The Age Of Bowie

Paul Morley was 13 when he first heard the music of David Bowie, played late at night by DJ John Peel. Before long, Bowie was taking the 1970s by storm and changing the face of pop music with his Ziggy Stardust tour, and Morley was a dedicated schoolboy fan.

Many years later, Morley would be an artistic advisor for the V&A’s acclaimed Bowie exhibition, David Bowie Is, which was still attracting huge visitor numbers around the world when the music icon died at the beginning of this year. Now, Morley has published his personal account of the life, musical influence and cultural impact of his teenage hero, exploring Bowie’s constant reinvention of himself and his music over a period of five extraordinarily innovative decades.

In this opening episode, Becoming Bowie, Morley describes how when he first heard Bowie’s music his world “suddenly became something else”, and explores Bowie’s childhood and his early attempts to make his name.

Presenter/Paul Morley, Producer/Sara Davies for the BBC

Publicity contact: BBC Radio 4 Publicity