I am a very hard to please Bowie, and music, fan. The vast majority of music biographies and auto biographies are poorly written and lack insight. Biographies all too often are written merely to piggyback on the success of the subject rather than seeking to be definitive in their own right. With autobiographies, the difference between a musician/lyricist and a journalist/ storyteller becomes painfully apparent.

I have read most Bowie books. For some reason Mayes book eluded me on release . But kindle has two great advantages. Firstly you can source books which originally passed you by. Secondly they are great for quick reads. I devoured this in under 48 hours.

I saw two of the three Earls Court dates on this tour so was personally invested in the story. I also didn’t know much about Mayes so the backstory was of genuine interest. He was clearly a clever boy, reding philosophy at Cambridge University as well as an accomplished  musician with early 70’s band Fumble who supported Bowie on the Ziggy tour.

His angle is a clever one. This book is not about Bowie. It is about being on tour with him. It was published posthumously, four years after his death in 1999. Hence there is no ego, no grandstanding, just a first person narrative. One of my favourite Rock autobiographies is Viv Albertines; “ Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys”. It is the definitive story of Punk, told as an observer. Similarly, here,  Mayes tells his story as an observer and participant.

He offers few subjective opinions. He is on tour  travelling first class, in luxury hotel suites, normally not the same hotel as Bowie, not in the same limo.  Frequently he is able to come and go and explore host cities as he pleases. Invariably the band and crew go out for drinks and entertainment, Coco controls extra curricular activities. He pulls girls and boys by mentioning that he is in Bowie’s band. Many are not that interested other than him being a potential conduit to Bowie. He died of AIDS, but the gay dimension is understated. Indeed sexual titbits and drugs excess are largely untouched for all concerned.

It’s a job, a nice job. A story told by a man comfortable in his own skin whose idea of cutting loose with his tour cash is to buy a new camera. He offers no sense of a personal connection with Bowie, nor does he big up his own personal contribution. What is a given is his personal professionalism, and that of the musicians around him.

Bowie’s inner circle comprise Coco, manager Pat Gibbons, Tony Mascia Driver/ bodyguard and Frank, security. Alomar runs the music. The band play it.

As a document of  the nuts and bolts  of a rock n roll tour it is essential reading, but do not expct any Bowie insights.