“Battle cries and champagne...”
Welbeck Publishing Group today announces that it will publish Aladdin Sane 50, a definitive book by Chris Duffy celebrating the 50th anniversary of David Bowie’s classic album. The book contains a plethora of photographs, including many previously unpublished portraits of Bowie from the iconic Aladdin Sane cover shoot by Chris’s father, photographer Duffy, fifty years since they were taken.
The 256-page Aladdin Sane 50 will publish on 30th March 2023, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the album’s release. Pre-order here.
Alongside Duffy’s photographs are essays on Aladdin Sane and the story behind the famous cover itself, with contributions from Paul Morley, Charles Shaar Murray, Nicholas Pegg, Kevin Cann, Jérôme Soligny and Geoffrey Marsh.
Designed by Bowie collaborators Barnbrook creative studio, the book pays tribute to a seminal album and an image that will live forever more in rock ‘n’ roll history – ‘the Mona Lisa of pop’, Aladdin Sane.
Joe Cottington, Associate Publisher at Welbeck, said: “To say I’m thrilled to be publishing this book is an understatement – sharing the full story behind music’s single most iconic image. And to combine Duffy’s remarkable images with essays on David’s music by some of the most respected writers in the Bowiesphere in a gorgeous design by Barnbrook studio – I can’t quite believe it’s all come together so perfectly, and I can’t wait for Bowie fans everywhere to see it.”
Chris Duffy, CEO at the Duffy Archive, said: “Every photographer wants a jewel in the crown and out of the thousands of photographs of David Bowie, the Aladdin Sane image has become Duffy’s jewel and David’s most recognisable image, becoming a cultural icon in the process.
They say a picture can say a thousand words – there’s no debate that thousands have been written about the Aladdin Sane album cover and it’s an honour fifty years after its release to be able to share previously unpublished images from the session. I’m privileged to honour two great men and I thank all of those who continue to hold the flame.”
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