music
January 28, 2026
David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God by Peter Ormerod review
An exhilarating account of Bowie’s spirituality and the quasi-religious nature of his work, from Space Oddity to Blackstar
TL;DR
- Bowie's later work is seen as prophetic of a chaotic and fragmented world, rather than an avatar of a past liberal order.
- His music often expressed themes of disaster, social collapse, and violence, prefiguring aspects of modern political discourse.
- Ormerod's book examines the religious dimensions of Bowie's art, tracing his engagement with Anglicanism, Tibetan Buddhism, and occultism.
- The book focuses on Bowie's later albums, such as 'Heathen,' 'The Next Day,' and 'Blackstar,' analyzing them as complex texts.
- Ormerod posits that Bowie's work is fundamentally driven by life and love, despite often expressing isolation and yearning.
- Bowie's tendency towards negation, or 'decreation,' is highlighted as a key characteristic of his art, linking him to medieval mystics.
- The book suggests that Bowie fandom exhibits a neo-medievalism, with his archive acting as a reliquary inspiring pilgrimage.
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