David Bowie (1947-2016)

In my lifetime, I can’t think of many people who have had such an impact in life and in death as David Bowie.  I’ve grown up with him, it seems like he has always been around, almost like a friend.  The one thing I truly regret is that I never saw him perform live.  I have seen many comments in social media since his death was announced, including several times people saying things like I didn’t like him, but I really liked such-and-such a song.  It seems most of us liked something about him, the sign of a true icon.  The whole world seems to be shocked and surprised.

I could speak of many times either at my home or visiting friends when a Bowie album was played – several of his come into the category ‘Albums that everyone owns’.

He was a musician, song writer, artist, who painted his canvas with his own picturesque musings, a mime artist, an actor, the ultimate performance artist, a pioneer, a producer and visionary.  He helped to create innovative videos.  He created an androgynous look, accepted and copied by many.  It was different and ambiguous and surely ahead of it’s time.  He was probably indirectly responsible for influencing the fashion design industry and perpetrating some of the gender nuances present in the world today.

He was a true artist, innovative, cool and always changing, reinventing himself and I’m sure many artists and performers over the years have him to thank for his influence and attitude.  And it was not just the music that changed.  He morphed through different alter egos such as Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, dressed to match each persona and launched fashion trends followed by millions.  And he surrounded himself with the very best musicians who were able to project his sound and vision and style.

He kept going, even in the early days.  His first single was released in 1964, but his first success was his 10th single, released in 1969, the ground-breaking “Space Oddity”, which has been a hit several times and will probably be so again after his death.  And in those later times, when he knew he was dying, he remained inventive and determined to complete the job, to get that last album released.

He was a post-modernist, an avant-garde, always looking for new directions, who inspired and represented many people of my age – able to change, accept new challenges, keep learning, fulfil fantasies by creating alter egos – we could achieve the impossible, we could be a hero for one day, or more. He liberated us from our constraints.  I have always been like this and still keep moving forward.

David Bowie the person and Star Man is gone, like Major Tom lost in space and time, but his music, attitude, style, imagination and inventiveness will live on and be admired on the internet and in people’s minds for many years to come.