Look up here, I'm in heaven - David Bowie 1947-2016

I have been re-reading the piece I wrote almost 3 years ago to the day, when the news of Where Are We Now?, the stealth bomb of a new single from David Bowie, dropped into my lap; today made for a sobering comparison ....then, giddiness and excitement as I turned the news on to verify what the internet appeared to be telling me. This time, a sleepy, perfunctory Monday-morning stab at the remote to see Sky News flicker into life...."it's only 7 am, why's Bowie on the...(eyes focus on the headline at the foot of the screen).....shit......' (sits and stares for what seems like an eternity....) There's loads that can be said, has been said and will be said, and in a much better way than I can manage, so I'm going to play safe and stick with the music. From 1971 to 1980.....The Man Who Sold The World, Hunky Dory, Pin Ups, Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, Station To Station, Low, "Heroes", Lodger, Scary Monsters.......just let that sink in. Bowie can be characterised by many things, chief amongst them probably being change - it has never been more true than today, but more often than not you know what your favourite band's next album will be like because you have the last one. Bowie would, often at commercial heights, simply go off and do exactly what he wanted to do regardless of how popular what had come before was. Glam, Pop, Soul, Electronics, Krautrock, whatever....and with a touch of songwriting gold paralleled by VERY few. Plus he managed to pull off being incredibly arty and pretentious in a hugely entertaining way. Listening to the radio today .... just how many times can you have your heart broken?......wild is the wind.....where are we now?......blackstar........life on mars......win.......rebel rebel........look back in anger....stay........always crashing in the same car......sound and vision........lazarus.....station to station.......the jean genie......young americans.......time.........rock and roll with me.......suffragette city.....five years......absolute beginners.....warszawa ......drive in saturday.......the prettiest star........under pressure......changes......the buddha of suburbia......facination........the man who sold the world......."heroes"......fame......starman.......and yet you get to the end of each song and it's as if the music has put you back together. Mark Radcliffe spoke with huge eloquence about how this new post-Bowie world was deeply affecting for him, as he didnt know of a world without Bowie until now........but at the same time whilst we may be Bowieless, we are Bowieless in what will always be a Bowie filled world.....we have the music, and we have it forever.

"Look up here, I’m in heaven

I’ve got scars that can’t be seen

I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen

Everybody knows me now"

Lazarus