Goodbye, Mr Bowie

I first heard David Bowie when his Let’s Dance took the charts by storm in April 1983. Spring in London was unusually hot that year, and we would bask in our back garden or frolic by the pool all day during the Easter break as the catchy tune played on some radio nearby. Even our parents liked it. Perhaps, it was Bowie’s suave image in a tailored suit in the music video that won them over. Some of my school friends even bought red shoes, inspired by the line “put on your red shoes and dance the blues” from the song that was No. 1 for weeks.

Then there was the movie theme song ‘Absolute Beginners’, which resonated well with us as we struggled through our ‘A’ level exams and left school for the outside world in the spring of 1986.
We enjoyed his acting, too. From his powerful portrayal of a defiant British prisoner of war in a Japanese camp during WWll in ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence’ to his haunting role in ‘The Hunger’, he was good. And, why not? Legend has is that Bowie started in showbiz as a mine artist and dabbled in avant-garde theatre. His first major film role was as an alien in ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ (1976), which won him accolades.
But Bowie will probably be most remembered as a singer who pioneered glam rock.  In the ‘70s, he   created popular personas, like Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, to perform on stage, as he was ‘rather shy’, he once told an interviewer. He reinvented his music, moving towards soul, funk and pop.  He, however, hated disco, and rued that his songs were so popular in discothèques of the ‘80s.  
As we grew into other music and other likes, Bowie took a break from the UK. He moved to New York, where he enjoyed family life with his new wife, Iman and their daughter, Lexi. He was “so happy that it depressed others”, so said the legend in an interview.
Just the other day, he released a new album, ‘Blackstar’, on his 69th birthday. Little did we know that it would be his final one. Two days later, on January 10, the news of his death from liver cancer seemed like a cruel hoax. But his eldest son, Duncan Davies, an acclaimed film director, confirmed it on social media. The last album and the video of the single ‘Lazarus’ released that week were Bowie’s way of saying goodbye to his fans.
What a loss of a musical innovator and fashion icon, and most of all an amiable man, who was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, South London. Many of us depressed by his sudden demise. But David, we pray you will always be “so happy that it depresses others”. 

Goodbye, Mr Bowie

I first heard David Bowie when his Lets Dance took the charts by storm in April 1983. Spring in London was unusually hot that year, and we would bask in our back garden or frolic by the pool all day during the Easter break as the catchy tune played on some radio nearby. Even our parents liked it. Perhaps, it was Bowies suave image in a tailored suit in the music video that won them over. Some of my school friends even bought red shoes, inspired by the line put on your red shoes and dance the blues from the song that was No. 1 for weeks. Then there was the movie theme song Absolute Beginners, which resonated well with us as we struggled through our A level exams and left school for the outside world in the spring of 1986. We enjoyed his acting, too. From his powerful portrayal of a defiant British prisoner of war in a Japanese camp during WWll in Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence to his haunting role in The Hunger, he was good. And, why not? Legend has is that Bowie started in showbiz as a mine artist and dabbled in avant-garde theatre. His first major film role was as an alien in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), which won him accolades. But Bowie will probably be most remembered as a singer who pioneered glam rock. In the 70s, he created popular personas, like Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, to perform on stage, as he was rather shy, he once told an interviewer. He reinvented his music, moving towards soul, funk and pop. He, however, hated disco, and rued that his songs were so popular in discothques of the 80s. As we grew into other music and other likes, Bowie took a break from the UK. He moved to New York, where he enjoyed family life with his new wife, Iman and their daughter, Lexi. He was so happy that it depressed others, so said the legend in an interview. Just the other day, he released a new album, Blackstar, on his 69th birthday. Little did we know that it would be his final one. Two days later, on January 10, the news of his death from liver cancer seemed like a cruel hoax. But his eldest son, Duncan Davies, an acclaimed film director, confirmed it on social media. The last album and the video of the single Lazarus released that week were Bowies way of saying goodbye to his fans. What a loss of a musical innovator and fashion icon, and most of all an amiable man, who was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, South London. Many of us depressed by his sudden demise. But David, we pray you will always be so happy that it depresses others.