David Bowie - Girl Loves Me (Audio)
The chameleon of pop has changed his colours immeasurable times. In a perpetual state of reinvention, David Bowie has never failed to keep his fans guessing. So much so that sometimes it can be hard to keep track of whom the real Bowie is.
With Bowie celebrating his 69th Birthday today, we look back at the different personas, which make Bowie the most enigmatic, unpredictable performer of his generation.
The Innocent Days
Born in Brixton in 1947 and bred in the leafy suburbs of Bromley, Bowie was the son of a waitress and a Barnardos charity promoter. A sandy-haired, cherub-cheeked teenager, Bowie considered becoming a monk and spent an entire year studying under a Tibetan lama. Eventually growing bored of Buddhism, Bowie went on to study music and take up jazz on his plastic saxophone. Nevertheless, a series of unsuccessful post-rocknroll bands left the aspiring star a little disheartened.
Ziggy Stardust: A Gay Icon Is Born
After releasing Space Oddity in 1969, Bowie established himself as a solo artist to be reckoned with. Just a few years later, Bowie finally broke through with Ziggy Stardust. His first and arguably greatest alter ego was born. Face daubed with a lightening bolt and mullet hairstyle dyed crimson red, Ziggy Stardust was a bisexual rock star alien who acted as a messenger for extra-terrestrial beings. Dressed in a multi-coloured Lycra jumpsuit, Bowies androgynous, wafer-thin doppelganger came to redefine an entire era of rocknroll. Widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time, it went on to sell an estimated 7.5 million copies worldwide.
Its worth noting that Ziggy Stardusts arrival on the scene coincided with Bowies coming out. In an interview in the 1972 issue of Melody Maker, Bowie declared himself gay. Later, he announced he was bisexual in an interview with Playboy in 1976.
The Conventional Man
By the time it reached the 80s, Bowie had taken something of a U-turn on both his sexual and musical forays. In a 1983 interview with Rolling Stone, Bowie announced that he was always a closet heterosexual and his public declaration of bisexuality was the biggest mistake I ever made. Seeing his sexuality as a by-product of the hedonistic atmosphere of the 70s, he also distanced himself from the alter ego of Ziggy Stardust. In his words, That was just a lie. They gave me that image.
Musically Bowie reached his lowest point in the mid-eighties. The public seemed to lose interest and he found himself performing to what he describes as a Phil Collins kind of audience.
21st Century Bowie
In true Bowie spirit, the superstar has continued to reinvent himself. This can be seen with his latest album Blackstar, which has been released today on his 69th birthday. Distancing itself from the rocknroll most of us associate with Bowie, Blackstar embraces jazzy improvisations and funk fusions. With most tracks between five and ten minutes long, they are nothing like the three-minute pop songs we are used to. Although its been a decade since Bowie performed live and the singer announced that he would never tour again last October, it is clear that he hasnt given up on making music yet.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/david-bowie-turns-69-a-journey-through-the-iconic-singers-different-personas-a6802446.html
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