Today, the Spotlight shines On writer Chris O'Leary.

Chris has spent over a decade and a half writing what's become the definitive study of David Bowie's songbook. His blog, Pushing Ahead of the Dame, covers every song on every album in Bowie’s extensive canon. The first post from 2009 covers David’s first single, 1964’s “Liza Jane”, and the most recent is about Chris’s latest work, a newly revised edition of Rebel Rebel, a collection of his writings on Bowie songs from 1963 - 1976. Chris has written for Pitchfork, Slate, and Billboard, and he's currently working on an online project called 64 Quartets, a series exploring musical quartets across genres.

I previously booked Chris back in 2021 to speak at the Bowie 75 pop-up I produced in New York City. There, he presented on Bowie and Brian Eno's 1995 album Outside.

Chris is here to discuss his updated book, what new archival releases have taught us about Bowie's creative process, and why he chose the blog format to tackle one of music's most ambitious projects.

If you are interested in more of our episodes touching on the life and work of David Bowie, check out last week’s episode with Donny McCaslin, 2022’s episode with Chris Duffy, or 2021’s episode with David Whitehead.

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Dig Deeper

• Chris O'Leary's blog "Pushing Ahead of the Dame"
• Rebel Rebel: The Songs of David Bowie, 1963-1976 (revised edition, July 2025)
• Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie, 1976-2016
• Repeater Books
• Dig into this episode's complete show notes at spotlightonpodcast.com

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