Death of David Bowie

Death of David Bowie

Date	January 10, 2016 (2016-01-10)
Location	New York City, New York, United States

On January 10th 2016, British musician David Bowie died at his New York City apartment, after an 18-month battle with cancer. His illness was not publicly known, and his death occurred two days after the release of his twenty-fifth studio album Blackstar.

The news was met with an outpouring of shock and grief around the world, causing a number of makeshift memorials to be created in London, New York, Berlin and other cities in which Bowie had lived, and triggering a dramatic increase in sales of his albums and singles. Many commentators noted Bowie’s impact on music, fashion and culture and wrote of his status and one of the most influential musical artists of all time, while numerous musicians and public figures also expressed their grief. Bowie was cremated and his will stipulated that his ashes be scattered in Bali in accordance with Buddhist rituals.

Reaction

Fans

Memorials to Bowie were created in the hours following his death across the world. In Brixton, the London area in which Bowie was born, a mural painted in 2013 by Australian artist Jimmy C became a shrine at which fans left flowers, records and handwritten messages. The mural features Bowie as he appeared on his iconic Aladdin Sane album cover, with a lighting flash across his face. In Berlin, fans left flowers outside the flat in which Bowie and Iggy Pop had lived while Bowie created his seminal ‘Berlin Trilogy’ of albums – Low, “Heroes” and Lodger – in the late 1970s. Flowers were also left outside Bowie’s New York apartment and on by star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Other musicians

Tony Visconti, who produced a number of Bowie’s albums, including Young Americans and his seminal Berlin trilogy, Low, Heroes and Lodger, wrote: “He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life – a work of art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry". Mick Jagger said “David was always an inspiration to me and a true original. He was wonderfully shameless in his work. We had so many good times together ... He was my friend. I will never forget him.” Friend and collaborator Iggy Pop described him on social media as “the light of my life”, while singer Madonna tweeted: “Talented. Unique. Genius. Game Changer”. The rock group Queen, with whom he collaborated on Under Pressure, tweeted a link to the video of the song, with the words: “This is our last dance....” Elton John commented that “we all know how inspiring he is. We all know that his music stands. We don't have to say anything about the music: It speaks for itself. He was innovative, he was boundary-changing, and he danced to his own tune -- which in any artist is really rare". John also performed a cover of Space Oddity at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles two days after Bowie’s death. Paul McCartney, meanwhile, shared a picture of him and Bowie together on Instagram and commented that “David was a great star and I treasure the moments we had together. His music played a very strong part in British musical history and I’m proud to think of the huge influence he has had on people all around the world.” Yoko Ono also noted Bowie’s friendship with herself and John Lennon, and thanked him for being a “father figure” to her son following Lennon’s death.

Analysis of Blackstar

Tony Visconti described Bowie’s final album Blackstar as his ‘parting gift’ to his fans, and following his death the album was heavily analysed and numerous supposed clues about Bowie’s fate discussed. The album’s second single Lazarus includes the lyrics “Look up here, I’m in heaven / I’ve got scars that can’t be seen”, which appeared in numerous news publications after his death. The album’s title was also believed to have symbolised death; it is the name given to a cancer lesion, as well as the term for the transitional state between a collapsed star and a singularity. It is also the name of a little-known song about death by one of Bowie’s musical idols Elvis Presley, which features the lyrics “When a man sees his black star, he knows his time has come”. A tumblr account which seemingly included images replicated in the yet-to-be-released video for Lazarus was speculated to have been created by Bowie, and these images – Bowie retreating into a wooden cupboard, and writing with a skull on his desk, seemed to many to symbolise Bowie’s imminent death.

Other lyrics were also scrutinised; the track Dollar Days, for example, featured the line “don’t believe for just one second I’m forgetting you/ I’m trying to/I’m dying to.” The title and refrain of the album’s final track, I Can’t Give Everything Away, was believed by some commentators to refer to Bowie keeping his imminent fate private whilst hinting at it throughout the album, while its use of the harmonica solo from A New Career In A New Town – an instrumental track on Bowie’s 1977 album Low which refers to his move to Berlin – was considered a reference to Bowie beginning another new phase of his life.

Impact on music sales

Immediately following Bowie’s death, his albums and singles saw huge spikes in sales and streams. Blackstar, already on track to claim the number one spot in the United Kingdom, accelerated in sales and stayed atop the albums chart for three weeks, as well as topping the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. After three weeks, the album was replaced at number one by his 2002 compilation Best Of Bowie, making Bowie the first artist to replace themselves atop the album chart since Michael Jackson did so following his death in 2009. In the week following his death, Bowie had nineteen albums and thirteen singles in the top 100 charts for both categories, with his 1978 single Heroes reaching a new peak of number 12. Bowie would later equal Elvis Presley’s record for most albums in the top 40 at one time, with twelve. Meanwhile, global streams of Bowie’s music on streaming service Spotify spiked by 2,822% after his death, while the singer occupied all ten of the top ten music videos on the iTunes video chart.

Tributes and services

Several artists performed songs by Bowie during concerts in the weeks following his death, including Elton John, Madonna and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Numerous cities across the world also held events to remember Bowie. A concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City called The Music of David Bowie had already been announced, and was turned into a memorial event after news of his death broke; tickets sold out in two hours. A number of artists also performed and paid tribute at a memorial event in London’s Union Chapel six days after his passing. *http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35340025 Bowie himself stipulated that he be cremated with no family members present, and his ashes scattered in Bali.