David Bowie in 7 Videos

David Bowie was so many different things to so many people it is testament to his creative brilliance and chameleonic energy that he was able to continually re-invent himself becoming all things to all people.

For me he was that spark of inspiration, the fountainhead of so many amazing bands I was to discover as I grew up. His influence stretched so far and wide that it is nearly impossible to pick out a band or artist of the last four decades and not find some semblance of Bowie in there, firing neurons and binding proteins to form and forge their music.

My first musical hero, Gary Numan, owes so much to Bowie and was something of a gateway for me into Bowie’s music. Other bands and artists had a huge influence in the musical DNA of the last 40 years or so but Bowie exerted the widest appeal, his music cut through so many boundaries and spanned so many genres it staggers the mind.

From the late sixties with the release of his second album Space Oddity, through the 70’s Berlin experimental electronica years into the 80’s and his forays into electro-funk and through the 90’s and into the 2000’s, his music has evolved and adapted.

His ability to innovate started early on and he helped pioneer the music video 12 years before the advent of MTV:

His method of song writing was so innovative, working with some of the finest and most original minds in the industry. Brian Eno was a collaborator during his Berlin period and helped Bowie shape and hone his electronic and krautrock-tinged sound. But it is his method for writing and inspiring lyrics that interested me the most. Using a cut-up technique he could randomise the poetical process of lyric writing. A technique pioneered by the Dada movement of early 20th century Europe it was later adapted and developed by William S. Burroughs. Fitting in well with Bowie’s avant-garde sensibilities it opened my eyes to boundless possibilities of creativity and inspired my writing throughout university and beyond.

Heroes is one of those albums everybody should have in their collection and the opener ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is a stunning example of just how far ahead Bowie was at the time. Incorporating experimental electronics with funk and early disco sounds it predicted the New Romantic movement of a few years later and set the bench mark for what was to come in the 80’s. Simply a blaze of psychedelic chugging grooves and slick beats, it is unsurpassed.

Arguably (and I often argue with myself) my favourite Bowie song. I was a Numan fan by the time this was released and I was busy dancing around my bedroom to Adam and the Ants when this song arrived and haunted me with its wailing synths and acid-tinged video. It seemed so unworldly, like a fever-induced dream with nausea inducing wooziness. I loved it. This also heralded the arrival of New Romantic with the new wave scenesters being dragged along. Incidentally it’s the last 30 seconds I adored with the funk bass and whooping and pitching synths, I could have listened to a further 3 minutes of that alone. Honourable mention goes to ‘Fashion’ which is amazing.

Bowie’s album Let’s Dance is patchy to say the least but the single ‘Let’s Dance’ stands out and is pop-funk classic and has Niles Rodgers stamped all over it.

Bowie’s career dipped markedly during the late 80’s and early nineties and I sort of tuned out, too much other great stuff going on, but he was constantly in the background and continued the re-invention, collaborating with different artists and adapting differing styles. Most notably, for me, was the track with Trent Reznor. Overtly industrial in sound with drum n bass beats it’s very of the time. Trent was experimenting in similar areas with Nine Inch Nails’ ‘The Perfect Drug’. The video is ace too.

I’m closing with ‘Lazarus’ off his final album just because of the predictive nature of the song and video. It isn’t a favourite by any stretch, I’m not a fan of Bowie post late early 80’s really but this song struck a chord and I felt no list of this type would be complete without its inclusion.

Bowie transcended the music he made, he transcended the art form he pioneered and he transcended the very essence of being. It was a privilege to have shared some of the same time that Bowie spent on this planet and I hope his return journey to the mothership was a safe and fun one. It was a blast Mr Bowie, I envy the next reality that enjoys your incredible presence.