A new book by Peter Ormerod explores the spiritual dimensions of David Bowie's life and work, arguing that the late musician was fundamentally a religious artist. The review, published in the Guardian, praises Ormerod's analysis of Bowie's journey from Anglicanism in Bromley to Tibetan Buddhism and the occult, culminating in his later albums such as Heathen, The Next Day, and Blackstar.
The reviewer notes that Bowie's work often prophesied chaos and fragmentation, prefiguring the political turmoil of the Trump era. Songs like 'Under the God' from Tin Machine's 1989 album are cited as prescient critiques of right-wing extremism. Bowie's later years were marked by a belief that society had entered a zone of disaster and social collapse, a theme that permeates his final works.
Ormerod's book gains momentum when analysing Bowie's later output, particularly the albums Heathen, The Next Day, and Blackstar, as well as the musical Lazarus. The reviewer commends Ormerod for treating Bowie's work as text worthy of close reading, highlighting the centrality of love and life as driving forces. Bowie himself once said, 'I love life very much indeed,' when asked about his devotional practice.
The book closes with an argument that Bowie's art is driven by life and love, despite a persistent sense of isolation and yearning. Ormerod identifies an 'apophaticism' in Bowie's work, a tendency to negate propositions, exemplified in his final song 'I Can't Give Everything Away' from Blackstar. The review concludes that Ormerod's compelling case ultimately wins over the reader, making a strong case for Bowie as a modern saint.
