He was our hero, and not just for one day.
When young David Jones stepped on to the music scene in the late 1960s, nobody thought much of it until he changed his surname to Bowie and after two relatively unsuccessful (as compared to successive) albums, created one of the most imaginative and iconic fictional characters of all time: Ziggy Stardust.
And then just a few years later he ch-ch-ch-ch-changed himself into Aladdin Sane, an equally iconic visage with copper hair and a striking red and blue lightning bolt slashed across his face:
And then he was the “Thin White Duke.” And then a German-rock pioneering outsider. His last character, debuted in a video filmed as we have now learned, while battling terminal cancer, was his most haunting and poignant yet: the lonely, gaunt and fearless patient, waiting on his deathbed to “just like that bluebird…be free.”
He’s made so many hit songs that we’ve lost count. From “Let’s Dance” to “Heroes,” from “Changes” to “Dancing In The Street,” from “Modern Love” to “The Man Who Sold The World” (most famously covered by Nirvana in their 1994 MTV Unplugged concert). He brought glam rock to the center stage, championed androgynous looks and gender fluidity well before it was ever deemed socially acceptable and inspired artists on a wide musical spectrum (everyone from Madonna to Kanye West tweeting about his impact).
He collaborated with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and even Bing Crosby for a Christmas hit you’ve probably heard many times on the radio.
His songs were about everything and nothing at all. They made us look to the sky and ache for something greater, filled us with hope and happiness, sobered us with the reality of the world we live in. There will never be another artist quite like David Bowie (although many will try) because he himself was never what he seemed. A chameleon, always changing his shimmery exterior when he deemed it necessary, he stayed relevant until his sudden, heartbreaking demise.
To the man who fell to Earth, we thank you for making our lives that much brighter.