By – Jackie Lo

“My life was all black and white until I met David and afterwards it was glorious technicolor as bright as the hair on his head”. That line, from the epilogue summed up the incredible story of a young girl, a hairdresser, who befriended David Bowie’s mother and wife and in turn, they turned her whole life upside down.  Me and Mr. Jones: My Life With David Bowie And The Spiders From Mars, by Suzi Ronson is an incredible behind the scenes experience of one of the most exciting times in music.

At age 14, Suzi saw The Beatles in concert and screamed the whole show. She left that show knowing that she wanted a different life than the one she had always known. Years later, working for a salon, a woman sat in Suzi’s chair and was talking about her son and his music and how proud she was of him. It was David Bowie’s mother and shortly after Suzi also met David’s wife Angie. Through these encounters, she was brought over to do David’s hair as well. He wanted something wild and colorful, and Suzi came up with the iconic Ziggy Stardust hair. The red, spiky, unforgettable style. She became friends with David and Angie and started hanging out at their place with the rest of David’s band, The Spiders From Mars. In this book you will meet David and his wife Angie, along with Mick, Trevor, and Woody and hear about what it was like to see them early in their careers and at their early shows with Ziggy. It’s especially interesting (and adorable) to hear early Mick stories before he and Suzi became a couple. Ziggy Stardust started hitting it big and Suzi was hired to go on tour to do hair and costumes. A chance of a lifetime and her dream had come true.

This book tells the behind-the-scenes stories of the tours, the free love, David’s sexuality, going overseas to the U.S. for the first time, their tour in Japan, and all the amazing encounters with famous people along the way. You’ll meet Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan along the way, go to a Mott The Hoople show, see Andy Warhol in the audience, be a confidant with David Bowie, and hear about the intricate stage designs and incredible designers and costumes that gave Ziggy his most famous looks. Suzi was always backstage ready for the next costume change and making the production flawless. You’ll also get a firsthand account of her falling in love with Mick Ronson and the trials and tribulations that come with being together (and apart) on tour.

What I love the most about this book and Suzi’s story is that it’s incredibly fun to hear about a young girl finding her way in life as she did. Discovering fashion, traveling, getting drunk with the crew after the shows, being young and wild, yet taking her role seriously and the meticulous care she gave to every detail of her job was inspiring. I’m so glad she finally shared her story with us years after losing Mick and David to the same illness. Give this one a read. It was a hard one for me to put down.