"That's strange, Peaches,' announced Leo, emerging from the shower in a shroud of steam. 'That's the second Bowie song they've played in the last twenty minutes." As ever, Leo was right on the pulse. The radio responded immediately, which I'm sure will come as no surprise! A shocked DJ confirmed that the iconic Star Man had indeed left us to take his place in the heavens, just two days after his sixty-ninth birthday. His departure a skilfully crafted work of art, the finale marked by his last album: 'Black Star'.
For the creative rebels among us he was a genius, the man who defined re-invention and made it cool to be creative; a little different... Memories of poignant moments like; receiving 'Rock and Roll Suicide' on vinyl for my birthday, a gift from the avant-gard leader of our teenage pack. Then learning the lyrics whilst dancing with abandon in new plastic, pink and white platform shoes from the Freemans catalogue. Milly would have paid weekly for those shoes, with her earnings from stacking shelves in Tesco's, while we were slept to the tunes of Radio Luxembourg!
'Wild is the Wind,' is the haunting soundtrack to my failed rebellion against Leo's insistence that we walk the 'Camino de Santiago'. Manicured toenails giving up the ghost in the trudge across the Pyrenees from St Jean to Roncesvalles. Crossing the bleak barbed wire border, David understood the raw challenge of being alone in a hostile environment... 'What's the point of all that buffing?' I had cried in desperation.
Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Star Man and so many more; for generations of aspiring artists Bowie will always be a Hero. Enigmatic, the Brixton Boy exuded star quality. A dignified, private, talented man, his legend is only just beginning. Thank you, David, you will always be a bright star and now you can view us through the eyes of Major Tom.
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