SelfMadeHero launched the English-language edition of Reinhard Kleist’s Low: David Bowie’s Berlin Years in style at London’s Century Club on Friday, May 30, 2025, courtesy of Comica and VIP Brands. The Celebrating David Bowie event featured a conversation between Comica founder Paul Gravett and Kleist about the making of the book, followed by a Bowie tribute performance and live drawing.
The title of the book is after the first album of Bowie’s “Berlin trilogy” (1976-1979) and also relates to the difficult period for Bowie, which led him to move to Germany. The first album of the trilogy, Low, was actually partially produced in France before Bowie moved production to West Berlin. Kleist had briefly engaged with an anecdote of the period, where Bowie and Iggy Pop (both recording in West Berlin at the time) took a trip through the Berlin Wall to East Berlin in the Soviet bloc. This story was featured in his 2016 anthology Berliner Mythen [Berlin Myths], not currently available in English.
In the conversation portion of the event, Kleist explained why he kept his David Bowie biography to two books that focus on select periods of the musician’s life, with Low: David Bowie’s Berlin Years being the final instalment. He suggested that a full chronology of Bowie’s life would be a daunting mountain to climb and also he preferred to hone in on specific points that were influential to David Bowie and had personal meaning to Kleist himself. Hence we got the early years of Ziggy Stardust in Starman (published in 2023) and now Bowie’s troubled yet transformative Berlin years in Low.
Kleist has made a name for himself with his graphic portraits of Nick Cave, Fidel Castro, and Johnny Cash. The Bowie duology, he jokes, was part of a devil’s deal with his German publisher to greenlight a graphic biography about boxer Emile Griffith (Knock Out, 2021). Kleist has also produced several intriguing graphic portraits of sports figures.
Although based in Berlin since 1996, the majority of the research for Low was done via books and online sources with only the occasional in person interview or Hansa Studio visit. Kleist spoke with former Hansa Studio engineer Eduard Meyer and heard a number of anecdotes from the time, many of which didn’t make it into the book. One such time was the time Meyer, who used to live near the studio, was awoken by a stoned David Bowie and Iggy Pop knocking at his door and then making breakfast for them.
Process is curious. Kleist says he writes a form of full script for the graphic novel – key scenes, dialogue – then intensively works with his editor to refine it before Kleist sketches the pages. Kleist also said that he uses a colourist for much of the graphic novel, only colouring the flashback sequences himself. The colourist often surprises Kleist with their choices.
Kleist spent the last part of the conversation showing off some of the cool and amusing photos he stumbled across in research. Shots of David Bowie, but also a curious instrument that became popular in the period – the harmonizer.
The final part of the event was a live performance by cabaret artist and comedian Aidan Sadler doing a live set of Bowie songs accompanied by Reinhard Kleist live drawing pieces inspired by them. A unique night.
And yes, there was a signing. Pretty long queue too.
Low: Bowie’s Berlin Years is out now in the UK, and July 8 in the US
