bowie fan, it’s essential."
– Mayer Nassim, Digital Spy

"The detail is, at times, breathtaking, the cultural contextualizing mostly secure, and the analysis quirky and honest."
– David Buckley, MojoChris O’Leary is a writer and editor based in western Massachusetts. He has written for Pitchfork, Slate, New York, Mojo, Billboard, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and is the author of a previous book on the music of David Bowie: Ashes to Ashes. Both Rebel Rebel and Ashes to Ashes are based on the blog that he created in 2009, "Pushing Ahead of the Dame" (http://bowiesongs.wordpress.com)