The English version of ‘David Bowie Rainbowman 1967-1980’ by Jérôme Soligny is being published on 8th September.

January 19th, 2022 | by Nick

News

Monoray (part of the Octopus Publishing Group) has announced today that it will publish David Bowie Rainbowman 1967-1980, by Jérôme Soligny, a meticulously detailed history of the moments that shaped Bowie’s musical career told by the people who were actually ‘in the room’ with him.

The book will be released on 8th September 2022 – the year of the 50th anniversary of the release of ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’. Published in France in 2019 as the first of two volumes, it is appearing now in English for the very first time.

This uniquely exhaustive work on Bowie’s 1967-1980 albums draws on over 150 extensive interviews with some of the most significant people in David Bowie’s life – the musicians, producers and friends who knew Bowie best, including Ken Scott, Hermione Farthingale, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, George Underwood, Mick Ronson, Carlos Alomar, Trevor Bolder, Mike Garson, Woody Woodmansey and many, many others.

Hermione Farthingale calls it ‘a book unlike any other, the definitive analysis of David’s music, told in a quiet natural way, but with absolute authenticity, by the people around him’.

According to Tony Visconti, Jérôme Soligny was David Bowie’s favourite French journalist and over 25 years, he spent time getting to know the artist and his fellow musicians.

With an essay by Soligny on each album, followed by oral histories from the most trusted and influential figures in Bowie’s musical life, David Bowie Rainbowman: 1967-1980 is the definitive guide to the musical development of a singular and mercurial genius – the Rainbowman himself.

The essential book is completed by a foreword by Tony Visconti and an introduction by Mike Garson, with a cover photo by Mick Rock, and an iconic cover design by Barnbrook.

Jérôme Soligny is a musician, writer and journalist based in Le Havre, France. Over the course of 25 years, Jérôme spoke with Bowie many times, and interviewed him on numerous occasions for Rock&Folk magazine. He was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2019 by Tony Visconti and is described by Bryan Ferry as ‘one of the great French authorities on contemporary music’.

Jake Lingwood, Publisher said “Rainbowman is a staggering work that is already absolutely essentialfor Bowie fans who can read French. It’s now such a thrill to bring this to English speaking readers around the world for the very first time. Just a word of warning though – it’s HUGE, clocking in at almost 300,000 words, so you might want to book some reading time off work in September 2022 when the book is released!”

Jérôme Soligny said “It’s an honour and privilege for me to realise that Rainbowman is going to be published in English, the language of rock music and also David Bowie’s. The whole project took five years of my life, but as my closest friend say ‘There was 40 years of passion before this’. I hope the true lovers of David’s music will be as happy to read the book as I’ve been to write it. Sure, Rainbowman is a heavy brick of paper full of information but also a tribute to musicians and music people – famous and those who stayed in the shadow – who helped David craft his songs and albums. Funnily enough, it’s a musician who brought me to Monoray and no, it can’t be chance. Some things are written in the stars.”

David Bowie Rainbowman 1967-1980, by Jérôme Soligny, will be published on September 8th 2022 (13th USA) and can be pre-ordered now via Amazon below: