Magenta Profane

Highly influential in the early careers of David Bowie and Kate Bush, Lindsay Kemp was a tour de force in his own right. I've found it difficult to find out much about the man himself, and this book provides a delightful mini biography of Lindsay and company, providing a small glimpse into the Artist. This insight is powerfully illustrated by Anno Wilms' magnificent photography. An absolute gem of a book for anyone interested in Art as Magic.

I'll start off with what I liked. The author's use of the present tense, and his knowledge of and love for Berlin comes across strongly. It's also a pretty short read. I read it whilst listening to Station To Station and the misnamed but commonly accepted 'Berlin Triptych'. The cultural angle is fascinating - but what is hugely problematic for me is the amount of factual errors concerning David Bowie and this period of his life. For example, Hanif Kureishi is described as "his friend from his school days". Yes, they became friends, but they couldn't have known each other from Bromley High. They attended 10 years apart. Furthermore, this book is made up from studying a wealth of material already out there; but claims aren't individually referenced. Instead, a list of source materials is provided at the back of the book, and the burden of proof is upon the reader to wade through. By the time this book was written, the main players were thoroughly sick of granting interviews. Pretty much all the information is gleaned from existing sources. However, Eno's role in the triptych is vastly overplayed. The DAM trio, particularly Carlos Alomar, who played a far greater role in bringing Bowie's vision to life, barely get a mention. "With each of [David's] four solo albums produced by Eno in the three following years" is the bold (and blatantly untrue) description from the author. Towards the end, the author gets stuck in bringing us back again and again to the track 'Heroes'. It got overly repetitive. The album Brian Eno did actually produce during this period, the incredible Lodger, is, again, barely mentioned. When it is, it gets dissed, and the source for the cover is erroneously described. The final subject to barely get a mention was actually the reason I bought the book. The divine Romy Haag. Bowie's lover during this period and, arguably, the woman who inspired the most songs. The author can't even bring himself to recognise the two had an intense relationship, sexually and emotionally, stating "even if the nature of the relationship remains rather vague". Dude. Bowie slept with a transgender woman. Deal with it. Her transition was unimportant. He was pansexual. He fell for her because she was gorgeous, witty and intelligent. Luckily for me, I'd already read Strange Fascination by David Buckley (one of the sources used). If you're after a flavour of Berlin at the time, I guess this book provides it. What it does not provide is much historical accuracy when it comes to Bowie and the main contributors to the Berlin Triptych.