David Bowie 1947 – 2016
Peccadillo Pictures MD on a meeting with David Bowie:
David Bowie
It was late afternoon on a warn sunny day at my flat in the Oval, sometime in ’88 and as friends were coming over for dinner that evening I was preparing a meal. Then the telephone rang – no mobiles in those days – “Bowie wants to watch the final edit, you’re the closest with keys, get to Golden Square and take the master tape out of the library!”
I quickly got to the library, took out the tape of “The Glass Spider Tour” and was chatting with a friend when the door opened and in walked David Bowie, he smiled and said “I’m dying for a pee, where’s the loo?” I gave directions and as he disappeared up the stairs I turned to my friend and we both silently screamed (he was still in earshot after all).
I was late for my own dinner party, but I had a great story to tell…
My own personal Bowie was “The Thin White Duke”, I grew up with the Berlin albums and from them came to Love all his previous work. I wasn’t really into what came after “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps”) so in the late 80s when I met him I was a huge fan of what had gone before, not the tanned Bowie that stood before me – but it was BOWIE! And he was friendly and charming and meeting him was definitely an unforgettable moment of my life.
And from the album “Black Tie White Noise” I was committed once again.
I saw Bowie live three times, the first at the Hammersmith Odeon, I think in 83, after queuing all night for tickets we’d got seats in the fourth row from the front, incredible luck, incredible performance. Then again at Live Aid where he gave a stunning performance of Heroes and finally at the Freddie Mercury tribute in Wembley.
“He provided the soundtrack to our lives” is a soundbite that is definitely being overused today. Bowie provided much more than that and inspired all of us “outsiders” to be ourselves regardless of what the mainstream may think. It’s impossible to sum up his influence on so many aspects of modern culture, but it’s also impossible to deny it.
Peccadillo is lucky to have Bowie’s German version of Heroes as the closing track on our film FUTURO BEACH and it’s also used in the films trailer. I have that version hidden away on vinyl, anyone know where I can find it digitally (at least CD quality)?
Blackstar arrived on Friday and I’ve only had time to listen to it once, so a whole new album to enjoy and while while I am uncontrollably devastated by this morning news let’s all celebrate everything that was and ever will be Bowie.
Tom Abell