4saturday review Saturday January 12 2013 | the times TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER, CHRISTOPHER LANE theconversation ‘Thenight beforethe single’s release Icouldn’tsleep.I’d kept asecretfor twoyears,itwas a Visconti’sguideto countdown, Iwas bitingmynails’ Bowie’snew album 1The NextDay Anhistorical songandhorrendously gruesome,Ithinkit’s aboutaCatholic cardinalortyrant. It’sveryviolent:the main characterishung,drawnandquartered, Afteradecade of silence, DavidBowie is back. Tim Teeman talkstoTonyVisconti, Bowie’sproducer,friend burntandthentornapartby people. 2DirtyBoys andrepresentative on Earth, aboutthe newalbum, health, happiness andtheir shared love of Britishculture Aeuphemism, andsong,foralltheglam rockstars thathaveever been. onyVisconti has known one thingIwould liketodispel it’s the isn’t proppingmeupany more. Icannot 3The Stars(AreOut Tonight) DavidBowie since 1967 rumours about his ill-health. He’s incredi- stay awake. On the wayhome my heart It’saboutallkindsof stars.Youcan sayI’m and produced12of bly fit and takes care of himself. Obviously JIMMY KING felt likeitwas goingtoexplode. Ididn’t beingsecretive. his most memorable afterthe heartattackhewasn’t too want to cause ascandal forhim and me by 4LoveisLost albums, beginningwith thrilled, but he has an amazingfamily goingtohospital, so Itook12sleeping pills That’snotaboutaloveaffair,buthow The ManWho Sold The and friends. Visconti calls family “the —nosuicidal intent,justtoslow my heart everyonehascutdowntheir feelingsin T World (1970). He has F-word” with good reason. He became and it did and Isurvived. We’d have both theinternetage. done “mountains of cocaine” with his estrangedfromBowie in 1988 having been dead if we’d carriedon. There wasa 5WhereAreWeNow? longtime friend, “though alcoholwas far talked about Bowie’sclose relativestothe myth it wasn’t habit-formingbackthen. Averypersonalsong—it’sabout theBerlin worse”.Both are now sober veterans of press in away the singer felt was“too Foolishly we believed that. It wasasocial wehadbeeninin the1970s.Itisnotas AlcoholicsAnonymous, living in New intrusive”. They reconciled“because drug and socially acceptable. Youwent to autobiographicalaspeoplearesuggesting. York with asharedpassion forJapanese we’refriends”. anycocktail partyand somebodyput aline Heisastoryteller.Thiscouldbeabout him, food —Bowie is “verymuch asushi Since his heartattack, Bowie has been orspoonunderyournoseandyousaid‘Oh, orBerlinatacertaintime. guy.But when Bowie calledVisconti two painting—an exhibition of his work is thank you!’.Iknow people who sold their 6Valentine’sDay years agoto“work on some demos”, the possible, Visconti says —“and doinga homestofeedtheir habit. Forusthere was Insidethe mindof ahighschoolmass 68-year-oldproducer admits that he phenomenal amount of reading: old nolimit.” murderernamedJohnny, inspiredby the wasshocked. Englishhistory,Russian history, the Visconti stoppedtakingcocaine in 1984. spateofshootingsin USschools. “I had no idea he waswritingagain. We monarchs of Great Britain —what made “I woke up one dayimaginingthere were 7If YouCanSeeMe had spokenin2009 and he had madeit them bad and good. Everything he reads phantoms in the room. Ijustwent cold Achallengingjazz-funk-rock composition, clearhe wasn’t writing. Andnow thisweek, makes it intothe lyricsofhis songs”, turkey.” He stoppeddrinkingin2,000 and extremelyfastwithaccompanyingvocals the single came out and it shocked the which is evident in our exclusive break- Bowie and he both went to AA. “David bylongtimeBowiesinger GailAnnDorsey. world,”hesays. down of the rest of the songs on the found it very useful. We talk about being Identitiesswitchbetween someonewho The song, WhereAre They Now?,a album (seebox,right)about tyrants, spies each other’s supportsystem. If twopeople maybeBowieandapolitician. melancholiclamentto BerlinwhereBowie andsoldiers. from the program sit together that’s 8I’dRather BeHigh and Visconti livedinthe 1970s, causeda “I’veworked with other rock stars who technically an AA meeting. Everytwo or Thelamentof ademobbedSecondWorld global Bowie-gasm on Tuesday, Bowie’s want to talk about their yachts and horses. three days we talk about it although we Warsoldierwhowouldrather succumbto 66th birthday, releasedwith no pre-hype NotDavid,”saystheproducer,fondly.Love don’tstartand end with aprayer. I’ll say, baseemotionsthanbeahumanbeing. at 5am GMT. It receivedits premiere on in the internet age, glam rock and the ‘I’m comingtomy12th birthday’ and he Bowiedoesnotwanttobehigh.Heisclean Radio 4’s Today programme. An album, workings of fame form more personal says, ‘Wellit’s been my 23rd!’.Iask, ‘Do you andhasbeenan AAmemberfor years. Bowie’sfirstfor tenyears, The Next Day, thematicballast. miss it?’ and he says, ‘I don’tmiss it at all’. 9Boss ofMe willbereleasedonMarch11. Certain to createmost headlinesis AndIsay,‘Me neither’.” Someonefeelsoppressedorabused, On the eveofthe single’srelease, “I Valentine’s Day,Bowie’sresponse to the Sometimesthe men recollecthow speakingin thethirdperson. couldn’t sleep,” Visconti reveals, drinking epidemic of gun violence in American drunk they were at aparty,the limo that 10DancingOutin Space waterinasmartNew York private schools. It waswrittenayear before the would wait forthem outsideafter-hours Asongaboutanothermusic artist,possibly members’club.Heisdressedall in black, Sandy Hook ElementarySchoolmassacre boykeeps swinging DavidBowie at TheMagic Shop in NewYork clubs in NewYork. Their mostoutrageous aconglomerationof artists. slim —hetraded in drugs and booze for in December.“It’s about mental health in 2011. His newalbum wastracked andmixed at thestudio night? “Westayedupwith John Lennon 11HowDoestheGrassGrow? t’ai chi —with white-croppedhair.“I’d rather than gun control.It’sall young until 10.30am. We did amountain of It’sacompanionsongtoI’dRatherBeHigh kept asecret fortwo years, Iknew the peopledoingtheseshootings.It goesinside single, in which Bowie livedwith Iggy cocaine, it lookedlikethe Matterhorn, andisaboutthe FirstWorldWar:howBritish releasedatefortwomonths,it wasacount- the head of the shooter.David giveshim Pop, wasn’t as depravedaspeople think. obscenely big, and four open bottlesof soldiersweretrainedasametaphor foralot down,47daysto go ...thefinaldaywewere the name Johnny, which Ithink is the “Wegot drunk alot. But he livedavery cognac.”Visconti pauses. “Hedoesn’t do ofthings.Sheerpoetry. e-mailingeachother.I’d say, ‘I’m bitingall name he’sgiven to about 12 people in his spartan life. Iggy had his bedroom, anythingnow.He’sMrClean. He looks 12(YouWill)SettheWorld onFire my nails down, it’s 2hours and 35 minutes’, songsoverthepast40years.” ‘Duringthe Davidhadhis.” great,rosy cheeked.Ifyou’re doing Aboutayoungfemalesinger whogets and he [Bowie] would writeback, ‘2 hours WhyJohnny? “I don’tknow.Maybe it Did their relationship go beyond friend- drugs and drinkingat66you look discoveredin anightclub inthe1960s.Does and 26 minutes’. Then Isaw some posts on rhymeswell: ageneric name which helps makingof ship?“No,absolutely not and at that time likeshit.” shesettheworldon fire?It’snotabout Bowie Worldwidejustafter midnight: describe the common man. The issue for he had serious financial problems. He was Bowie’spoison now? Astrongmacchia- anybodyspecific,butacoupleofpeople ‘Holyshit’, ‘OhmyGod ...’ Everyone had him isn’t so much guns, but the mental Young breakingupwith (firstwife) Angie and he to.Otherwise he drinks waterand in the whosangalongsideDylan. writtenhim off. The nextday he wasvery health of the shooter.Inthe pasttwo years Americans he wasreconstructinghis life. Certainly there studio,and eats roastbeef sandwiches 13YouFeelSoLonelyYouCouldDie happyabout how well it had beenreceived. there have been so manyshootings and wereperiodswhenhereachedthedepths. andsalads. It’saboutRussianhistory,fromthetimeof ‘Well,whatdidyouexpect?’,Isaid.” the nextday we’d come intothe studio and wastakingso “Duringthe makingofYoung Americans The twohavemade29songs together of theColdWar andespionageandaboutan Bowie,he says, told him he would “never say‘What the f***? Whyisthis happen- (1975)hewas takingsomuch cocaine late, makingasecond album almost uglydemise.It soundslikeanR&B song. do another interview again”making ing?’ We were shocked likeeveryone much cocaine it would have killedahorse. Cocaine inevitable. “We’re not goingtogiveupon 14Heat Visconti, Isay,his voice on Earth. “Tell me else and don’tthink it’s goingtoend any- certainly almostkilledme. Duringthe the songs that haven’tmadethis one,” Itcouldbeaboutprison,lonelinessand about it,” he says, wryly.The singer had a time soon. We have kids and we can’t it wouldhave makingofthat album Inearly died. I Viscontisays. sociopathicdetachment.Thelyricsareso heartattackin2004 and there have been imagine the horror...the worstthingto killed a thought Iwas goingtohaveaheartattack. “We’regoingtogobackandlookatthem bleakIaskedhimwhathewas talkingabout. rumoursthathewassufferingfromcancer. happen to our kids would be them being Iworked dayand night. He’d come in to because they’re spectacular musical “Oh,it’s notabout me,”hesaid. Noneofthese “They’re categorically not true,”Visconti shotinpublic.” horse’ the studio at 11pm and work till 11am. One pieces, they justhaven’t been finished songsare.He’san observer. says. “Hedoesnot have cancer.Ifthere’s The Berlin period featuredinthe new dayIsaid ‘I have to pack it in, the cocaine Continuedonpage6 watch thatman Tony Visconti, DavidBowie’s producer,friendand AlcoholicsAnonymous “buddy”. Visconti helped produceBowie’s latest album