Ashes to Ashes

[nmrfox]

Ashes to Ashes

Sad, sad news indeed. RIP to a genuine legend.

[Borracho]

Ashes to Ashes

Just got a text off a friend. Apparently one presenter on TV3 piped up that her favourite Bowie song was 'Stardust'. Meanwhile on RTE, someone else opined that "His eyes were a big part of him". I think I'll give TV and radio a swerve for the rest of the day.

Listening to Golden Years right now. What an amazing song it is on every level.

[Sean of the Shed]

Ashes to Ashes

To be fair to Suzannah Reid, spending all morning sat next to Piers fucking Morgan is enough to numb anyone's emotions.

[hobbes]

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I have Absolute Beginners as an earworm.
It's not his best song by a country mile. But I have a real soft spot for it.

[3 Colours Red]

Ashes to Ashes

Numb... just completely numb... can't find the words, this has hit me properly hard.

[Ray de Galles]

Ashes to Ashes

Mumpo wrote: Miserable news, of course. But here's a game you can play to lighten your mood (oh come on, it's what he would have wanted) - watch or listen to the news reports and try to work out which presenters genuinely loved David Bowie and which ones haven't got a clue whether he recorded Ashes To Ashes or Fade To Grey.

Bill Turnbull broke the news on BBC Breakfast, he reeled off a list of Bowie albums and seemed genuinely shocked, but then he always comes across as a very genuine person. Susanna Reid on ITV affected an ersatz heartfelt tone of voice that wasn't convincing anyone, and it was left to Lorraine Kelly to save the day with a spontaneous string of Bowie recollections.

Radio 1 was priceless. But then what do you except? "69 year old rock star who was last in the charts when your mum was younger than you are now has died. Come on kids, it's sad." Nick Grimshaw resorted to regaling us with an amusing vignette about his choice of Bowie t-shirt.

Nicky Campbell on R5 gave us two hours of full-on Partridge about it.

To be fair, he seemed to be a genuine & knowledgable fan and probably pretty shaken up by having the news break while he was on the air. Some of it was teeth-gnashing stuff though and I'm pretty sure he was so befuddled that he referred to 'Space Oddity' as "the, er, space one..." at one point.

He did manage to get some very good interviews in as well though, particularly Bob Harris on Bowie's early career and Richard Coles on his cultural significance and impact on attitudes to sexuality.

.

[Mr Beast]

Ashes to Ashes

Does anyone remember those voluminous "Bowie Trousers" that used to be advertised in the back of the NME? My brother and I came very close to ordering some to try and obtain some reflected glamour, which I badly needed.

He blew our minds on Top of The Pops, I'll never forget how excited we were as a bunch of 8 year olds talking about him the next day. Our love for Slade and Sweet was over. RIP a true star.

[dalliance]

Ashes to Ashes

There are a negligible number of musicians who are part of your first musical awareness as a child and then stay as a relevant part of your musical consciousness all the way through your adolescence and childhood.

And now there are none.

[anton pulisov]

Ashes to Ashes

Fuck's sake, what a shite piece of news to wake up to.

[tee rex]

Ashes to Ashes

Mumpo wrote: Miserable news, of course. But here's a game you can play to lighten your mood (oh come on, it's what he would have wanted) - watch or listen to the news reports and try to work out which presenters genuinely loved David Bowie and which ones haven't got a clue whether he recorded Ashes To Ashes or Fade To Grey.

He's pissed all over the Golden Globes coverage, that's a final achievement to celebrate.

[Anorak Smith]

Ashes to Ashes

Normally up on the news first thing, with iPads and Breakfast TV usually on in the house, but for some reason this morning the little Anoraks had CBBC on the tv.

Anyway, apropos of nothing, my Dad sent me a text just as I was leaving the house, simply 'Planet Earth is Blue and there's nothing I can do'. I thought he was just having a 'moment', as is his wont, but couldn't believe it when the news came back in his reply. I'd just caught the tail end of a Bowie interview, talking about the Fame riff, going into Fame on Radio 6, so was just thinking it was on the back of the new album. Sat here now, in the office, having my own moment.

[wiblflibl]

Ashes to Ashes

Fuck.

Just listened to Warszawa. Tears.

[hobbes]

Ashes to Ashes

Heh. I remember getting into Bowie when I was about 12 or 13. Space Oddity, Starman etc. were part of the cultural wallpaper that I had heard countless times and liked but were you know, old.
Anyway I got a copies of Ziggy and Diamond Dogs on vinyl from the library and wore out the groove for the next few weeks.
In excitement at my discovery, I told my Mum all about this amazing artist who I had uncovered. You know, educating the square old mother with what's hip, maaaaan.
She listened patiently, with a sort of smile on her face and murmured platitudes etc. When I'd finished my breathless yammering, she said "wait here a minute." She went upstairs and came down with an armful of Bowie records - singles and albums.
"Yes, I knew I'd heard the name." she said, smiling.

He was and still is the one musical touchstone that connects my mother and I.

[Anorak Smith]

Ashes to Ashes

Mr Beast wrote: Does anyone remember those voluminous "Bowie Trousers" that used to be advertised in the back of the NME? My brother and I came very close to ordering some to try and obtain some reflected glamour, which I badly needed.

I bought a pair of those, had about 20 pleats on each side, and in front of my bedroom mirror I was the Thin White Duke. My mates ripped me to shreds on the only occasion I ever wore them in public. F*ckers.

[Borracho]

Ashes to Ashes

Is there any truth in the rumour that East Stirlingshire's tannoy announcer once played the second side of Low over the PA at half-time of a particularly awful match?

[Gangster Octopus]

Ashes to Ashes

I was surprised to see a text from a good friend this morning. When it read "Ashes to Ashes, Funk to Funky" I knew what this morning's news was going to be.

I last heard "Ashes To Ashes" at the funeral of my niece's father just before Christmas. He'd been a huge Bowie fan. We were talking to one of his carers after the funeral who said that he and Mark used to argue (as much as Mark could talk by then) over who was the biggest Bowie fan. The carer said that he used to sing "John, I'm only dancing" to him.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Ashes to Ashes

I was playing a version of Mumpo's game on facebook, Ms Felicity and I gently mocking the people who thought it was profound to post...

- ALL of the lyrics of Space Oddity;

- the umpteen uploads of Heroes (officially the one David Bowie song no one needs to hear again, it gets so overplayed);

- the people trying to find a 'suitable' line from a song: 'Knowledge comes with death's release' posted one acquaintance. I had to stop myself asking so how do you know, then?

And then Ms Felicity went out to work and I put Bowie on shuffle and got quite emotional (with hobbes on Absolute Beginners but I really lost it during Moonage Daydream. Oh yeah.)

There might be a small truth in there about how we use 'sick'/inappropriate humour to stave off pain?

[Geoffrey de Ste. Croix]

Ashes to Ashes

[Calvert]

Ashes to Ashes

Green Calx wrote: Is there any truth in the rumour that East Stirlingshire's tannoy announcer once played the second side of Low over the PA at half-time of a particularly awful match?

Magic mushrooms magic mushrooms magic mushrooms magic mushrooms magic mushrooms magic mushrooms.

Why do people also assume that he'll be forming a celestial band with Lemmy as soon as he arrives?

On all the albums from Hunky Dory to Scary Monsters, with the exception of Heroes, there's hardly a dodgy track.
A genius indeed.

[Satchmo Distel]

Ashes to Ashes

We had a thread recently on his "best albums" and I think everything he released from 1969 to 1980 got a mention. I don't think he made a bad or even mediocre album until the mid-80s, when he was pushing 40.

It's important that he was able to make two valedictory albums. His death is a sickening shock emotionally but not a surprise logically - he wasn't promoting the work and his body was carrying all that excess from the 70s which had almost killed him back then.

As a measure of his greatness, as with Lennon and McCartney, he could give great songs to other people - All The Young Dudes, the stuff he wrote for Iggy.

[Iggy has outlived Bowie and Lou Reed...)

P.S. How does Big Brother break the news to Angie?

[johnr]

Ashes to Ashes

Alongside such sad news, it's a small thing to wish that his family hadn't used the 'battle with cancer' phrase, but it does drive me nuts (especially as every news outlet has run it, perpetuating its use). He was ill and died with/of cancer, he no more could have battled it than any other illness.

My mum woke me this morning to tell me, she remembers me playing Space Oddity to death, and wailing along (I've always had a terrible singing voice) at around 6 years old. (To be clear, I wasn't years ahead in musical appreciation, for some reason it had been given to me by my uncle, who didn't like it).

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Ashes to Ashes

Among the myriad tributes, one thing that's just occurred to me is that Bowie must have been "next on the list" to be knighted. Mick Jagger and Van Morrison got theirs the last two years. In truth, Bowie should have received his about twenty years ago.

[Calvert]

Ashes to Ashes

Really?

That saddens you?

[Felicity, I guess so]

Ashes to Ashes

Yes, I hardly think he needed one of those to feel valued and recognised.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Ashes to Ashes

I'll edit it. It's not the ONE thing that saddens me, obviously.