Still can't listen to any Bowie songs or watch any tribute programmes without welling up a bit. Why do I feel that way for someone I didn't even know? Because Bowie was a big part of my life growing up. I remember watching Ziggy on Top of the Pops as a 10 year old and being blown away at just how different he was musically and visually. I had a spiky Ziggy haircut when I was about 12 (not dyed bright red, though, mum wouldn't allow it). I've just listened to Queen Bitch from Hunky Dory and I was welling up because it brought back memories from my teens in the late 70s, early 80s. My local nightclub used to play a Bowie segment every Friday, and Queen Bitch was always one of songs played. Although it was a B-side, the dance floor was always absolutely packed whenever it was played. Met loads of girls dancing to that song (*goes into brief trance-like state reminiscing about lost youth).
I think you have to be a certain age to fully understand just how influential Bowie was, as well as the fact that his best music is over 30 years old. During the 70s, his music was light years ahead of everyone else and he's influenced so many artists ever since. Even some you perhaps wouldn't expect, for instance I heard Mark Ronson the other day saying how much he'd influenced him. His music was also much more complex than most people realise. I remember hearing that the backing singers for the Young Americans album were having problems singing some of the songs because of the constant chord changes, and they were experienced session singers. Rick Wakeman, who played piano on Life on Mars, also said the chord changes didn't go where you expected them to go.
Apart from his music, there was the massive cultural impact he had. Even today, public figures are reluctant to come out as gay, so you can imagine the prejudice that was around about 45 years years ago. So when Bowie told the world he was gay it was pretty shocking stuff. Yes, he did it to shock, just like his alien alter-ego, but what it also did was give people confidence to be themselves, no matter how different they may be. It was OK to be gay, transgender, wear women's clothes, look like a freak. I can only imagine how inspirational he must have been to gay and transgender people in the 70s.
For me, he showed me that you didn't have to follow the crowd and be like everyone else, it was good to be different. Just be yourself, whatever that may be. He also showed me that no matter how successful you are in your career, if you're not happy with the direction you're taking, you don't have to continue taking the tried and trusted easy option just to please everyone else. It's more important to be happy in what you do rather than how much you could earn doing something else. This may have had some bearing on me completely changing career twelve years ago.
RIP David. Often copied, never equalled. My hero.
