The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley (Omnibus)

Paul Morley was 13 when he first heard the music of David Bowie, played late at night by BBC Radio 1 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 museum’s acclaimed Bowie exhibition, ‘David Bowie is’.

In this personal account of the life, musical influence and cultural impact of his teenage hero, Morley explores Bowie’s constant reinvention of himself and his music over a period of five extraordinarily innovative decades.

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.

Omnibus of five episodes.

Abridged and produced by Sara Davies.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.