Low: Bowie's Berlin Years

David Bowie's legendary time in West Berlin as he searches for inspiration and records his 1977 album Low

LOW traces the aftermath of David Bowie's groundbreaking tour of America and the iconic "Berlin years" that followed.

Hot on the platform heels of Starman: Bowie's Stardust Years (SelfMadeHero, 2023), Reinhard Kleist masterfully concludes his two-part biography of David Bowie.

In 1976, Bowie escaped the frantic madness and substance abuse of his life in Los Angeles for the Wall of the divided city of Berlin. With his friend Iggy Pop in tow, Bowie quit drugs and created LOW, the first album of his "Berlin Trilogy." But even here, in some of the happiest days of his life, Ziggy Stardust would not let him go . . .

LOW follows Bowie's forays through West Berlin's revolutionary music scene and wild club life, and takes us deep into his recording sessions at Hansa Studios. The friendship between Bowie and Iggy drives both artists to new creative heights, while Bowie's relationship with the cabaret artist and drag icon Romy Haag illuminates his fascination with Berlin as a city on the brink.

Kleist's LOW is both a retelling of Bowie's Berlin years and a vibrant portrait of the city itself.

[This publication has not been prepared, approved, authorized, or licensed by the David Bowie estate or any related entity.]

Author: Reinhard Kleist
Publisher: Selfmadehero
Published: 07/08/2025
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.60w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781914224287

About the Author
Reinhard Kleist, born in 1970 in Hürth, Cologne, has worked and lived as an illustrator and comic book artist in Berlin since 1996. He made his international breakthrough in 2006 with the biographical comic book Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, which was awarded the renowned Max and Moritz Prize and nominated for both the Eisner and Harvey Awards. With The Boxer in 2013, Kleist became the first cartoonist to receive the German Youth Literature Prize. In 2017, Kleist once again tackled one of music's great storytellers in Nick Cave: Mercy on Me, which was simultaneously released in many languages. In 2018, Kleist was honored for his work with the Max and Moritz Prize for Best German-Language Comic Book Artist. In 2021, Kleist tackled another extraordinary boxing champion, Emile Griffith, in the comic book Knock Out! His critically acclaimed graphic biography of David Bowie will form two parts: Starman: Bowie's Stardust Years (SelfMadeHero, 2023) and LOW: Bowie's Berlin Years (SelfMadeHero, 2025).