Angela Bowie

Going in, I prepared myself to take "Backstage Passes" by Angela Bowie with a grain of salt and realize that, like in any memoir, there would be embellishments. I found the book to be mildly interesting until page 272 of the hardcover where the author clearly stated it to be 1979 and that she was riding in a limo in LA with Keith Moon, who DIED IN 1978. Ok, so maybe that was a typo? But it gets worse. She also claims that on the same afternoon, she met up with Led Zeppelin and their bodyguard John Bindon -- who was not associated with Zeppelin after 1977. In fact Zeppelin as a group never toured the US after 1977! She didn’t mix up her years either, because she also states that after her afternoon with Moon that he died just a few months later. Therefore it couldn’t have been 1979 and it couldn’t have been 1977. If it was 1978 she definitely did not meet up with Zeppelin. Once glaring inconsistencies (lies!) such as these appear in a book, I’m done. No part of the book before or after can be considered believable.… (meer)

How much fact, how much fiction? Who knows. Some stuff rings true and doesn't sound too OTT, while some (the bizarre exorcism of the house pool leaving a satanic stain on the bottom) certainly does. I can only assume the tales of coke filled Bowie doing very little except taking coke and staying in his LA home with hangers on are a BIT exaggerated, given he produced albums during that time. But he himself has said at some point he left the USA to survive, so some must be true. I didn't really understand why they still saw each other into the late 70s at all, given the way she describes their relationship (or lack of it by then). Perhaps she was more needy of still being Mrs Bowie than she let on.

The book doesn't always flow easily and Angie's thoughts and preambles before getting to the point of each tale aren't always terribly interesting - she does love the sound of her own voice a bit.

Bowie was a bit of a charmer of people, and a pretty cold user of people - that much we know already; she confirms it here but no great surprise. There is no doubt she is one feisty lady in her own right but it does sound like she got chewed up and spat out, same as many others did. But in her case, she ended up rather burned by the experience, which is sad. But likeable - well neither of them come across as likeable. Her choice of friends and partners shows she inhabited a shallow world with shallow "good time" people and enjoyed being there.

The book was a charity shop find, and that's where it will head back to now I've read it.… (meer)

Written in a very open, friendly, casual manner, Lipstick Legends would be a quick read if not for the temptation to linger over the stories and enjoy an insider’s look at the world of celebrity. Angie interweaves recollections, observations, and conversations throughout the book, offering a little something for all tastes.

From Alice Cooper to David Bowie, Deep Purple to The New York Dolls, Holly Woodlawn to Cherry Vanilla, she works her way through a virtual who’s who of artists who pushed the envelope of gender and sexuality, redefining a generation, and opening the way for tolerance. Along the way she takes us to London, Japan, USA, and more, exploring how her favourite Lipstick Legends were perceived by audiences around the world.

Angie makes an interesting statement early in the book about not being bisexual all her life, but about transitioning back-and-forth between lesbian and heterosexual. On the surface, it seems a bit of an odd statement, but the more I thought about, it the more I loved the idea. Being transgendered is so often viewed the same way, as a transition between genders, and I think the collective experience of the community makes Lipstick Legends an even more interesting read.


Originally reviewed for Frock Magazine… (meer)

Poor effort from the ex-wife of David Bowie who claims to have shaped Bowie's early career. She says that she and Bowie were both bi-sexual in an open relationship, their marriage being a business arrangement to first further his career and then hers. The entire book is unreliable. The chapter on Los Angeles says that Bowie became parnoid from cocaine here and that he thought he needed to be exorcised from a demon tormenting him after Bowie's contact with occultists. She said that he had the OK for a priest to perform the exorcism from a Greek Orthodox church somewhere in LA. (they lived someplace on Doheny Drive). She says Bowie went through a self constructed ceremony in which the pool water began to bubble and the large shape permanently marred and remained on the pool bottom. Angela Bowie seems still influenced by New Age thought so this is all suspect. Not worth the time it took to read, but I'm a Bowie music fan.… (meer)