SIX DEGREES OF BOWIE
I couldn't let this week slip by without paying tribute to Bowie. From the moment I first saw him on BBC TV in 1970 (check it out here ), I knew he was no ordinary musician. Then when he moved from one incarnation to another, I realized this guy was a trailblazer, a true rebel, a total artist. During my university years in the early 70's, Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars and Aladdin Sane were all must-have albums and Jean Genie was a dance anthem for 70's students keen for something different after the '60's diet of The Beatles, The Stones and various flower power sounds. Bowie promised something futuristic. A glimpse into bold new worlds, a blurring of gender lines, a complete and total integration of fashion, art and music. My favourite song of his was definitely Life on Mars. W ords like: See the mice in their million hordes, From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads were a plaintive yet truthful commentary on creeping commercialism. Check ...