Farewell then, David Robert Jones Bowie

Did you get swept up in the deluge of online Bowie mourning?
I know that I did - I used to hang out in Brixton and - blah, blah you get the picture.
The fact is, he cannot be ignored.
Perhaps it's generational - I found that I was suddenly hearing tunes from his back catalogue which triggered memories and moments from my past.

I was too young to appreciate the use of Space Oddity to accompany moonshot footage on tv.
Or the fact that it was his first transatlantic hit.
Later in life, I conducted walking tours which took in Trident Studios, where it was recorded.
I loved pointing out the humble anonymity of the place, tucked away in the back streets of London.
I could go on, but I won't.
Not yet, anyway.
I've always loved music, and Bowie was always there, flirting with genres and genders, re-inventing himself, and breaking boundary walls .
He initially identified himself as a folk musician, but he was so much more - refusing to be tied to a narrow definition of the term.
My first real introduction to the strangeness was through a babysitter who was older, and therefore party to these mysteries which confused my thirteen year old self - I only knew that Bowie was popular, and had played an alien in a film.

British lobby poster    

I remember seeing images of the character and his family with dark lenses for eyes, and thinking how strange they looked, but how sad it was that he should fall all the way to Earth with no spaceship.
Even worse, that he'd have to live as a 'normal' human being.

 Man Who Fell To Earth. Dir Nic Roeg 1976

Somehow, in my young mind, the shots of Bowie on the distant world got confused with the music and the stylised photographic imagery on the cover of StationtoStation .
I didn't get it, and felt like one of the cavemen he sang about in 'Life on Mars'.

In later, more cynical, punk - infused times, he was still there, still relevant, although I steered clear of 'Let's Dance', as I considered it 'bubblegum pop' .
At the time, I preferred his theme to the Paul Schrader film,' Cat People'.
The music of David Bowie was often like that - if there was something you didn't like, there was always an alternative somewhere.
For me, it was the era mentioned here, with bits of Diamond Dogs , Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, 'Heroes' , Hunky Dory...
I didn't like ' The Lodger' , but 'Scary Monsters and Super Creeps' hit the spot for me.
Tin Machine passed me by, but by that time his immense back catalogue towered over any lesser projects - and he moved into acting, following his early experience in 1967 , and later as the alien Thomas Newton ( see above ), then his impressive  stage performance as ' The Elephant Man'.
He returned to the silver screen with roles in 'Just A Gigolo', 'The Hunger', ' Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence' , and the Goblin King in Labyrinth.
As I grew up, he was almost omnipresent, yet never seemed 'over-exposed' - not in the way I find so many media figures these days.
Perhaps it was his gift for transformation that kept him 'fresh' - though he was also very selective, never appearing in a film just for the sake of being seen.

He was also a huge influence on the New Romantic scene, predating it, and including many prominent figures from there in the video of Ashes To Ashes, his 'sequel' to Space Oddity.
I'm sure the flamboyant post-punk dressing - up thing would be claimed by Malcolm McLaren, but he was inspired by the New York Dolls , who were cross - dressing way back when - which brings me conveniently to Transformer.
I'd picked up on the Velvet Underground, and enjoyed (?) their sonorous melodies but wasn't so enamoured of Lou Reeds solo output - except that one album.
Transformer was great.
When I realised it was produced by Bowie, I gained a renewed respect for both artists.

David Bowie      ©Tom Colbie

Reading back through this labyrinth (no pun intended) of words, I realise that it's just  another one of the untold thousands of tributes to a true legend, who is tightly interwoven in the memories of so many that his passing cannot be ignored.
So I'll keep it brief, and say farewell.
Thank you, Mr Bowie.
Safe Journey Home.