RIP David Bowie

:(

Sad news indeed.

Too young. Not even 70. Very sad. David Bowie is/was magical. Bewitching.

Where do I start?

My Dad is a huge Bowie fan, he has seen him live many times and as a teen he would count down the days to the next single release. Growing up we would hear his music daily. I have fond memories of Starman and Space Oddity.
At school my friends loved the more popular music of that time such as INXS and Nirvana. I kept my love of Bowie a secret as he wasn't deemed as cool.
In my early twenties my brother and myself formed a 5 piece rock band and were quite successful in Great Yarmouth and then London. We had a dream, we wrote our own songs but we did cover David Bowies Heroes. Our dream was that we would start the song at one of our gigs and with our Dad in the crowd, Bowie would walk on and sing with us.
That dream never happened and died today.

Bowie wasn't just a pop singer, he was an artist. His persona and his music was his art. If you own every album of his from his first up till black star (released last Friday) then your collection would virtually cover every music genre.

If you haven't discovered Bowie yet and not sure what the fuss is all about then I can recommend the following

1) The album, the man who sold the world (early work)
2) The album Let's Dance
3) The film Labyrinth

So many of todays artists were influenced in some way by him.

I am glad his music will keep him alive.

^
I agree with Darren.

I am in shock and listening to his gift to us now, Blackstar.
A huge influence and inspiration and loss to so many. Peace.

Such an Icon and I'm very sad to hear of his passing. I was not a huge fan of him I will admit...never owned one of his albums but...I did enjoy some of his stuff. Lets Dance comes to mind right now...filmed in Australia of course, but before I came here so...not bias in any way...just a song I liked...

Love David!Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is one of the most beautiful films i've seen in my life.David perfumed my youth with his wonderful songs and irreverence.

I cannot imagine growing up without him, any less than the Beatles or Dylan or Joni Mitchell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-pSbKnjrA

I thought there might have been more love for the bloke,

as poets surely we can recognise the loss of a great poet?

Just look up the lyrics for 'The width of a circle'

a locked thread when there is a religious debate

8 posts when a genius dies

a bit poor really.

Yes such an interesting creative fearless provocative guy, yes David was a genius..

He will be missed...

Loved his role in Labyrinth ...

My favorite song... Space Oddity

Darren...on this site it has been proven that most do not bat an eyelid at mass shootings so...please tell me why you expected anything more that what has been said?

complacency rules...just in case you haven't noticed!

Darren, I do agree with you to some extent, however, sometimes I do feel we get caught up to a ridiculous degree with celebrity deaths.
Yes, he was a genius and an inspiration to more than one generation, but - although not old - he did live to 69 and lived a very comfortable life.
As tired as the subject may be, a lot of other people died that day - tragically. Kids who never stood a chance, road accidents, etc etc. They will barely get a mention anywhere, ever. From a purely human point of view, why should one man get so much attention for his one death? After all, he spent his whole life in the spotlight.

That's exactly why he should be remembered in this fucked up world we live in, when a shining light and pure genius walks among us, it should be exalted and held high! What else in this world is there to aspire to ???? Other than death greed and misery to focus on... The world needs Hero's

David Bowie was a kind hearted lovely human being who revolutionized music and responsible for taking it in new directions influencing generations and musicians, that influence will never stop........

Yes we should mourn his death

Alan Rickman died today. Another great loss.

While I see your point, Ben, I agree with Nicko. These men were good and inspirational and helped shape some of our childhoods and adulthoods. Bowie was certainly a genius, and perhaps Rickman was as well. Kind, intelligent souls at the very least. That's to be celebrated.

I also see your point Ben

however,

I think Bowie is a special case, he certainly is to me.
On par with Micheal Jackson, Elvis Presley and John Lennon dying in my opinion.
He wasn't just some two bit singer from a plastic pop group. He was a stadium filling mega star. One in 100 million.

I will be just as upset when the queen of England dies
(whoops, I think that is still treason)

However I was wrong to whinge, it is not up to me to try and influence other people.
Simply, when he died my childhood and teenage years died with him. I now feel old.

Hellon you make a good point.
I was stupid to moan.

Darren you weren't stupid to moan, the guy had a massive impact on many millions of people but maybe not that many on here

And i know how you feel about the lose, i feel it to, he was a unique character, one we grew up with and it feels like when he died some of that coulourful rebelliousness exuberance of our youth that we carry with us in our hearts died with him... but that doesn't have to be the case.. what David Bowie brought to the world is still out there and i don't think it will ever be lost

Darren...you have every right to moan. The man was a legend and obviously his passing has upset you. I just meant, why be surprised by the lack of response the post has gained, when mass shootings are shrugged off so easily on this site.

Genius or not, his life is no more valuable than the man (and there surely was one) who died on the road that day, on his way to a 9-5 job, where he toiled daily for his family who he loved dearly.
I understand the view of holding up these people and being saddened by their loss - he was brilliant, and the entertainment industry is certainly worse off without him - but I don't think we should get carried away, that's all. He was just one man, ultimately. Each to their own though

I am glad that David, all in all, did not become a scarecrow like the ones featured in his epitaph album, doomed to have his legacy destroyed by Lori Maddox or any other self proclaimed groupie

Not more valuable, Ben, you're right, but neither is anyone you or I love in the grand scheme of things. Still, I think I'd mourn more for my dad than for a stranger, and I'm sure someone would mourn more for said stranger than for my dad. I don't condone the idolization of celebrities in general, but I think some celebrities have made real positive and/or inspirational impacts in people's lives and it's fair for these people to mourn the loss without feeling guilty for it.

Well said . I used to see mourning as something I was obliged to do to benefit the mourned . Anyone that has witnessed the suffering of some cancer victims feel a sense of relief for those who escape the pain . I rarely see the value of judging anyone living or dead from an objective point of view

I've been wondering why I never owned an album/CD by David Bowie because I did like a lot of his material and...here is what I've come up with. Most of his stuff you couldn't really dance to and, I love to dance. More interesting to me though is the fact that he used a cut-up technique for some of his songs and, although I find this method absolutely fascinating now...as a teenager I regarded it as cheating to some extent...what an idiot I was/ am!!!

I certainly never mentioned anywhere that anyone should feel guilty for mourning him or anyone else but, equally, no one should feel guilty for not mourning either. As above, each to their own.
In my personal opinion, he was a very clever man who produced some wonderful music. But there are plenty out there who hate him and the songs he wrote. My point was, as blunt as it sounds, he was just one man. A man that wrote a good tune, but just one man. Mourn him or don't, it is entirely down to the individual. I suppose all I mean is that, on that day, there were plenty of people who died who had also achieved an awful lot, either for charity, personal accomplishments, etc. They will never get the recognition Bowie did for doing work - quite possibly - as or more important. So certainly, feel sad at his passing, but don't lose perspective.

All the best

^^ Most of his stuff you couldn't really dance to and, I love to dance.

Hellon, Hate to disagree, but I and a few hundred kids found his music danceable every weekend in High School & College. 'Course, being considerably older than you, our definitions of dance may have varied. We generally moved around the fire in a clockwise motion, waving sticks and screaming at the game-effigies.

Ok...I concede, I do remember being able to get some sort of rhythm going to Jean Genie :)

As for dancing clockwise, waving sticks etc....are you sure you weren't an aboriginal in a previous life haha!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqfyHzL0G-o

This is really worth listening to the very end...educational to our aboriginal culture here in Australia and...just a little history of the lead singer for anyone interested..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandawuy_Yunupingu

We all look at life differently, we all have different priorities values etc etc. I passed a road accident in the weekend where a motor cyclist had been killed. but i will never knew who he was or the circumstances of his life. other than the initial horror of seeing him lying on the road and attended too, which will haunt me for a few days. He had every right to life as much as anybody else, David Bowie or anybody. Yet he had no impact on my life what so ever, that my sound mercenary but its a fact and that's the difference. Ben i think you have this all wrong, if David Bowie had no impact on your life, fine move on, we never asked you to mourn him or comment or anything, its personal, but with all respect don't sit on your high horse and lecture me, or tell me not to lose perspective about whats important and what i should or shouldn't value

I think tomorrow is Edgar Allan Poe's birthday
At age 15 in January 1948, Loretta married Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn
Jerry Lee Lewis was engaged to his 13 year old cousin
Lori Maddox was born November 11, 1958
but who really cares

Does a celebrated figure owe us their life's story ?

*
Nicko,

I certainly didn't mean to come across as sitting atop a moral high horse - far from it.
Originally I stated that people can mourn whoever they want however they want to, but what I meant is that sometimes we can lose perspective - but that is only my opinion.
I think, in fact, that it was only ever you that said "he should be mourned", thus telling people what to do. I never did that and certainly never meant to give that impression.
I'll leave it there and as above, sad news indeed - he certainly is a massive loss of originality in a world where that is too little,
Ben

...anyone seen a rocket around here??

I have, Michael - and it is wonderful!

And one more sad loss...Glenn Frey - The Eagles aged 67. Now this is a band that I did own many of their albums...RIP

Hellon - I didn't know that until reading your post. And I absolutely agree, they are brilliant - I grew up listening to them - my mother loves them.

^^^
my mother loves them.

You make me feel old Ben

RIP Glenn Frey

Very sad on both counts, but neither of them was a genius, unless you all have a very different definition of what that word means.

I watched "Die Hard" with my darling on the day Rickman died. I've been doing my impersonation around the flat, making everyone sad. :)

Kevin
I guess the word genius when applied to the arts is always going to be subjective - much more so than in practical subjects such as science or maths. As i said above, some people hated him, so to them, he is certainly not a genius.
However, like him or not, he did produce a highly original sound and influence others to a massive degree - much more so than most.
Die hard was a great film by the way - but not genius, lol
All the best

Ps michael - don't despair - i love them too.

I think he is more of an icon than a genius.

Whether David Bowie was a genius or an icon, I don't know, but he sure made some great creative and original music!
RIP David Bowie. You brought much pleasure and great music into our otherwise dull lives!

Ah, semantics!
I suppose, like Kevin, I consider Bowie to be more of an icon than a genius, but as Ben said, genius seems to have different connotation in regards to art and artists.
I think Bowie had a bigger impression on my mom than me since she was a young adult at the peak of his career, but he's one of those 'icons' I can't help admiring and adoring. I guess I'm a bit of a cliche for loving him most because of his role as Jareth, Goblin King, in The Labyrinth. I watched that movie too many times to count as a kid.

How many Goblin Kings and other Bowie personas do you think we'll see next Halloween? I'm hoping for a lot. I've wanted to be Jareth for awhile, but my costume is already set for next year. Planning ahead...Who, me?

My mum and aunt were big bowie fans.
I never knew many of his songs until quite recently then I realised I actually had just didn't now it was by him.