The Young American
Books and Special Publications
David Robert Jones: The Discography Of A Generalist
Published in 1979, this was the first professionally produced publication by a fan named David Jeffrey
Fletcher.
Although it doesn’t focus solely on the 1974 period, there is a heavy bias towards this particular time. The
book features tour dates, tour ads, photos, bootleg albums, live recordings, reviews etc.
Fletcher recorded the show at the Cleveland Public Auditorium on 19 June 1974 - the first time he had seen
David in concert. This recording is referred to as “A Guided Show” because Fletcher narrates what is
happening on the stage for each number.
Beware The Savage Jaw
Another fan-made, professional publication which was published in the 1980s. However, this one does focus
solely on the 1974 period.
It includes a review of the opening show of the Diamond Dogs Tour in Montreal explaining how the show
worked. It also analyses a number of live recordings plus the “Subway” bootleg album.
Bowie In Hunger City (New York 1974)
Published in 2014, this professionally produced publication by Andy Barding and Martyn Hammond focuses
on the two Madison Square Gardens shows in July 1974.
It features ticket scans, actual photos from the shows, show ads and reviews. However, where it really shines
is the detailed description of how each song is performed by David and how the various props are used.
Soul Love (David Bowie in Philadelphia 1974)
Published in 2017, this professionally produced publication by Andy Barding and Martyn Hammond focuses
on the two Philadelphia shows in November 1974.
It features actual photos from the show on 18 November, show ads and reviews. In addition, there is a an
interview with Sigma Kid Patti Brett who shares her memories of the period.
The book also includes an advert for the mythical “The Missing Link”
bootleg album on Strap Records - a figment of Fletcher’s imagination!
Diamond Dogs Songbook
In addition to the music and lyrics this includes several pictures from the Diamond Dogs tour.
Diamond Dogs by Glenn Hendler
“After his breakthrough with Ziggy Stardust and before his U.S. pop hits "Fame" and "Golden Years" David
Bowie produced a dark and difficult concept album set in a post-apocalytic "Hunger City" populated by post-
human "mutants" Diamond Dogs includes the great glam anthem "Rebel Rebel" and utterly unique songs
that combine lush romantic piano and nearly operatic singing with scratching, grungy guitars, creepy,
insidious noises, and dark, pessimistic lyrics that reflect the album's origins in a projected Broadway musical
version of Orwell's 1984 and Bowie's formative encounter with William S. Burroughs. In this book Glenn
Hendler shows that each song on Diamond Dogs shifts the ground under you as you listen, not just by
changing in musical style, but by being sung by a different "I" who directly addresses a different "you"
Diamond Dogs is the product of a performer at the peak of his powers but uncomfortable with the rock star
role he had constructed. All of the album's influences looked to Bowie like ways of escaping not just the
Ziggy role, but also the constraints of race, gender, sexuality, and nationality. These are just some of the
reasons many Bowie fans rate Diamond Dogs his richest and most important album of the 1970s.”